I was very pleased to be able to present last weekend at the Anachronisms conference at NYU. For information on the program and presentations, click here.
Lecture at Anachronisms Conference
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Review of “Interventions in Contemporary Thought”
A review of my book, Interventions in Contemporary Thought: History, Politics, Aesthetics, was just published here by Cynthía Krkoška-Níelsen. This book was published in hardback in the fall, but it is coming out in paperback this May. Click here to see the announcement.
Excerpt: “An intervention is not simply a more radical or highly innovative way of engaging a text, performing or interpreting an artwork, or revamping political practices. Intervention operates, so to speak, at a deeper level: it seeks to change the historical conditions of possibility and in doing so to change the activity of thought itself and, presumably, what can show up as a viable option or way of acting and being in a particular context. […] Rockhill’s critique of Eurocentrism is refreshingly nuanced and resists falling into an overly facile binary of oppositions—geographic or otherwise—which then demonizes Europe and seems to assume that “Europe” has a stable, unchanging center. […] While such radical geography continues within the domain of critique discourses of Eurocentrism, it is attuned to the unfixed, center-less character of ‘Europe,’ which it unearths as the ‘site of striated, overlapping and contested spaces’ (31) […read more].”
Article on “Free Speech” in CounterPunch
Click here to read my article “Free Speech Is Not the Issue; Intellectual Power Is,” which was recently published in CounterPunch.
Excerpt: “The question we should be asking, then, is not the abstract one of whether or not an individual or institution is “for” or “against” free speech in general, and then confusedly extending this to the university context. The real question is: what are the institutional forces that are empowering certain ideas and—by necessity—excluding or sidelining others? This requires examining the power structures that produce the very field of possibility for thought and organize the purportedly “open debate” in terms of viable intellectual positions. It also means analyzing how the intellectual and moral torpor of a “one-size-fits-all” principle of “free speech” directly contributes to distracting us from actually holding institutional power brokers accountable for the types of ideas they are endorsing and disseminating. […read more]”
Radio Interview with Scholars’ Circle
I had the honor of being invited on the Scholars’ Circle to discuss my article, “The CIA Reads French Theory,” and its implications for understanding recent political and cultural history. Click here to listen.
Lecture at NATP
I was very happy to have the opportunity to present my research on Nietzsche, Foucault, genealogy and counter-history at the annual conference of the North Texas Philosophical Association. A special thanks to Dale Wilkerson, Cynthia Nielsen, Charles Bambach, Michael Vendsel and the other organizers for coordinating such an excellent program.
Intro to Forthcoming Book Online
The introduction to my book Counter-History of the Present: Untimely Interrogations into Globalization, Technology, Democracy, which is forthcoming in early May with Duke University Press, is now available online here. The original French version of the book was recently published by CNRS Éditions. Click here for details.
Overview
Welcome to my personal website. You will find background information about me, details regarding my books, links to my scholarly and journalistic writings, a list of some of my media appearances, info about the Critical Theory Workshop, and contact information. Until summer 2024, when it became difficult to keep it updated, I maintained a log of my activities below (scroll down). Follow me on Substack for more recent updates.
Click images for more information.
Review of “Radical History & the Politics of Art”
A detailed review of Radical History & the Politics of Art by Ioana Vartolomei Pribiag was published here in SubStance 46:1 (2017).
Excerpt: “Radical History and the Politics of Art invites us to abandon many of the myths upon which debates on art and politics have relied for decades. The book successfully breaks with the binary logic behind the majority of studies on this subject and puts into question the widely accepted theory of aesthetic autonomy. Rockhill’s insightful critique of Jacques Rancière’s thought, his valuable reevaluation of the politics of avant-garde art, and his numerous concrete examples drawn from a variety of artistic traditions and commonly overlooked arts such as architecture, ensure that this work will quickly become a versatile reference. Overall this is a stimulating and forcefully argued book that clears the ground for future scholarship on the social politicity of art.”
Spanish Translation of CIA and French Theory Article
Click here for a Spanish translation of my article on the CIA and French theory: “La CIA estudia a los teóricos franceses: Cómo desmantelar a la izquierda cultural.” A special thanks to Paco Muñoz de Bustillo for undertaking the translation and to Rebelión for publishing it.
Portuguese Translation of My Article on CIA and French Theory
A special thanks to Passa Palavra for publishing a Portuguese translation of my article “The CIA Reads French Theory.” Click here to read it.
GABRIEL ROCKHILL 