Agamben’s double negativity
Our Badiou reading group has successfully managed the transformation into an Agamben reading group. We had a very interesting discussion about The coming community on Sunday, predominantly concentrating on the most frustrating thing about Agamben, namely what a political practice based on his philosophy would look like (I was, of course, doing my best to argue that the movement of movement’s subtractive diversity owes at least something to Agamben). We also discussed a chapter of the book I had forgotten, in which Agamben talks explicitly about what I thought was a clever interpretation of my own in my post below about Ashlee Simpson (on which see also Spurious’s excellent post on Abi Titmuss).
We also briefly mentioned Agamben’s very tricky distinction between potential and contingency: the potential is that which can not be, while the contingent is that which can not _not_ be. The negation of the negation makes me think of Hegel, although I don’t think that’s where Agamben wants to take the idea. Hence the title of this post, which I think would make a good name for a poncy MLA-style paper. Which makes me think, has any queer theorist yet had the chutzpah to base a paper around the obvious homo sacer gag? I’d like to bagsy ‘We will become more possible than you can powerfully imagine’ for potential future use as a title for something on Agamben’s discussion of potential/contingency, too.
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what the hell does “bagsy” mean?
Comment by geo @ 5/24/2005 11:42 pm
It means sort of ‘claim’ or ‘reserve’. Traditionally only used by children - actually, probably only by children in the ’80s. There’s something you’re supposed to add to make it more secure - ‘bagsy no comebacks’, maybe?
Comment by Tim @ 5/24/2005 11:59 pm
Of course, let’s not forget the Wannadies classic 1999 album “Bagsy Me”
Not least because it’s very good.
Comment by Marty @ 5/25/2005 9:44 am
Great Quote on top!!
Comment by Ford @ 5/27/2005 2:50 am
I’m in the middle of working on a seminar paper that has a section called ‘Putting the homo back in homo sacer’ (on heteronormativity and Australian border control). I dunno if the working title will make it into the finished piece, though.
Comment by sandy @ 5/27/2005 5:40 am
‘bagsy’ definitely goes back at least as far as the seventies actually; we certainly used it at school….
Comment by mark k-p @ 5/29/2005 8:41 am
Even further back, I’m afraid. as in ‘Bags I get the …..’ for example
remembered from the fifties and early sixties. (Apparently from the Old Norse ‘bagge’
Comment by J @ 5/31/2005 10:17 pm
Care to share your insights with our reading group Tim? Coming next week to The Weblog, we’ll be reading _The Open if you’re around.
Comment by Matt @ 10/25/2005 2:05 am