Speculative Temporalities

«New Developments in Theory» lecture series: Prof. Steven Shaviro (Wayne State University)

It has often been said that we live in an historical moment when “it’s easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism” (Mark Fisher). We seem to be trapped in a heightened eternal present, characterized by media saturation, financial speculation, and relentless entrepreneurial innovation. Everything is continually changing—right here, right now—and yet nothing ever seems to be truly different. In a time of incessant novelty and intensified actuality, we find it ever more difficult to envision any future that is not just continuous with the present. In his talk, Steven Shaviro seeks to excavate a different sort of futurity: one that is “real but not actual” (a formulation that was proposed, independently of one another, by the philosophers Alfred North Whitehead and Gilles Deleuze). Against the background of the ways that our sense of time has been molded by financialization and by schedules of indebtedness, the talk will consider alternative futurities expressed in the fabulation of science fiction narrative, and in the forms of rhythm generated in contemporary popular music and music videos.

After the lecture, everyone is cordially invited to join us in celebrating the publication of Steven Shaviro’s latest book, Die Pinocchio Theorie (German translation by Ridvan Askin).

Steven Shaviro is the DeRoy Professor of English at Wayne State University in Detroit. He writes mostly about science fiction, music videos, and the philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead. His recent books include Discognition (2016), Digital Music Videos (2017), and Die Pinocchio Theorie (2018).

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