WORKSHOP: ‘Conflict and Agonism in Nietzsche and Beyond’ – Announcement
LEIDEN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE FOR PHILOSOPHY

Wednesday 27 MARCH 9.30 — 19.00
Thursday 28 MARCH 10.00 — 17.00

The agon or “contest” is a foundational concept within Nietzsche’s conflict-based philosophy. Indeed, establishing precisely what this concept meant for Nietzsche has become of increasing interest within and beyond Nietzsche studies. What is being analysed here is Nietzsche’s attempt to render conflict and contestation productive, as opposed to destructive, forces. Further, in recent years agonism has also become a key concept within a range of disciplines, especially politics and law. The pressing question within this contemporary debate being: how do modern politico-juridical institutions stand to be strengthened through an appreciation of conflict in contrast to aspirations of universal consensus? By convening a diverse selection of perspectives that bridge the contemporary–historical divide, the workshop aims to unify a variety of ordinarily isolated pockets of research into agonism and, in so doing, also aims to stimulate new approaches to problems within the study of conflict.
The workshop forms part of the NWO funded project led by Dr. Herman Siemens “Between Deliberation and Agonism: Rethinking Conflict and its Relation to Law in Political Philosophy”.

This workshop has also been sponsored in part by Leiden University Fund/ Van Haersholte.
It will consist of 30-45 minute presentations of (ideally, pre-circulated) papers, followed by an open discussion guided by chairs.
The workshop is free and open to all interested persons. However, space is limited, so please contact James Pearson if you wish to attend:j.s.pearson@phil.leidenuniv.nl

Confirmed Speakers
Drs. J. J. McFadden, Department of Political Science, University of Chicago
Drs. Razvan Ioan: Insitute for Philosophy, University of Leiden
Prof. Duncan Large: Department of Modern Languages, University of Swansea
Prof. Andreas Niehaus: Department of Japanology Sinology and Indology, University of Ghent
Prof. David Owen: Department of Social Sciences and International Relations, University of Southampton
Drs. James Pearson: Institute for Philosophy, University of Leiden
Prof. Ritchie Robertson: Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford
Dr. Irena Rosenthal: Faculty of Law, VU University of Amsterdam
Dr. Etienne Le Roy: Historical and Legal Research Centre, University of Paris 1
Dr. Davide Ruggieri: Department of Philosophy, University of Salento
Prof. Pierre Saint-Amand, French Studies, Brown University
Dr. Herman Siemens: Institute for Philosophy, University of Leiden

Programme
The first day of the workshop will take place in the Lipsius building, located at Cleveringaplaats 1, 2311 BD Leiden. You can find it on this map. The second day of the workshop will take place in Van Wijkplaats 2, 2300 RA Leiden , directions to which can be found here: http://www.visitors.leiden.edu/buildings/van-wijkplaats.html.

Wednesday 27 March
(Location: Lipsius 001)

Nietzsche and 19th Century Theories Conflict
9.30-11.30
Dr. Herman Siemens (University of Leiden):“Agonism in Nietzsche and Beyond”
Dr. Davide Ruggieri (University of Salento):“The Metaphysics of Conflict. Some Reflections on Schopenhauer’s Politics”
Lunch
13.00 – 15.00
Prof. Richie Robertson (University of Oxford):“Nietzsche, Burckhardt and Renaissance Agons”
Razvan Ioan (University of Leiden):“Nietzsche’s Physiological Interpretation of Conflict”
Coffee/tea break
15.30-17.30
James Pearson (University of Leiden):“Nietzsche and the Limits of Agonistic Sublimation”
Prof. Duncan Large (University of Swansea):“A Perpetual Contest of Genius: Translation as Conflict”
18.00 – 19.00
J. J. McFadden (University of Chicago):“The Weight of Recognition: on Hegel’s Agonistic Account of Autonomy”
19.00 Drinks & dinner

Thursday 28 March
(Location: Wijkplaats 2.003)
Agonism beyond Nietzsche

10.00-12.00
Dr. Etienne Le Roy (Paris 1): “The ‘Jeu des Lois’: The Agon and the Anthropology of Law”
Dr. Irena Rosenthal (VU University of Amsterdam):“Surviving Agonistic Democracy: a Psychoanalytical Investigation Into the Hardships of Agonism”
Lunch
13.30 – 15.30
Prof. Andreas Niehaus (University of Ghent): “Now Japan has Completely Conquered the World. Nippon Banzai? Japanese Identity and Political Conflict in the 1932 Olympic Games”
Prof. David Owen (University of Southampton):“Strife and the Foundations of Contemporary Democratic Theory”
Coffee/tea break
16.00-17.00
Prof. Pierre Saint-Amand (Brown University):“Politics, Violence and the Enlightenment”
17.00 Drinks & dinner