Becomings: Explorations in Time, Memory, and Futures

by Elizabeth Grosz (Editor)

With the advent of the new millennium, the notion of the future, and of time in general, has taken on greater significance in postmodern thought. Although the equally pervasive and abstract concept of space has generated a vast body of disciplines, time, and the related idea of "becoming" (transforming, mutating, and metamorphosing) have until now received little theoretical attention. This volume explores the ontological, epistemic, and political implications of rethinking time as a dynamic and irreversible force. Drawing on ideas from the natural sciences, as well as from literature, philosophy, politics, and cultural analyses, its authors seek to stimulate further research in both the sciences and the humanities which highlights the temporal foundations of matter and culture. The first section of the volume, "The Becoming of the World," provides a broad introduction to the concepts of time. The second section, "Knowing and Doing Otherwise," addresses the forces within cultural and intellectual practices which produce various becomings and new futures. It also analyzes how alternative models of subjectivity and corporeality may be generated through different conceptions of time. "Global Futures," the third section, considers the possibilities for the social, political, and cultural transformation of individuals and nations.

Genres: Philosophy

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 1999

About the author

Elizabeth Grosz is a professor at Duke University. She has written on French philosophers, Jacques Lacan, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, Luce Irigaray and Gilles Deleuze.

Grosz was awarded a Ph.D. from the Department of General Philosophy at the University of Sydney, where she became a lecturer and senior lecturer from 1978 to 1991. In 1992, she moved to Monash University to the department of comparative literature. From 1999 to 2001, she became a professor of comparative literature and English at the State University of New York at Buffalo. She taught in Women's and Gender Studies at Rutgers University from 2002 until joining Duke University in 2012.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Basma Abdallah Uraiqat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its an interesting book but I expected to get more out of it. I must admit I did not finish all of it because I found some of the articles too difficult to follow. I usually like Elizabeth Grosz's writings and I thought this would have the same spirit since she is the editor but I felt it was too academic and boring. It has many mentions of Deluze whom I'm quite interested in, so that was interesting but I did not get much new things out of it.

It might be a good reference for research or an academic project but definitely not recommended for interest reading.