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Figures of the Subject in Times of Crisis

Figures of the Subject in Times of Crisis he following remarks are about subjectivities of “the crisis” and their corollary, the crisis of the subject. The first term refers to the crisis as a constitutive site of particular forms of subjectivity. The second term invokes the crisis of the very act of signifying this moment. These two instances, constitution and signification, are decisive elements in the generalized production of violence in the world today. They are also instances of its specificity. The moment being considered, then, is not without date, place or name. In fact, the object of our commentary is a precise phenomenon: contemporaneousness. Its real time can only be called the “immediatepresent.” And it is the spirit (esprit), visibility and profanity of this immediatepresent that is at the heart of our inquiry. This article was translated from French by Janet Roitman with the assistance of L. McKean. The following study results from residence in Cameroon: from March 1992 to December 1993 (J. Roitman) and June to August 1993 (A. Mbembe). J. Roitman acknowledges the generous support provided by the SSRC-MacArthur Program on Peace and Security during this period. A. Mbembe acknowledges the support of the History Department, University of Pennsylvania. We benefited from the http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Public Culture Duke University Press

Figures of the Subject in Times of Crisis

Mbembe, Achille; Roitman, Janet
Public Culture , Volume 7 (2) – Jan 1, 1995
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Publisher
Duke University Press
Copyright
Copyright 1995 by Duke University Press
ISSN
0899-2363
eISSN
1527-8018
DOI
10.1215/08992363-7-2-323
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

he following remarks are about subjectivities of “the crisis” and their corollary, the crisis of the subject. The first term refers to the crisis as a constitutive site of particular forms of subjectivity. The second term invokes the crisis of the very act of signifying this moment. These two instances, constitution and signification, are decisive elements in the generalized production of violence in the world today. They are also instances of its specificity. The moment being considered, then, is not without date, place or name. In fact, the object of our commentary is a precise phenomenon: contemporaneousness. Its real time can only be called the “immediatepresent.” And it is the spirit (esprit), visibility and profanity of this immediatepresent that is at the heart of our inquiry. This article was translated from French by Janet Roitman with the assistance of L. McKean. The following study results from residence in Cameroon: from March 1992 to December 1993 (J. Roitman) and June to August 1993 (A. Mbembe). J. Roitman acknowledges the generous support provided by the SSRC-MacArthur Program on Peace and Security during this period. A. Mbembe acknowledges the support of the History Department, University of Pennsylvania. We benefited from the

Journal

Public Culture – Duke University Press

Published: Jan 1, 1995

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