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Sandro Mezzadra (Universita' Degli Studi Di Bologna') |
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"Questioning the boundaries of disciplines"
Why do you think, from your very personal involvement with cultural thinking, that a topological approach can help understand contemporary cultural dynamics? I started to work in the field of cultural studies and theory developing my own theoretical engagement with the issue of migration. One of the main problems I have been confronted with especially in Italy is the fact that at the level of public discourse as well at the level of academic debates an “essentialist” concept of culture is still heavily influencing the representation of migrants. From this point of view, I am particularly interested in a topological approach, since it points at developing an intensive and not an extensive concept of culture.
Can you explain a little what you expect from this research project? I’m particularly interested in testing the results of my own research in an ongoing exchange with scholars involved in developing the topological approach. Since I’m not directly involved in the development of the mathematical side of the topological approach, my involvement will basically consist in confronting its outcomes with current developments in political theory and cultural studies.
Which crossdisciplinary combinations do you expect to profit particularly from the topological approach? Starting from my own engagement in the field of political theory, I am looking forward to verifying the potentialities of the topological approach in order to develop a new concept of citizenship, above all with reference to discussions on multiculturalism. From this point of view, crossdisciplinary exchanges especially with all the scholars involved in the project can be of strategic importance in order to deepen and to enlarge the scope of my research.
If change is one main feature of culture today, why is this approach helpful in conceptualizing or understanding cultural change? What I find particularly challenging in the topological approach is the way it conceives interdisciplinarity. Going beyond the rather simplistic view of the sharing of knowledge between disciplines, it allows to imagine a kind of transformative exchange that puts into question – or at least under scrutiny – the very boundaries of disciplines.
Can everything in culture really be measured in numbers? That’s a good question. To be honest, I never thought it possible to measure culture in numbers! This is the reason why I’m thinking of the topological approach as a kind of tool: it can be very useful in order to focus certain structural characteristics of cultural dynamics but it needs to be supplemented by other kinds of approach, in order to make sense of the “numbers”.
One idea of the approach is that it avoids normative judgements. Is that not risky, or might it lead to a "neutral" and ultimately empty understanding of culture? In a way the answer to this question can repeat the former one. If you look at the topological approach as a kind of self-sufficient approach you are clearly confronted with the risk mentioned in the question. But considering it a “tool” should counteract the risk itself.
CV: Sandro Mezzadra is declared to be “qualified” to the position of Associate Professor of the History of Political Thought at the University of Bologna. He will be appointed to this position in the next months. He holds a PhD in History of Political Thought and Institutions from the University of Turin. From 1999 up until the present, he worked as Senior Lecturer at the Department of Politics, Institutions, History at the University of Bologna. Sandro is a member of the directors' board of "Studi culturali" (Bologna) and of the editorial board of "Scienza & Politica" (also Bologna).
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Outcomes