"Metaphysical Turn in the Anthropology of Objects: Leibniz, Latour & Deleuze" a talk by Dr. George Varghese at Teen Murti House, Teen Murti Marg > 3pm on 8th August 2013

Time : 3:00 pm

Entry : Free (Seating on First-Come First-Served basis)

Place : Seminar Room, First Floor, Library Building, Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML), Teen Murti House, Teen Murti Marg, New Delhi
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Event Description : The Nehru Memorial Museum and Library cordially invites you to a Seminar on ‘Metaphysical Turn in the Anthropology of Objects: Leibniz, Latour and Deleuze’ by Dr. George Varghese, Manipal University, Manipal.

Abstract : This paper explores the nature of a paradigm break that occurred in the anthropology of objects in the mid-1980's shifting it to an ontological/metaphysical mode and the emergence of Leibnizian-Spinozist models in the anthropological analysis. The pioneer of course is Bruno Latour who developed his concepts of actants, networks and translation under the Leibnizian light. But this is definitely improved upon with the more comprehensive neo-Leibnizian positions of Deleuze who in turn visualizes object/objectality as “multiplicity”. This metaphysical construct is undergirded by a set of concepts namely idea, immanence, virtual and transcendental empiricism. Taking an impartial stance, this paper attempts to interconnect a few aspects of this paradigm break and the new metaphysical concepts involved in it, which are especially drawn from Latour and Deleuze. 

Speaker : Dr. George Varghese K. teaches social anthropology and continental philosophy in the Manipal Centre for Philosophy and Humanities (MCPH) Manipal University. His research at present is focussed on the interdisciplinary dialogue between anthropology and Deleuzian philosophy. He holds an M.Phil degree in English Literature from JNU, New Delhi, and another M.Phil in social anthropology from the University  of Bergen, Norway. His Ph.D. is from the University of Melbourne on Deleuzian Multiplicity and Gold. He has published papers on the anthropology of gold and Visvakarma   artisan    community of Kerala as well as on the art, iconography and family histories of the Syrian Christians of Kerala. His book Ontological Anthropology, Deleuzian Multiplicity and the Being of Gold is forthcoming from the Berghahn Books (New York and Oxford).   

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