The lecture makes a case for “attachment” as a key word for the humanities. The word directs our attention to what carries weight: it has both affective and ethical force. The goal is not to shift from the objective to the subjective but from a language of bifurcation to relation. Felski briefly describes two common attachment devices – identification and attunement – before turning to critical interpretation. Such interpretation is not the opposite of attachment, but another mechanism of attachment, driven by passions and identifications. Yet folding the language of attachment into our vocabulary can also affect how we interpret, broadening our repertoire of intellectual, aesthetic, and affective possibilities. We might, for example, take up a stance of inclination rather than rectitude; leaning toward a work of art rather standing over it; adopting an attitude – inspired by David Scott – of reflective receptivity.

The seminar is public, and we welcome everybody. 

Programme: Aesthetic Seminars Spring 2019