Duration
45h SEM
Number of credits
Lecturer
Coordinator
Language(s) of instruction
French language
Organisation and examination
All year long, with partial in January
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
This seminar focuses on the mythologies of energy transition.
Among the discourses and practices that attempt to respond to the ecological crisis, the idea of energy transition dominates: it consists in seeking technological solutions to reduce energy consumption and replace fossil fuels with so-called sustainable resources. Following the work of Cara New Daggett, this seminar postulates that techniques are inseparable from narrative frameworks that justify them and inscribe them in particular histories and power relations (Daggett 2023). In this sense, the energy transition relies as much on techniques and objects as on narratives, which open or close the field of possibilities, shape imaginations and activate affects. We propose to consider these narratives as myths, which we will identify and describe.
In Q1, the seminar proposes a program of readings and meetings around these questions. In Q2, it extends this dynamic by providing collective support for individual work on writing a thematic chapter. The focus will be on the ways in which knowledge is circulated.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
The seminar will enable students to :
- become aware of contemporary critical issues, in this case the question of the energy transition ;
- become familiar with a diversity of paradigms and critical gestures;
- try their hand at formatting choices that support the circulation of knowledge on these issues.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Have a good grounding in the Philosophy and Letters subjects.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
Collegiate seminar, organised in the form of thematic sessions equivalent to approximately 3 h/month (schedule to be comunicated on the first-meeting date, on Wednesday 25th 2024, 12AM, classroom A2/5/16).
Every session will be led by one or more members of the teaching team and/or an external guest and/or students themselves.
In Q2, the seminar will also take the form of monitoring student work.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face course
Additional information:
Face-to-face.
Course materials and recommended or required readings
Platform(s) used for course materials:
- MyULiège
Further information:
Platform(s) used for course materials:
- MyULiège
Further information:
As part of the seminar on the mythologies of the energy transition, students are invited to read the following works:
- Daggett (Cara N.), Pétromasculinité. Du mythe fossile patriarcal aux systèmes énergétiques féministes, Marseille, WildProject, 2023.
- Magalhães (Nelo), Accumuler du béton, tracer des routes. Une histoire environnementale des grandes infrastructures, Paris, La Fabrique, 2024.
-Bosqué (Camille), Design pour un monde fini, Paris, Premier parallèle, 2024.
As a general introduction to the theorisation and practice of critical knowledge from the nineteenth century to the present day, we suggest the following reading list:
Marx (Karl), « Salaire, prix et plus-value » [1865] in Œuvres I Économie I], Gallimard, « Bibliothèque de la Pléiade », p. 473-533.
Benjamin (Walter), « Sur le concept d'histoire » [1940] in Œuvres III, Gallimard, « Folio », 2000, p. 427-443.
Benjamin (Walter), « Paris, capitale du xixe siècle » [1935] in Œuvres III, Gallimard, « Folio », 2000, p. 44-66.
Barthes (Roland), « Le mythe, aujourd'hui », dans Mythologies, Paris, Seuil, 1957, p. 181-233.
Fanon (Frantz), « Conclusion », in Les Damnés de la terre, Paris, Maspéro, 1961.
Adorno (Theodor W.), « L'industrie culturelle », Communications, 3, 1964, p. 12-18.
Deleuze (Gilles), « À quoi reconnait-on le structuralisme ? » in Histoire de la philosophie, dir. François Châtelet, vol. VIII, Paris, Hachette, 1972, p. 299-335.
Foucault (Michel), Sécurité, territoire, population. Cours au Collège de France 1977-1978 [leçons du 11, 18 et 25 janvier 1978], Gallimard/Seuil, « Hautes Études », 2009, p. 3-89.
Foucault (Michel), « Entretien avec Michel Foucault » [1978], in Dits et Écrits, t. 4, Paris, Gallimard, 1994, p. 41-96.
Foucault (Michel), « Vérité, pouvoir et soi » [1982], in Dits et Écrits, t. 4, Paris, Gallimard, 1994, p. 777-783.
Bourdieu (Pierre), « Espace social et espace symbolique » [1989], in Raisons pratiques. Sur la théorie de l'action, Paris, Seuil, « Points », 1994, p. 15-29.
Rancière (Jacques), « Du partage du sensible et des rapports qu'il établit entre esthétique et politique », in Le Partage du sensible. Esthétique et politique, Paris, La Fabrique, 2000, p. 12-25.
Latour (Bruno), « L'opéra du rein. Mise en scène, mise en fait », in Petites leçons de sociologie des sciences, Paris, La Découverte, 2007, p. 83-99.
Harvey (David), « L'art de la rente. Mondialisation et marchandisation de la culture », in Géographie de la domination. Capitalisme et production de l'espace, traduit de l'anglais par Nicolas Vieillescazes, Paris, Éditions Amsterdam, 2018, p. 31-56.
Federici (Silvia), « En guise d'introduction. Marxisme et féminisme : histoire et concepts » in Le capitalisme patriarcal, Paris, La Fabrique, 2019, p. 7-25.
Ajari (Norman), « Une théologie de la dignité noire en Amérique du nord » in La dignité ou la mort. Éthique et politique de la race, Paris, Les Empêcheurs de penser en rond/La découverte, 2019, p. 169-202.
Malm (Andreas), Comment saboter un pipeline ?, Paris, La Fabrique, 2020.
Stengers (Isabelle), « Covid 19 / Le monde de demain -Se libérer de l'imaginaire capitaliste ? », Entretien filmé, Asbl Atelier des droits sociaux, 2020, 35 min., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTHVqvH2Bvg
Dorlin (Elsa), Sexe, genre et sexualités, Paris, PUF, 2021.
Tsing (Anna L.), « Résurgences et proliférations » in Proliférations, Marseille, Wildproject, 2022, p. 43-72.
Guien (Jeanne), « Introduction », in Une histoire des produits menstruels, Paris, Divergences, 2023.
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
oral exam
Written work / report
Continuous assessment
Further information:
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
oral exam
Written work / report
Additional information:
Students will be assessed on the basis of a personal assignment.
This will consist of writing a thematic chapter based on Camille Bosqué's book (see reference above).
This work will be physically handed in to the seminar leaders on the first day of the May-June examination session, and will be discussed.
The evaluation criteria will be as follows:
- relevance and originality of the problematic ;
- relevance of bibliographical choices ;
- ability to develop a narrative from heterogeneous materials;
- formal completion of the work;
- ability to provide an oral commentary on the work.
Work placement(s)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
The seminar will be in the form of a 3 h session every month (approximately). Attendance is required. Everyone should have read the preparatory texts prior to each session.
Students will meet on Wednesday 25th September 2024 at 12PM (classroom A2/5/16) for an introductory meeting, where they will be given all the information concerning the seminar's organisation.
Contacts
Julien Pieron
Julien.Pieron@uliege.be
François Provenzano
Francois.Provenzano@uliege.be