Rainer Stummer

(Un)Building Contradiction(s) – Postfoundationalism, Ecology, Movement.

In my doctoral project, I will examine the relationship between discursivity and materiality in approaches to recent political ontologies – namely, Essex School discourse theory and neomaterialisms. Based on two initial theses, I will explore the tension between discourse and matter: (1) There is a division of labour between the different ontological orientations, in the course of which discourse-theoretical approaches deal exclusively with the “weakening of form”, while neo-materialist approaches work exclusively on the “strengthening of matter”, which on the one hand leads to a neglect of the mutual interpenetration of discourse and matter, and, on the other hand, to tension between the two strands of theory – with adverse consequences for the political-strategic application of the theory or theories. Furthermore, there is a lack (2) of a precise formulation of the specificity of this interpenetration, which I propose to understand as a chiasmatic relationship between the concepts of discursivity and materiality, which has consequences for thinking about the contradictory figure of antagonism and which, as such, must be included in the analysis of and work on hegemony. These two theses give rise to a distinct set of contradictions – particularly in the highly contested areas of climate policy and urban planning – which can thus be specifically addressed politically: Can the contingency of any order be reduced, i.e. concealed or sealed, through the use of materials, and what do such attempts look like in practice? What unexpected irritations can arise from the material and be made productive as a reference to the validity of every order (and not merely to the liveliness or actantial role of the material itself)? These contradictions and questions will be illustrated using empirical case studies from the climate movement and climate science to support an argument that asks: How are contradictions/antagonisms constructed, how are they dismantled, and what role do aspects of discursivity and materiality play in this construction/dismantling?