RSVP: exhibition@shanghai-project.org or here
Who are the new agents of history? Where do they reside? And finally, in which period of history do they settle themselves?
The Shanghai Project Root Researcher Bruno Latour and his team propose to organize a set of workshops called “Reset Modernity! Shanghai Perspective” from 4-7 May 2017. They will concentrate on a set of issues that modernity encounters at a time of deep ecological mutation, emphasizing a comparative perspective between Europe and China. The four-day program will take place at the Shanghai Himalayas Museum, and use documentations assembled specifically for the discussions, which speak to conceptions of science, our understanding of territory and sovereignty, and handling the role of technology.
The discussion will start by first asking the European party (proposed by Bruno Latour and his team) to present how they go about resetting their view of modernity. Then the workshop will allow the Chinese party to “test” the set of European propositions as extensively as possible. It is already obvious that none of the formulations offered by the European party would make much sense within the Chinese context. It is exactly this complex process of translating and negotiating differences that the team wishes to launch. The Chinese participants are encouraged to bring documents, examples, sites, situations, and concepts to light, thus sharing a different view of what constitutes modernity.
The purpose of these workshops is to embrace the process of reassessment to compare how European and Chinese thinkers, artists, intellectuals, activists, and officials can handle new situations. The goal is not to reopen the tired cliché of an East/West comparison, but to use the formidable trial of ecological mutation to compare how two cultures react and furthermore, how they reassess their own trajectories of modernization. Cooperating with two highly complex civilizations that were initially shocked by various forms of modernizations and then, more recently, endured an enormous counter shock as a result of the new climatic regime, offers an ideal situation for productive encounters.
Beginning with Bruno Latour’s keynote on the evening of 4 May 2017, workshops the following 3 days will consist of an introductory session, roundtable, and group discussions.
Please send RSVP to exhibition@shanghai-project.org to participate in the workshops, stating in the body of the email information including name, contact, language, occupation and briefly describe your field of interest and why you are interested in participating in our workshop.
Reset Modernity! Shanghai Perspective Program
Keynote by Bruno Latour, followed by a discussion with Yuk Hui, Benoit Vermander and Xie Jing.
May 4, 19:00 – 20:30
As an opening event of the Reset Modernity! Shanghai Perspective Workshop series, Bruno Latour will present his new research, dealing with ecological mutation. On this occasion, the motivations for the workshops on the following days will be explained, as well as what is to be understood with the notion of a Modernity “Reset.”
Reservation needed, please scan the QR Code or click here for registration
Find out more about the series’ first workshop “Resetting Our Relationship to Science and Technology,” on May 5 here.
The Bruno Latour Root Researcher team includes Martin Guinard-Terrin, Jamie Allen, òbelo (Claude Marzotto & Maia Sambonet), and Donato Ricci in collaboration with special researcher Christophe Leclercq. The space was conceived by Paolo Patelli.
