P a u l o f T a r s u s

Int erd isciplinary W orking G roup

~ Calendar of Events 2011 ~

S a m u e l W e b e r :
Worksh op o n Badio u’s Sain t Pa ul: The
Founda tion of Un iversalis m
Friday,  February  25,  2011  —  11:00  am  to  1:00  pm    
Gender  Studies  Seminar  Room,  Kresge  2-­‐359  
 
In  this  inaugural  event  of  the  Paul  of  Tarsus  Interdisciplinary  Working  Group,  2011,  
Samuel  Weber  (Northwestern  University,  German)  will  lead  a  workshop  on  
"singularity"  and  the  "event"  as  presented  in  Alain  Badiou's  "Saint  Paul:  The  
Foundation  of  Universalism."  Professor  Weber  will  address  the  issues  of  singularity  
and  event  with  special  focus  on  Chapter  6,  “The  Antidialectics  of  Death  and  of  
Resurrection.”    
 
A d a m K o t s k o :
Aga mb en, Pa ul & th e Oat h
Monday,  April  25,  2011  —  5:00  to  7:00  pm  
German  Seminar  Room,  Kresge  2-­‐500  
 
Adam  Kotsko  (Religion,  Kalamazoo  College;  Liberal  Arts,  Shimer  College),  
translator  of  Giorgio  Agamben's  most  recent  installment  of  Homo  Sacer  II.3,  The  
Sacrament  of  Language:  An  Archaeology  of  the  Oath,  will  discuss  Agamben's  new  
engagement  with  Paul  in  this  text.      
 
B i l l M a r t i n :
On Sain t Pa ul Among th e Ph ilosophers
Tuesday,  May  10,  2011  —  5:00  to  7:00  pm  
German  Seminar  Room,  Kresge  2-­‐500  
 
Bill  Martin  (Philosophy,  Depaul  University)  will  be  discussing  Badiou’s  and  
Boyarin’s  engagements  with  Paul,  with  reference  to  the  recently  published  volume,  
Saint  Paul  Among  the  Philosophers  (ed.  John  D.  Caputo  and  Linda  Alcoff,  2009).    
 

Co-sponsored by Northwestern University’s Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities,

Program in Critical Theory, Department of Philosophy, and the Program in Comparative
Literary Studies.
 Paul of Tarsus Interdisciplinary Working Group 2011

J u a n O b a r r i o:
Aba nd o ned La w
Wednesday,  May  18,  2011  —  5:00  to  7:00  pm  
French  Seminar  Room,  Kresge  2-­‐420  
 
Juan  Obarrio  (Anthropology,  Johns  Hopkins  University)  works  in  the  field  of  
African  law  and  justice,  which  is  located  at  the  intersection  of  political  economy,  
biopolitics,  and  political  theology.  “Abandoned  Law,”  an  exploration  of  the  
quotidian  entanglement  of  norm,  law  and  the  political  under  the  African  
postcolonial  condition,  engages  with  post-­‐foundational  politics  and  the  conception  
of  the  withdrawal  of  being  as  the  context  for  exploring  questions  of  gift,  sacrifice  
and  exception.  
 
D a v i d N o w e l l S m i t h : Pa uline
Ph eno menology in th e Wor k s of Mart in Heid egg er  
Monday,  May  23,  2011  –  6:30  to  8:30  pm  
German  Seminar  Room,  Kresge  2-­‐500  
 
David  Nowell  Smith  (English  Literature,  University  of  Paris)  will  investigate  the  
importance  of  Heidegger’s  early  exegesis  of  Paul’s  Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians  in  
The  Phenomenology  of  Religious  Life  and  its  importance  and  influence  with  regard  
to  basic  concepts  in  Being  and  Time.  
 
T h e o d o r e W . J e n n i n g s : Th e
Plato nic I nvent io n of th e Closet, A Pa nel
Discussio n o n Pla to or Pa ul? The O rig ins of
Wes tern Homoph obia
Saturday,  May  28,  2011  –  10:00  to  11:30  am  
Northwestern  University  School  of  Law  
 
The  Paul  of  Tarsus  Interdisciplinary  Working  Group  is  pleased  to  co-­‐sponsor  a  
panel  discussion  of  Ted  Jennings’  (The  Chicago  Theological  Seminary)  recent  
book,  Plato  or  Paul?  The  Origins  of  Western  Homophobia  (Pilgrim  2009),  at  the  
upcoming  conference  Queertopia!  4.0:  Queer(ing)  Poetics—Text,  Method,  
Movement,  Thought  (May  27-­‐29).  The  panel  discussion  will  include  a  response  
from  Professor  Jennings.    
 
Copies  of  relevant  texts  will  be  provided  in  advance  of  each  meeting.  Please  
contact  the  co-­‐organizers  for  more  information  (Julia  Ng  [j-­‐ng@northwestern.edu]  
and  Virgil  Brower  [virgil@u.northwestern.edu]).    

Co-­‐sponsored   by  Northwestern  University’s  Alice  Kaplan   Institute  for  the  Humanities,  

Program  in  Critical  Theory,  Department  of  Philosophy,  and  the  Program   in  Comparative  
Literary   Studies.