Lecture: ‘Hopeful Monsters: the Queer Undecidability of David Bowie’

by Professor Alex Sharpe (University of Warwick)

Room LG140, Hallward Library, University Park Campus, Nottingham

The idea of the monster, as well as at least one of its offspring – the abnormal individual - has tracked sexual and gender difference. It is an idea born of anxiety concerning physical and/or psychological otherness. This lecture will, drawing on George Canguilhem and Michel Foucault, explain how monsters appear in the world and why they fade away. It will then, drawing on Jacques Derrida, explain why we should embrace monsters. David Bowie will serve as a conduit, a lightening rod, to drive home the importance of the idea of the monster evident in the work of these three French philosophers. Thus, the lecture will be about three things: monsters, hope and David Bowie. Monsters: because the monster is the legal and social outsider par excellence. Hope: because monsters are quintessentially hopeful, they guarantee us a future. Bowie: because he is the hopeful monster writ large, a mama papa coming for you. Through Bowie, the lecture will journey through the territory of gender and sexuality and consider distinctions the monster brings to crisis.

Each lecture will draw on Bowie, one of the most significant artists of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Bowie will function as a conduit, a lightening rod, serving to bring the ideas to life. The lectures promise to be an audio-visual feast, accompanied by Bowie text, images, and music from his back catalogue. Each will be approximately 45 minutes duration and will be followed by a Q&A with Alex. For more information on Alex see: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/law/people/alex_sharpe/

Alex is a Professor of Law at the University of Warwick. Her research interests lie in the areas of social and legal theory; legal history; criminal justice; gender and sexuality; and law and popular culture. She has presented public lectures on ideas and David Bowie at cinemas, theatres and festivals in the UK, Australia and the USA (2016-2024). These include the Dublin David Bowie Festival (2020 and 2021). She has also participated in panel discussions on the importance of Bowie with, among others, Woody Woodmansey, the legendary drummer in Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (Dublin David Bowie Festival 2020; David Bowie Convention Liverpool 2022). She is the author of several books, including, and most recently, David Bowie Outlaw: essays on difference, authenticity, ethics, art & love (London: Routledge, 2022) https://www.routledge.com/David-Bowie-Outlaw-Essays-on-Difference-Authenticity-Ethics-Art--Love/Sharpe/p/book/9780367691066

This event is hosted by the Law & Social Justice Research Group (https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/social-justice-and-the-law/index.aspx)

in collaboration with the Centre for Mental Health and Human Rights (https://institutemh.org.uk/research/centre-for-mental-health-and-human-rights/who-collaborating-centre#:~:text=The%20Centre%20for%20Mental%20Health,Health%2C%20Disability%20and%20Human%20Rights.).