Art is going elsewhere: and politics has to catch it : an interview with Jacques Rancière

The reflections of the French philosopher JacquesRancière shift in between literature, film, pedagogy, historiography, proletarian history and philosophy. He came to prominence when he contributed to Althusser’s 'Lire lecapital' (1965) and, shortly after, published a fervent critique of Althusser - 'La Leçon d’Althusser' (1974). He is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at University of Paris VIII (St. Denis) and continues to teach, as a visiting professor, in a number of universities, including Rutgers, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and Berkeley. A recurrent motif in Rancière’s work is capturing the relation between politics and aesthetics, and their various meanings in different contexts. Much of his work can be characterized as an attempt to rethink and subvert categories, disciplines and discourses. On October 30 2007, a Dutch combined translation of 'Le partage du sensible' and 'L’inconscient esthétique' was presented in Amsterdam. On this occasion Sudeep Dasgupta interviewed Rancière on sensory experience, the play of art, and politics as a form of disturbance.