ALIEN TALK - A Summer School at The Barber Shop 11 – 17 August 2015 Deadline: 21st June In the peak of summer, The Barber Shop invites you to an intensive programme dedicated to science fiction. As postmodernity’s horizon of reflection is replaced by the refracted cyclopic faith in extreme technologisation, only fictions reign as concrete realities. In the haunting era of climate change, the physical world is transformed by the conception of new psychemocracies. Meanwhile the messianic hope for the nation state is dissolved, just as the paternalistic guidance over the human project becomes dystopian. This programme will debate the importance of science fiction as a creative mode of self-reinvention, exploring the overlap between 'pataphysics, techno-utopianism, and performance. Reconsidering the relation between subjects and objects in this scenario, can we see science fiction’s relevance as a reaction to the contemporary political climate of widespread austerity, or does it play other roles? How do humour and atheism intervene in the critique of Artificial Intelligence? Which ontologies will define the cognitive sensoriality of the future? To explore these issues, The Barber Shop invites researchers, writers and artists to lead a series of lectures and group debates over a week period. The programme also includes a sound performance, a film night, purge exercises and a collective audio walk. The sessions will take place daily from 11th to 17th August, as the afternoon heat fades. with presentations by: Gabriel Abrantes Teresa Botelho Francesca Daistoiévski Godofredo Pereira Jorge Martins Rosa João Seixas Von Calhau! Emily Wardill Description of the lectures: ‘Pataphysics in the post media era (or how Jarry was an unknown precursor to Guattari) by Godofredo Pereira This seminar will discuss Alfred Jarry’s ‘pataphysics together with Raymond Roussel’s “procédé”, to argue how they constitute a theory of celibatory machines, thus preceding Guattari’s later development of the notion of abstract machine. In doing so, the presentation will push ‘pataphysics beyond its strict literary and artistic context, framing it instead as a principle to think what a political practice in a post-media era might be. In this sense the use of ‘pataphysics will be differentiated from recent explorations of accelerationism and, more importantly, related to anthropological theories of cannibalism, fetishism, cargo cult and transculturation. Considering the necessity to develop an appropriation of the technosphere as a domain of political singularisation, ‘pataphysics –as the science of abduction or imaginary solutions- will be seen as critical to the re-imagination of constituent political processes. It's All in your Heads: Technologies of Memory as Representations of the Cyborg by Jorge Martins Rosa Although the concept of cyborg, in its critically-oriented form established by Donna Haraway, cannot be isolated from Shannon's Theory of Information, the stereotype of its visual representation – particularly in blockbuster movies -- is still that of a hybrid between human and machine n which the connection or extension is made through the «hard» bodily dimension. In this presentation we will have the opportunity to explore other kinds of connections, purely mental, that arise from the idea of memory as information, i.e., a recollection of data that can be uploaded, downloaded, stored, and retrieved. With a few passing references to the evolution of Science Fiction as a genre, we will however focus on that very same blockbuster cinema in order to deconstruct the stereotype in its own territory. The Universe is God Enough by João Seixas Hard Science Fiction writer Hal Clement once said that his stories didn’t need villains, for the Universe was villain enough. Indeed, from Tom Godwin’s seminal short-story “The Cold Equations” to the modern Gothic Space Operas by Alastair Reynolds or Peter F. Hamilton, the Universe has been inimical to Man’s aspirations, dreams and desires. And, moreover, Science Fiction’s Universe has been, mainly, a godless place. But also a place where Humanity transcends itself, through Science. Science Fiction’s critical stance towards god and religion, and strong defence of scientific thinking, has long anticipated the post-9/11 “new atheism” of thinkers like Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins or the late lamented Christopher Hitchens. The aim of this presentation is to show - with the help of some relevant texts from SF’s canon and the latest developments on Cosmology - how Science Fiction, as the perfect bridge between popular entertainment, scientific knowledge and technical development, can be used to probe the boundaries of our conception of being human in a Universe where god has no more gaps to hide in. Indigenous Potty Humor and Sarcastic AI - The social function of joking relationships from the stateless societies of the Amazon river Basin to the artificial intelligence in sci-fi by Gabriel Abrantes I want to talk about 'Joking Relationships' in stateless indigenous communities of the Amazon. I will discuss a variety of recorded Joking Relationships in various indigenous groups and how this institutionalised form of transgression functions as a conflict diffuser. Following this I want to ask the question of weather we can consider the humorous robots that have populated popular sci-fi, such as the sarcastic AI in 'Interstellar', C3PO in Star Wars, and Ultron in the Avengers II 'Age of Ultron' to have a 'joking relationship' with the human characters. Can we imagine AI to be funny, can they understand humour, can we get a machine to laugh? Dark Windows and Brittle Circumferences by Emily Wardill A visual lecture looking at the images that make us feel afraid by being there and by being indifferent. Focussing on psychological horrors and thrillers to think about what leaves us hanging - how much fear can be encapsulated in an image and how much can be done with thwarted expectations. Transcending the Body: Techno-utopianism in the Twenty-first Century by Teresa Botelho In the nineteenth and early twentieth century the technological imaginary shaped a vast corpus of literary utopian visions of a better world, equating progress with practical achievements brought about by advancing efficiency in production and in communication and transportation systems thought to establish new conditions that would improve humanity’s choices, freeing citizens not only from poverty, hard and repetitive labor, but also from major sources of individual and collective unhappiness. This session will discuss how, in contrast, techno-utopias of the twenty first century shadowed by Singularity Theory, which has been described as the quintessential myth of contemporary techno culture, have significantly shifted attention to the body, proposing trans-human and post-human futures marked by the transcendence of the organic–machine divide. It will focus on literary and visual articulations of these themes that scrutinize the construction of selfhood of both technologically mediated humans and non-human sentient entities. + audio walk by Francesca Daistoiévski It is in the in endless fissures of liminal spaces, where the most recondite weaving among perception, imagination and reality, are hidden. Fiction-no-fiction spoken sound walk for exiting the city. + purge exercise by Von Calhau! Rapid non workshop - Translation of dual vocalizations into electric movements of expansion and contraction translated into acoustic elements of dual vocalizations - Tauto-rombudage. + Parallel events announced by early August. ~ KEYWORDS: Science Fiction, 'Pataphysics, Espionage, Atheism, Humour, Performance, Horror, Techno-utopianism, Artificial Intelligence LOCATION: The Barber Shop (Casa dos Amigos do Minho, Rua do Bemformoso 244, Lisboa.) FEE: 160 Euros. (Includes welcome dinner and shared housing for foreign applicants. Fees may be flexible on a case by case basis.) MATERIAL FOR APPLICATION: portfolio + statement of interest / description of research focus (half page) + CV. All applications should be sent by email to: thebarbershop.lisbon@gmail.com DEADLINE: 21st June Invited applicants will be announced before the end of June by email Biographies of guest speakers: Gabriel Abrantes lives and Works in Lisbon. He studied at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art , at L’Ecole National des Beaux-Arts (Paris) and at Le Fresnoy Studio National des Arts Contemporains. He has directed 18 short films over the past 8 years, often setting his provocative narratives in diverse contexts such as Sri Lanka, Haiti, Angola, Brazil, Argentina, France and Portugal. The films have premiered at festivals such as Locarno Film Festival, La Bienale di Venezia, the Berlinale, Toronto International Film Festival as well as in museums such as MIT List Center in Boston, Palais de Tokyo and MAMVP in Paris, or Serralves in Porto. His films have been awarded a number of prizes such as A History of Mutual Respect (co-directed with Daniel Schmidt) which as awarded the Golden Pardi for best short film at Locarno 2010 or Taprobana which was awarded the EFA short film nomination at the 2014 Berlinale. Teresa Botelho holds a Ph.D, from Cambridge University and is Associate Professor of American Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities of NOVA University of Lisbon. She is a member of the Mapping Dreams: British and American Utopian Thought research project at CETAPS. Her research interests focus on theories of identity and performativity related to artistic and literary American expressions, on utopian and dystopian narratives,, alternate history, science fiction and Afrofuturism. Francesca Daistoiévski is formally a quasi academic interested in the intertwined reality of spatial and social practice with cyberspace. Informally she’s an explorer and a disoriented social agent. Godofredo Pereira is an architect and researcher. He holds a PhD from the Centre for Research Architecture, Goldsmiths University of London and an M.Arch from the Bartlett School of Architecture. He is the coordinator of History and Theory at the M.Arch Urban Design program at the Bartlett, where he also leads the Axiomatic Earth design studio. His research “The Underground Frontier” investigates political and territorial conflicts within the planetary race for underground resources. He is the editor of the book Savage Objects and his essays have been published internationally in Cabinet (US), Open Democracy (UK), Lugar Comum (BR), ArqA (PT) or Oris (CK). Jorge Martins Rosa is an Assistant Professor in the Communication Sciences Department in FCSH-NOVA, where he teaches, among other courses, «Fictional Modes», «Cyberculture», and «Pop Culture». In his PhD, he aimed at establishing connections between the science fiction of Philip K. Dick and the discursive rhetoric of contemporary cyberculture. He was Principal Investigator of the project «Fiction and the Roots of Cyberculture». João Seixas practices law since 1997, and is a published science fiction and horror writer. From 2004, until it ceased publication in 2012, he was the main reviewer for Science Fiction and Horror Literature in Os Meus Livros literary magazine. In 2005 he was a co-founder of the small press Livros de Areia, where he was the editor and publisher of selected authors ranging from Jerzy Kosinski to Jeff VanderMeer and Blanca Riestra to Elise Blackwell. João Seixas worked as a free-lance translator for the two most prominent publishers in Portugal, translating, among others, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Richard Morgan, Nick Sagan, Tim Powers and Dan Simmons. He has published articles and essays on SF, Horror and Fantasy in several publications, ranging from literary magazines Ler and Bang!, to daily newspaper Público as well as in specialized publications such as Paradoxo or Megalon. Von Calhau! Work as a duo since 2006, under the name that conceals all artwork developed in communion by Marta Ângela and João Artur. Von Calhau! works in the interzone meeting of imperative rhythms and choreographed fluxus. Selected editions: Quadrologia Pentacónica (Rafflesia, 2011); NN (Serralves Foundation, 2011); Magnet Bright Shadow Driver (Author Edition, 2013); Abyss Vulture (The Mouse of Europe, 2013); The Court of Urubu ( Circular, 2014). Emily Wardill has had solo exhibitions at The National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen (2012); The Badischer Kunstverein, Karlsruhe (2012); de Appel arts centre, Amsterdam (2012); The Contemporary Art Museum St Louis (2011) and ICA, London (2007–08). She participated in the 54th Venice Biennale (2011) and the 19thSydney Bienalle (2014) and in group exhibitions at Hayward Gallery, London; Witte de With, Rotterdam; MUMOK Vienna; and MOCA, Miami. In 2010, Wardill was the recipient of the Jarman Award and in 2011 The Leverhulme Award. Her work is in international collections from Tate Britain to Mumok, Vienna. She is represented by Carlier Gebauer (Berlin), STANDARD(OSLO) and Altman Siegal (San Francisco). She works part time as a professor at Malmo Art Academy. 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