In this seminar Associate Professor Justin Clemens (Melbourne University, School of Culture and Communication) explores Alain Badiou's reading of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's social contract. Do stay around for the discussion time after the paper, when among other topics we discuss Rousseau’s universalism as a shelter, the nature of the general will, the relationship between the social contract and an event, and Rousseau, atheism and God.  The seminar took place over Zoom on 20 September 2021, and was hosted by Christopher Watkin (Monash University), as part of the Australian Research Council funded Future Fellowship project "Rewriting the Social Contract: Technology, Ecology, Extremism".  

This seminar is an initiative of the Social Contract Research Network. To find out more about the work of the SCRN, and to subscribe to email updates, please visit https://www.monash.edu/arts/languages-literatures-cultures-linguistics/social-contract-research-network

A video version of the seminar is available over at the SCRN YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq7geWYdmGE3kIcJrw8Ebsw