Jason Barker Explained

Jason Barker
Birth Place:London, England
Occupation:Scholar of philosophy, novelist, film director, screenwriter, producer
Education:
  • Surrey Institute of Art & Design, University College (1995)
  • Cardiff University (PhD, 2003)
Workplaces:Kyung Hee University
Main Interests:Karl Marx, Alain Badiou, Jacques Lacan
Notable Works:

Jason Barker (born 1971) is a British scholar of contemporary French philosophy, a novelist, film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is Honorable Professor at Kyung Hee University in the College of Foreign Language and Literature,[1] where he teaches a masters course on Marxism and Literature with the British philosopher Ray Brassier.[2] He was previously a visiting professor at the European Graduate School,[3] having taught in the Faculty of Media and Communication alongside Alain Badiou, Judith Butler, Jacques Rancière, Avital Ronell, Slavoj Žižek, and others.[4]

Most notable for his translation and introductions to the philosophy of Alain Badiou, Barker draws on an eclectic range of influences including neoplatonism, Lacanian psychoanalysis, and Marxism.[5] Writing in both the English and French languages, Barker has also contributed to debates in post-Marxism.[6]

Early life

Barker was born in London, England.[7] He studied at the Surrey Institute of Art & Design, University College, and graduated with a degree in media studies in 1995.[7] He then studied philosophy at Cardiff University, obtaining a PhD in 2003.[7]

Karl Marx

In an article published in The Guardian in February 2012, Barker criticised the selective interpretation of Karl Marx's writings by economists such as Nouriel Roubini (who declared: "Karl Marx was right") when responding to the global recession. According to Barker, such interpretations water down the revolutionary aspects of Marx's ideas and focus unduly on their reformist tendencies.[8]

Writing in The New York Times on the occasion of the Marx bicentennial anniversary, Barker argued: "The key factor in Marx’s intellectual legacy in our present-day society is not 'philosophy' but 'critique,' or what he described in 1843 as 'the ruthless criticism of all that exists: ruthless both in the sense of not being afraid of the results it arrives at and in the sense of being just as little afraid of conflict with the powers that be'".[9]

Marx Returns

Barker is the author of the novel Marx Returns. The story focuses on the life of Karl Marx and his struggle to write his major work on political economy, Capital. Philosopher Ray Brassier described it as "[c]urious, funny, perplexing, and irreverent".[10] According to Nina Power, reviewing the work in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Marx Returns is "an imaginative, uplifting, and sometimes disturbing alternative history".[11]

Marx Reloaded

Barker is the writer, director and producer of the 2011 partly animated documentary film Marx Reloaded,[12] which considers the relevance of Marx's ideas after the 2008 financial crisis.[13] The film includes interviews with several distinguished philosophers including Michael Hardt, Antonio Negri, Jacques Ranciere, Nina Power, John N. Gray, Alberto Toscano, Peter Sloterdijk and Slavoj Žižek.

The London Evening Standard cited the film alongside the 2012 re-edition of The Communist Manifesto and Owen Jones' best-selling book as evidence of a resurgence of left-wing ideas.[14]

British philosopher Simon Critchley has described Marx Reloaded as "a great introduction to Marx for a new generation"[15] while German political scientist Herfried Münkler has called it "the type of film that Marx himself would have approved of".[3]

Select bibliography

Fiction

Novels

Short stories

Nonfiction

Authored books

Edited collections

Translations

Articles

Filmography

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Jason Barker . 2024-10-15 . Kyung Hee University . en-GB.
  2. Web site: Kyung Hee BALC . 2024-10-15 . Kyung Hee BALC . en.
  3. Web site: Jason Barker - Biography . https://web.archive.org/web/20130414114312/http://www.egs.edu/faculty/jason-barker/biography . 2013-04-14 . The European Graduate School.
  4. Web site: Faculty . 2024-10-15 . The European Graduate School . en-US.
  5. See Barker, "Topography and Structure".
  6. See Barker, "De L'État au Maître: Badiou et le post-marxisme".
  7. Web site: Jason Barker . 2024-10-15 . The European Graduate School . en-US.
  8. News: Barker . Jason . 2012-02-02 . Karl Marx is never going to provide therapy for bankers . 2024-10-15 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
  9. Web site: Barker . Jason . 2018-04-30 . Happy Birthday, Karl Marx. You Were Right! . live . https://archive.today/20190505202141/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/30/opinion/karl-marx-at-200-influence.html . 2019-05-05 . 2024-10-15 . New York Times.
  10. Web site: Marx Returns . https://web.archive.org/web/20180322112456/http://www.zero-books.net/books/marx-returns . 2018-03-22 . Zero Books.
  11. Web site: Power . Nina . 2018-03-16 . Time and Freedom in Jason Barker's "Marx Returns" . 2024-10-15 . Los Angeles Review of Books.
  12. Web site: Marx Reloaded, directed by Jason Barker Film review . 2024-10-15 . Time Out.
  13. Web site: Marx Reloaded Film . https://web.archive.org/web/20110321070328/http://www.marxreloaded.com/film.html . 2011-03-21.
  14. Web site: The Marx effect. The London Evening Standard. 23 April 2012. 8 May 2012.
  15. Web site: Marx Reloaded. Icarus Films. 11 March 2013.
  16. Web site: Barker . Jason . Clemens . Justin . 2023-06-14 . Justine & Jacquie and their adventures on the other side (an excerpt)* . 2024-10-15 . Meanjin . en-AU.
  17. Web site: 맑스 재장전 - 자본주의와 코뮤니즘에 관한 대담 . Marx Reloaded - A Conversation on Capitalism and Communism . 2024-10-15 . aladin . ko.

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