"Sovereignty and the UFO" by Wendt and Duvall

[stephen dedalus]

Those of you who have read all the way through Leslie Kean's UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go On the Record will have read a condensed version of Alexander Wendt and Raymond Duvall's UFO paper from Political Theory. The full version, in which they theoretically contextualize their argument that institutions must infinitely delay or defer the confrontation of the UFO problem to justify the exercise of political power based on the assumption of exclusively anthropocentric subjectivity and sovereignty, is available below:

http://ovnis-usa.com/DIVERS/Wendt_Duvall_PoliticalTheory.pdf

Foucault and Derrida are amongst the theorists they invoke, so those of you with an interest in (or profound distrust of) poststructuralism might find this particularly interesting.

 

[uforadio]

Received the paper back in August 2008 from Brad Sparks when it was still not widely available on the Internet. I have in my archive rare radio interview with both authors. I am happy to share it if anyone will be interested.

Also, one author is working further on the issue (some hints about that in the Leslie's book too). More about it will be probably released by them in the future - project is still in the early stage. Both authors would be a great exclusive if they could be interviewed on the Paracast in the future. Maybe they would speak about that project too.

Best Wishes

 

[Kandinsky]

Received the paper back in August 2008 from Brad Sparks when it was still not widely available on the Internet. I have in my archive rare radio interview with both authors. I am happy to share it if anyone will be interested.
Best Wishes

Hiya uforadio, please link the interviews. I read the paper just last month after Jerry Clark recommended it on a UFO list we both read.

---------- Post added at 07:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:27 PM ----------

Foucault and Derrida are amongst the theorists they invoke, so those of you with an interest in (or profound distrust of) poststructuralism might find this particularly interesting.

Seeing Derrida and Foucault referenced in UFO literature surprised me. Derrida never quite captured my imagination or interest, but Foucault's thoughts were appealing and made sense to me. Back in Uni days, I referenced him in relation to Mayhew's articles on London's working poor. Terry Eagleton too. I wonder if they'd have the same effect on my imagination now?

 

[uforadio]

Hiya uforadio, please link the interviews. I read the paper just last month after Jerry Clark recommended it on a UFO list we both read.

Hi Kandinsky.
It will be done. Stay tuned, will post it on this thread.

 

[stephen dedalus]

Seeing Derrida and Foucault referenced in UFO literature surprised me. Derrida never quite captured my imagination or interest, but Foucault's thoughts were appealing and made sense to me. Back in Uni days, I referenced him in relation to Mayhew's articles on London's working poor. Terry Eagleton too. I wonder if they'd have the same effect on my imagination now?

In my view, Derrida and the UFO serve a similar antisystemic function within their respective systems. Both seem to resist scholarly efforts to collapse them to some easily definable, ultimate truth. They are both Trickster figures who frustrate the continuing function of the systems into which they intrude, in part by refusing the standards and terms that the system imposes upon the elements of which it is normally comprised. Derrida refuses the "physics" of philosophical discourse to inject a ludic element into that discourse just as the UFO seems to playfully operate outside the constraints of the physical laws to which we are currently privy. And as with all Trickster figures, they both have their malevolent or amoral aspects, which manifests in Derrida through his connection to Heidegger, and in the UFO with its apparent disregard for humanity's right to operate free of intrusion from an external agency.

Foucault in his personal / sexual life may have been committed to similar acts of antisystemic resistance, but in his writing he always seems so seduced by the monolithic totality of the institutional gaze and its influence that he ends up functioning as a mouthpiece for the political forces that he railed against in his youth. But in this sense he too embodies contradictions in ways that compromise the critical impulse to reduce something as complex and rich as a person into something as banal and unconvincing as a stance or a position.

Eagleton's unabashed intolerance for the more extreme iterations of postmodern relativism is always a breath of fresh air and common sense, especially in The Illusions of Postmodernism. And his humor is a saving grace even when he's being obtuse, as when he defends religion as a social force for progress in Reason, Faith, and Revolution.

 

[Elendil]

Read the article a couple of months ago thanks to uforadio. Nice stuff, thanks again uforadio! Please link the interview ASAP...

Pozdrav iz rodne grude...

 

[NTS]

I'm reading through the paper now. It's a little more post-modern academic than I usually care for, but more interesting than I thought it would be. Thanks for the link.

 

[stephen dedalus]

I'm reading through the paper now. It's a little more post-modern academic than I usually care for, but more interesting than I thought it would be. Thanks for the link.

You're very welcome. I agree that the prose style exhibits many of the qualities that make much academic writing borderline unreadable, but unfortunately writing in that mode seems to be a prerequisite to being taken seriously by the academic establishment. I wonder if those who demand that the academy take anomalous aerial phenomena more seriously realize that the topic would quickly become the intellectual property of those who consider themselves the intellectual elite, and that the proud new owners of the discourse would transform it into a collection of jargon that few of us could hope to comprehend. There's a price to be paid for mainstream academic credibility, and that price is accessibility.

It's interesting to contrast their prose with that of someone like Rich Dolan, who expresses many similar concepts in language that is much more approachable. For example, Wendt and Duvall's assertion that "The UFO compels decision because it exceeds modern governmentality, but we argue that the decision cannot be made" seems to express a paradox similar (though not identical) to Dolan's go-to response about the prospects for disclosure. This response is almost always something to the effect of disclosure representing a paradoxical situation that cannot happen but must happen, an inevitable impossibility. Both assertions argue that disclosure would be self-delegitimatizing for entrenched structures of state power and hence tantamount to political suicide, but both assertions also argue that the UFO question demands resolution even if state-sanctioned, institutionalized forms of knowledge-production refuse to acknowledge that there is anything to be resolved.

Dolan can engage in discourse on the topic using approachable language because he is under no obligation to adopt the jargon of disciplinary discourse in the academy. But as some critiques of Dolan have shown, the loosening of the academic reins can lead to occasional methodological laxity, as when Dolan fails to cite primary texts in favor of secondary or even tertiary texts. But the price that Wendt and Duvall pay for introducing the issue into a peer-reviewed academic discourse community is the rendering of their ideas into language that excludes many readers from the conversation.

It is my sincere hope that this dichotomy between approachability/laxity and inaccessibility/rigor will eventually be revealed as a false dichotomy. Surely there must be some way to write clearly and accessibly about this topic without giving up academic standards for method and citation.

 

[Ron Collins]

Just started reading this now. I have been putting it off. I will say that this quote is an instant classic.

"The UFO can be “known” only by not asking what it is."

 

[uforadio]

For Kandinsky & Elendil - and others who will find it interesting for their archives.
- I have also to publicly commend Elendil - he is currently working on the university thesis about UFOs -

Ok here is the download link of the interview - uploaded from my big archive:
http://www.adrive.com/public/e5bbaf57829f8a87c183a3cd922751190e01e987440e85d7fa1661d829b3d886.html

Info text about the show:
Station: Wisconsin Public Radio
Broadcast: Friday, November 7, 2008, 09:00 AM
Host: Veronica Rueckert

Promo text of the show:
After nine, Veronica Rueckert and her guests examine the history of U-F-O research, and why it's never achieved legitimate standing.
Guests:
- Raymond D. Duvall, Professor and Chair, Department of Political Science, University of Minnesota.
- Alexander Wendt, Professor of International Security and Political Science, Ohio State University.
- Co-authors of the article "Sovereignty and the UFO"

Best Wishes

 

[Kandinsky]

For Kandinsky & Elendil - and others who will find it interesting for their archives.
- I have also to publicly commend Elendil - he is currently working on the university thesis about UFOs -

Thanks for that uforadio I think your work is outstanding and uncelebrated. I can only imagine how many TBs of data you have in the archives and your efforts to share the most topical files shows generosity of spirit. I'm slowly building a small archive of radio shows and interviews from the past and appreciate it. The Wendy Connors legacy is safe in your hands.

@Elendil. I'm sure you've already read it, but there's a well researched thesis by Diane Hoyt called UFOCritique....http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-05082000-09580026/unrestricted/UFOCRITIQUE.pdf

I'm on the road to a Masters and it's tough remaining motivated. If I had a similar subject, it'd be much easier.

 

[Ron Collins]

Thanks for that uforadio I think your work is outstanding and uncelebrated. I can only imagine how many TBs of data you have in the archives and your efforts to share the most topical files shows generosity of spirit. I'm slowly building a small archive of radio shows and interviews from the past and appreciate it. The Wendy Connors legacy is safe in your hands.

@Elendil. I'm sure you've already read it, but there's a well researched thesis by Diane Hoyt called UFOCritique....http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-05082000-09580026/unrestricted/UFOCRITIQUE.pdf

I'm on the road to a Masters and it's tough remaining motivated. If I had a similar subject, it'd be much easier.

Hey I got a crazy idea, anyone want to put that audio archive online?

 

[Kandinsky]

Hey I got a crazy idea, anyone want to put that audio archive online?

It's up to Giuliano, but some financial incentive would be deserved. Kinda like an iTunes of UFO history? As far as I know, Wendy Connors still has the copyright on the Faded Discs material, but uforadio has exceeded that archive by a hell of a lot...

An idea...

Maybe a Paracast or DMR with his favourite clips from the archives. It could be like a walk through the history from the 40s to the present. Not a lot of people realise that newscasts from the 'Battle of LA,' Roswell and the Arnold sightings exist. Keyhoe, Ruppelt, Contactees and Abductees...they're part of the record. Maybe it's worth asking Giuliano if it sounds an interesting prospect? Believe me, that archive is comprehensive and probably unique in scale.

 

[uforadio]

Thanks Kandinsky for kind words - thanks to Ron too.

About archive - this summer I figured out that I finaly have to to transfer hundreds of DVD's to TB drives and to start to scan some important books.

So first 1,5 Tb drive is full but much more work remains to be done. Archive includes not only audios but countless documentaries, books, articles etc...It took me some time to collect some stuff. I have exchanged some material with few other archivists. We have sent each other DVD's for months from one side of the planet to other. I have recently aquired also big archive of SIGHTINGS TV shows from 90's. Also I have almost all shows of Michael Corbin's Paranet Continuum (some time ago I sent episode to Don when Michael interviewed him).

I will probably need 10 lives to listen, read or watch everything that I have.

Maybe I could in the future upload CATALOG file (for program WHEREITIS) so in this stage other could browse to see what is available.

About FADED DISCS, project is now unfortunately defunct. I have received a word that someone took over archive from Wendy and that person is now in charge of it. Unfortunately I don't know who that person is, but I guess i could ask Erol - he probably knows.

I even have first edition "UFOLOGY-A Primer in Audio 1939-1959" that Wendy later whitdrawn and replaced with those editions:
UFOLOGY-A Primer in Audio 1947-1964-Volume 1
UFOLOGY-A Primer in Audio 1947-1964-Volume 2

Here is one gem only for this forum from Primer 1st edition.

Hynek comments his first-hand testimony on Robertson panel and games behind the scenes in his 1974 interview -
Audio: Download link:
http://www.adrive.com/public/bac99e432a748190d6f335ebd841a69f47b65798e13751fefc84b8a5a08ff8bf.html

But also there are others who collect stuff. Archives for UFO research is probably biggest archive in the world - altough their archive is mostly consisted of books. But they have impressive list - hopefuly all this in the future will be digitalized for future generations. Check their pages here:
http://www.afu.info/

Also, Barry Grenwood have amazingly rare material in his archive too. And there are others. Dolan was also able to acquire all APRO bulletins and he has a lot of rare bulletins, articles and book.

There are known problems with main APRO archive that are present unfortunately for years. Check up this article that describes the problem:

http://www.ufoevidence.org/documents/doc1145.htm

Check up also report from this important workshop - there is all that you need to know about known archives
http://www.project1947.com/shg/proceedings/shgproceed1.pdf

Best Wishes

 

[Kandinsky]

Thanks Kandinsky for kind words - thanks to Ron too.

But also there are others who collect stuff. Archives for UFO research is probably biggest archive in the world - altough their archive is mostly consisted of books. But they have impressive list - hopefuly all this in the future will be digitalized for future generations. Check their pages here:
http://www.afu.info/

Thanks again uforadio. I emailed afu.info early this year with a link to a large archive of UK ufo 'zines. They replied in a positive and friendly way that they already had them in the stores. With hindsight, it was kinda like asking someone on this site if they'd heard of Roswell! If and when you get everything on hard drives, it's not a bad idea to maybe make it available per request and at a fee? It's a resource to be proud of and perhaps serious researchers might be interested in using some of the source material. Take it easy and thanks for the uploads.

 

[uforadio]

I will for sure upload CTF file in the future (it can be open with WHEREITIS software) so it will be easy for others to browse. I am in touch with colleagues and researchers and they do request some stuff from me from time to time. I am always happy to help if it is in my power.

Yes AFU guys are great. It seems that people are sending them many kilos of books all the time. They also have interesting updates. I love some much this report from their pages

<TABLE border=1 cellSpacing=5 borderColor=#ffffff borderColorLight=#ffffff borderColorDark=#ffffff width="101%" height=12><TBODY><TR><TD height=13 vAlign=top width="9%"></TD><TD height=13 vAlign=top width="89%">9.000 books, 130 boxes full, 5 tons! That's the probable figures for the Hilary Evans book collection that Clas and Håkan E will pack in the Evans home in London during the weekend 20-21-22 November and which will then go by Schenkers, on lorry, across the North Sea to us. I have been thinking a lot on how to take care of this HUGE and very important collection which has very few counterparts in the world. We will almost double our library from 13.000 books to 22.000, if everything is kept and that's our immediate intention. The books are concentrated to the subjects UFOs, fortean phenomena, astro-archeology, parapsychology and folklore studies. To make room for this gigantic library it is very likely that we shall have to move parts of our book collection (translations?, parapsychology?) to a separate facility. First we need a new place where this huge material can be received from a lorry and sorted in a proper way before going into library cataloguing. Our present six venues are now crammed so it's just impossible to handle 130 big cardboard boxes. I started a search for a new facility and may have found it - right across from my home. More on this when contract has been signed.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

[Elendil]

@Elendil. I'm sure you've already read it, but there's a well researched thesis by Diane Hoyt called UFOCritique....

Thanks Kandinsky, I read at and used it a lot for the thesis. Hoyt did a great job.

And since we're all getting so snuggly here, let me join in the lauding of Giuliano: your data sharing habits rock, man! Keep it up, great work...

 

[Kandinsky]

Thanks Kandinsky, I read at and used it a lot for the thesis. Hoyt did a great job.

You'll probably enjoy this philosophical paper. It's about the human reaction to encountering 'otherness' in relation to contact with aliens. It's fairly well-considered and leans on some familiar aspects of culture and human history.

http://www.colorado.edu/philosophy/paper_zimmerman_Alien_Otherness.pdf