Columbia University's Stathis Gourgouris challenges conventional notions of humanism and democracy in his book Nothing Sacred. Reexamining Aristotle's political animal, he advocates for anticolonial humanism and radical democracy. Gourgouris highlights society's creative capacity and urges rethinking political frameworks for a more equitable world, blending insights from diverse disciplines and historical contexts.
Prof. Stathis Gourgouris (Image source: Columbia University, USA)
New Book - Nothing Sacred: Stathis Gourgouris, a professor of Classics and English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, challenges readers to rethink humanism and democracy in his latest book, Nothing Sacred. This work is a call to action, urging us to reconceptualize these ideas as sources of creative and emancipatory meaning, extending from immediate political spheres to global ways of living.
Gourgouris reexamines Aristotle’s notion of the political animal, placing it within broad historical and geographical contexts. He explores the self-organizing capacities of human societies, developing new frameworks of anticolonial humanism and radical democracy. According to Gourgouris, this reimagined horizon enables us to envision new ways of living that prioritize coexistence and equal sharing over hierarchy, servitude, money, technology, sovereignty, and endless growth.
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In an interview with Columbia News, Gourgouris discussed the motivation behind writing Nothing Sacred, explaining that the current state of the world was not the primary impetus. “It took me 15 years to write Nothing Sacred, so the current state of the world was not the impetus per se. Even though right now things seem particularly aggravated, the state of the world in the last 15 years has not changed significantly. What was dire and life-threatening then remains just as dire and life-threatening now,” he said.
Gourgouris wrote the book to understand and explain the essential role of humanism and democracy in human emancipation from oppressive conditions. He also aimed to challenge the specialization of knowledge, which he believes prevents expert scholars from addressing the broad problems of our world.
Gourgouris draws connections between the poetic and the political, using the ancient Greek meaning of “poetic” as making or creating. He explains that the poetic faculty pertains to society's ability to create and destroy worlds. “The passion with which young people today are demanding that their world be changed is poetic through and through—they just need to invent the politics that will make such change happen,” he said.
When asked about recent books he’s read, Gourgouris recommended Judith Schalansky’s An Inventory of Losses. He described it as an astonishing work that meditates on the core psyche of our catastrophic world with a gentleness that is both disarming and heart-opening.
Looking ahead, Gourgouris plans to delve into works on music, listening, and biographies. He enjoys reading multiple books simultaneously, which he finds purposeful in maintaining focus. Despite his varied interests, he admits a fondness for biographies and books on physics, astrophysics, and cosmology, reflecting his initial studies in physics before turning to literature.
Although Gourgouris is not teaching in the fall due to administrative duties, he recently taught a graduate seminar on Edward Said, a course he finds organically connected to Nothing Sacred. The conference focused entirely on Said’s writings, aiming to engage with his work across various genres and contexts.
For the first time since writing his dissertation in the late 1980s, Gourgouris has no pressing projects on his desk. He is currently focused on writing poetry and music and is contemplating a new book on listening as part of his Guggenheim project. He admits to feeling uncertain about the direction of this new work but finds this state of befuddlement exciting.
Gourgouris reflects on the extraordinary dinner company he has enjoyed throughout his life but chooses to imagine dining with historical figures such as Malcolm X, Rosa Luxemburg, and Sun Ra. Though not traditional academics, he considers them individuals of astonishing learning, vision, wit, and passion.
Nothing Sacred is a profound exploration of humanism and democracy, urging readers to think radically about these concepts and their potential to bring about meaningful change. Through his book, Stathis Gourgouris invites us to imagine new ways of living and to challenge the limitations of conventional knowledge and political frameworks. As we navigate the complexities of our world, Nothing Sacred serves as a beacon of hope and a call to action for those seeking to create a more just and equitable society. For similar articles, check Education Post News.
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