In response to the Artistsic Strategies theme On Ethics of Representation and Strategies of Public Visibility, this course examines how refusal, resistance and “a right to opacity” can be effective methods of negotiating ways of being seen. In Glissant, opacity overcomes the risk of reduction and assimilation by being beyond comprehension, in Derrida the word spectre alludes to a “figure of radical alterity”,  in Isabel Stengers the stutter produces “active divergence” as a mode of critique; and in Legacy Russell's Glitch Feminism, the glitch simply refuses. This course surveys various techniques of dissonance as an active NO and introduces thinkers & theorists of different backgrounds. 

The course looks at various case studies found within the arts, and invites guest artists, performers, writers and curators who address methods of (non)visibility in their work. Other events will further supplement the content of the course, such as the "Whiteness as Property"  Artistic Research Conference on March 25-26, 2022 at Künstlerhaus Vienna.