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Papers by Christian Giguere

Research paper thumbnail of A New Hegemonic Hope: Daemonic Agency in the Techno-Thriller Novels of Daniel Suarez

Excursions Journal

The article reflects on how contemporary science fiction has initiated a paradigmatic shift in th... more The article reflects on how contemporary science fiction has initiated a paradigmatic shift in the conceptualization of hegemonic force. Focussing on the figure of the Daemon depicted in two recent techno-thriller novels – Daemon (2009) et Freedom (2010) by American author Daniel Suarez – I show how the pervasive conceptions surrounding the agency of modern technology that we find in the late writings of Martin Heidegger are confronted in twenty-first century narratives that question the way we conceptualize the hegemonic directing of human consciousness by re-examining the figures of Ancient Greco-Roman thought. In the article, I pay particular attention to how what I call the “daemonic mobility” of human thought that we find in the writings of the Neo-Platonist Apuleius is eliminated by Augustine in his devising (in City of God and his other writings) of a permanent locus of existential consciousness, and how this contributes to Heidegger’s understanding of the essence of technolo...

Research paper thumbnail of World Literature and the Figurative Push to Sublimate Space

[sic] - a journal of literature, culture and literary translation, 2015

This paper examines the influence of Aristotle's theory of place (topos) on the conceptualization... more This paper examines the influence of Aristotle's theory of place (topos) on the conceptualization of cultural universality. Its main focus is in reinvesting the thought of Baruch Spinoza and Henri Bergson surrounding the fossilized spatial boundaries that limit understanding in order to scrutinize both the virtual and figurative processes inherent to the sketching of a universal human plane outside of local custom in certain literary works. This investigation yields a concept of "figurative agency" that is then delineated in the Tao Te Ching and Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in order to demonstrate how the concept might serve as a bridge between the extended space of a national culture and the virtual plane invested by world literature.

Research paper thumbnail of L’allégorie et le problème de la dilatation de la conscience dans «24 heures ou plus» de Gilles Groulx

La communication de Christian Giguère porte sur le film de Gilles Groulx, 24h ou plus. Il s'agit ... more La communication de Christian Giguère porte sur le film de Gilles Groulx, 24h ou plus. Il s'agit d'une tentative de penser le concept de durée chez Bergson tel qu'on le trouve dans le film de Groulx.

Research paper thumbnail of Discuter avec Montaigne de la barbarie contemporaine

Research paper thumbnail of Dialogue et figuration dans les cours d’anglais L2 au cégep

Research paper thumbnail of World Literature and the Figurative Push to Sublimate Space

This paper examines the influence of Aristotle's theory of place ( topos ) on the conceptualizati... more This paper examines the influence of Aristotle's theory of place ( topos ) on the conceptualization of cultural universality. Its main focus is in reinvesting the thought of Baruch Spinoza and Henri

Research paper thumbnail of La figure de la béance dans la théorie fissurée de Lacan

S’il y a malaise dans l’esprit littéraire, c’est qu’il cherche de manière à trouver la névrose, c... more S’il y a malaise dans l’esprit littéraire, c’est qu’il cherche de manière à trouver la névrose, c’est qu’il n’accepte pas d’exister dans la béance castratrice du réel. Et si c’était précisément cette théorie de l’espace béant qui était vecteur d’angoisse ?

Research paper thumbnail of Le démon et le précipité de l’acte réflexif chez Pascal

« J'ose dire qu'il mériterait d'être adoré, s'il avait aussi bien connu son impuissance, puisqu'i... more « J'ose dire qu'il mériterait d'être adoré, s'il avait aussi bien connu son impuissance, puisqu'il fallait être Dieu pour apprendre l'un et l'autre aux hommes. Aussi, comme il était terre et cendre, après avoir si bien compris ce qu'on doit, voici comment il se perd dans la présomption de ce qu'on peut. Il dit que Dieu a donné à l'homme les moyens de s'acquitter de toutes ses obligations ; que ces moyens sont en notre puissance ; qu'il faut chercher la félicité par les choses qui sont en notre pouvoir, puisque Dieu nous les a données à cette fin. (…) Ces principes d'une superbe diabolique le conduisent à d'autres erreurs (…) ».

Research paper thumbnail of A New Hegemonic Hope: Daemonic Agency in the Techno-Thriller Novels of Daniel Suarez

The article reflects on how contemporary science fiction has initiated a paradigmatic shift in th... more The article reflects on how contemporary science fiction has initiated a paradigmatic shift in the conceptualization of hegemonic force. Focussing on the figure of the Daemon depicted in two recent techno-thriller novels – Daemon (2009) et Freedom (2010) by American author Daniel Suarez – I show how the pervasive conceptions surrounding the agency of modern technology that we find in the late writings of Martin Heidegger are confronted in twenty-first century narratives that question the way we conceptualize the hegemonic directing of human consciousness by re-examining the figures of Ancient Greco-Roman thought. In the article, I pay particular attention to how what I call the “daemonic mobility” of human thought that we find in the writings of the Neo-Platonist Apuleius is eliminated by Augustine in his devising (in City of God and his other writings) of a permanent locus of existential consciousness, and how this contributes to Heidegger’s understanding of the essence of technology as the “coming to presence of art”. By re-investing the figure of the daemon and the mobility of human thought, Suarez narratives allow us to renew our understanding of the nature of this poeisis.

Books by Christian Giguere

Research paper thumbnail of Le printemps des traîtres

Les éditions Héliotrope, 2020

Research paper thumbnail of La disparition de Kat Vandale

Research paper thumbnail of A New Hegemonic Hope: Daemonic Agency in the Techno-Thriller Novels of Daniel Suarez

Excursions Journal

The article reflects on how contemporary science fiction has initiated a paradigmatic shift in th... more The article reflects on how contemporary science fiction has initiated a paradigmatic shift in the conceptualization of hegemonic force. Focussing on the figure of the Daemon depicted in two recent techno-thriller novels – Daemon (2009) et Freedom (2010) by American author Daniel Suarez – I show how the pervasive conceptions surrounding the agency of modern technology that we find in the late writings of Martin Heidegger are confronted in twenty-first century narratives that question the way we conceptualize the hegemonic directing of human consciousness by re-examining the figures of Ancient Greco-Roman thought. In the article, I pay particular attention to how what I call the “daemonic mobility” of human thought that we find in the writings of the Neo-Platonist Apuleius is eliminated by Augustine in his devising (in City of God and his other writings) of a permanent locus of existential consciousness, and how this contributes to Heidegger’s understanding of the essence of technolo...

Research paper thumbnail of World Literature and the Figurative Push to Sublimate Space

[sic] - a journal of literature, culture and literary translation, 2015

This paper examines the influence of Aristotle's theory of place (topos) on the conceptualization... more This paper examines the influence of Aristotle's theory of place (topos) on the conceptualization of cultural universality. Its main focus is in reinvesting the thought of Baruch Spinoza and Henri Bergson surrounding the fossilized spatial boundaries that limit understanding in order to scrutinize both the virtual and figurative processes inherent to the sketching of a universal human plane outside of local custom in certain literary works. This investigation yields a concept of "figurative agency" that is then delineated in the Tao Te Ching and Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in order to demonstrate how the concept might serve as a bridge between the extended space of a national culture and the virtual plane invested by world literature.

Research paper thumbnail of L’allégorie et le problème de la dilatation de la conscience dans «24 heures ou plus» de Gilles Groulx

La communication de Christian Giguère porte sur le film de Gilles Groulx, 24h ou plus. Il s'agit ... more La communication de Christian Giguère porte sur le film de Gilles Groulx, 24h ou plus. Il s'agit d'une tentative de penser le concept de durée chez Bergson tel qu'on le trouve dans le film de Groulx.

Research paper thumbnail of Discuter avec Montaigne de la barbarie contemporaine

Research paper thumbnail of Dialogue et figuration dans les cours d’anglais L2 au cégep

Research paper thumbnail of World Literature and the Figurative Push to Sublimate Space

This paper examines the influence of Aristotle's theory of place ( topos ) on the conceptualizati... more This paper examines the influence of Aristotle's theory of place ( topos ) on the conceptualization of cultural universality. Its main focus is in reinvesting the thought of Baruch Spinoza and Henri

Research paper thumbnail of La figure de la béance dans la théorie fissurée de Lacan

S’il y a malaise dans l’esprit littéraire, c’est qu’il cherche de manière à trouver la névrose, c... more S’il y a malaise dans l’esprit littéraire, c’est qu’il cherche de manière à trouver la névrose, c’est qu’il n’accepte pas d’exister dans la béance castratrice du réel. Et si c’était précisément cette théorie de l’espace béant qui était vecteur d’angoisse ?

Research paper thumbnail of Le démon et le précipité de l’acte réflexif chez Pascal

« J'ose dire qu'il mériterait d'être adoré, s'il avait aussi bien connu son impuissance, puisqu'i... more « J'ose dire qu'il mériterait d'être adoré, s'il avait aussi bien connu son impuissance, puisqu'il fallait être Dieu pour apprendre l'un et l'autre aux hommes. Aussi, comme il était terre et cendre, après avoir si bien compris ce qu'on doit, voici comment il se perd dans la présomption de ce qu'on peut. Il dit que Dieu a donné à l'homme les moyens de s'acquitter de toutes ses obligations ; que ces moyens sont en notre puissance ; qu'il faut chercher la félicité par les choses qui sont en notre pouvoir, puisque Dieu nous les a données à cette fin. (…) Ces principes d'une superbe diabolique le conduisent à d'autres erreurs (…) ».

Research paper thumbnail of A New Hegemonic Hope: Daemonic Agency in the Techno-Thriller Novels of Daniel Suarez

The article reflects on how contemporary science fiction has initiated a paradigmatic shift in th... more The article reflects on how contemporary science fiction has initiated a paradigmatic shift in the conceptualization of hegemonic force. Focussing on the figure of the Daemon depicted in two recent techno-thriller novels – Daemon (2009) et Freedom (2010) by American author Daniel Suarez – I show how the pervasive conceptions surrounding the agency of modern technology that we find in the late writings of Martin Heidegger are confronted in twenty-first century narratives that question the way we conceptualize the hegemonic directing of human consciousness by re-examining the figures of Ancient Greco-Roman thought. In the article, I pay particular attention to how what I call the “daemonic mobility” of human thought that we find in the writings of the Neo-Platonist Apuleius is eliminated by Augustine in his devising (in City of God and his other writings) of a permanent locus of existential consciousness, and how this contributes to Heidegger’s understanding of the essence of technology as the “coming to presence of art”. By re-investing the figure of the daemon and the mobility of human thought, Suarez narratives allow us to renew our understanding of the nature of this poeisis.

Research paper thumbnail of Le printemps des traîtres

Les éditions Héliotrope, 2020

Research paper thumbnail of La disparition de Kat Vandale