Graham Harman has a followup to my post on Zizek here. He draws an interesting comparison between Zizek and Derrida as speakers. I heard Derrida speak twice – once was a setpiece event in Oxford, which was called ‘A Short History of the Lie’, and the second at a conference at Reading which became the book Arguing With Derrida. The latter was an analytic-philosophers-meet-Derrida event, which I didn’t think worked very well. Derrida himself gave responses to the papers, rather than a talk himself. It was a bit disappointing. But I was really struck by how at the breaks Derrida made a point of walking round the room and talking to as many people as he could – rather than being monopolised or mobbed. He was very nice and disarmingly humble. But the first talk in Oxford was terrific and although he worked in a much more formal way – a written script, very professionally delivered – he did have quite a presence. The very big room was packed. At the end, he said something close to “I have given you a history of the lie. But how do you know I was telling the truth?” And I remember this right and haven’t slightly embellished it, just walked off the stage, followed by the academic procession. No encore.

Other impressive speakers I’ve heard would have to include Judith Butler, who I’ve heard quite a few times and who gave the 25th anniversary Society and Space lecture at the AAG in San Francisco. The AAG initially gave me a room that would hold 80 people. Fortunately I was tipped off about this, and told them to give us the biggest room they had, which they did, and which she filled easily. I was pretty nervous chairing that one. Badiou, Sloterdijk, Ranciere, Balibar were all very interesting, but not quite the same.

It’s also interesting how the speakers I’m impressed with are not necessarily thinkers I’m that interested in. Of course Heidegger died when I was 4, and Foucault when I was 12. Lefebvre was when I was 19, but it was a while later before I became interested in him. I think I’d have been most impressed by Foucault, who from the documentary evidence was a powerful speaker. Heidegger is said to have been a great teacher.