Rest, Beloved: Biopower, Narrative, and Healing

• In Event: Logics of Colonialism and Practices of Emancipation

Abstract

There is a need to broaden the scope of philosophical exploration. As a result, in the paper here, I facilitate a conversation between the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison and the political philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre. In her seminal text, Beloved, Morrison establishes a strong theory of rest, that is, where colonial logic is temporarily displaced and the world is forced to rely on another body of knowledge. I argue that, for Morrison, without rest, there is no true sense of collective healing or justice for Black America. We must prioritize rest to write, work, love, and celebrate our victories. However, there is a conundrum — Black people must simultaneously hold in view an urgency to condemn racial injustice and a duty to embrace the possibility of democratic redemption. In the paper, there is a conceptual focus on the following: biopower, narrative, and healing. Ultimately, I conclude that locating a space of respite can be made possible through a constant (re)defining the role of the individual/community in the movement toward racial justice.

Author

• Pyar Seth, Johns Hopkins University