TheMaterialismofBiologicalEncounters 51
post-Columbian pandemics via early attempts at a biological warfare
againstNativeAmericans,U.S.missionstocleanup"nativefilth"inthe
otherpartsoftheglobeallthewaytotheHIV-AIDScrisisofthe1980s
and90s.Inthesecontextsandatotherhistoricalconjunctures,biological
encounters precipitate not only a humanitarian crisis, they also have
long-lasting and intense material effects: they can devastate
communities,wholeregions,evennations.
While it describes quite well the crisis mode of biological
encounters, the term "encounter" also possesses some extremely useful
theoretical purchase. As announced above, I hope to explore this aspect
bywayoftheAlthusserianconceptofa"materialismoftheencounter."
In his late writings, the French Marxist/structuralist philosopher Louis
Althusser, addressing the vexed problem of Marxian (economic)
determinism,attemptedtodeveloptheoutlinesofamaterialistbutatthe
same time non-teleological argument about causality in the social
manifold. The centerpiece of his project^6 is a concept he describes as
"materialism of the encounter" (Althusser,Philosophy167, 189, 260).
Without going too deep into the details of Althusser's intricate line of
reasoning, it can be said that the key point here lies in separating the
single event from insertion into continuities, the momentary and
contingent from its inclusion inside an extended genealogy or a
determinate structure of which the Hegelian or Marxian models are
possiblythemostelaborateexamples.
their opposition to prohibitive HIV prevention, have argued in favor of
practicing "unprotected" anal sex. Such "bare-backing" is seen to put to the test
the limits of the gay community and its relation with a still heteronormative
society. For more details cf. Russell, John. "Bio-Power and Biohazards: A
Projective System-Reading of Gay Men's Community-Based HIV Prevention."
Culture,Health,andSexuality7.2 (2005): 145-58. Print.—Another practice are
measles parties where parents deliberately want their children to get sick and
then develop an immunity against the illness. For a report on recent cases cf.
Kaplan, Sarah. "California Officials Warn against 'Measles Parties.'"The
WashingtonPost.TheWashingtonPost,10Feb.2015.Web.5Oct.2015.
(^6) For further details cf. Pfeifer, Geoffrey Dennis. "The New Materialism:
Althusser,Badiou,andZizek."Diss.UniversityofSouthFlorida,2012.Scholar
Commons.Web.5Oct.2015.