Degree
Master of Arts
Program
Theory and Criticism
Supervisor
Călin-Andrei Mihăilescu
Abstract
Deleuze refers to the apocalyptic both positively, declaring retrospectively that Difference and Repetition was apocalyptic in its purpose, and negatively, sharing the horror expressed in D. H. Lawrence’s Apocalypse. Deleuze scholars, for their part, tend either to find in Deleuze a manner of living resistance that compels a certain apocalyptic appreciation, or to fear in Deleuze the very same and wonder how a philosophy that seems largely purposed for the promotion of disruption could be anything but escapist at best and socially-politically counterproductive at worst. This thesis is a Deleuzian investigation into the concept of apocalypse: how apocalypse can be constituted as a properly philosophical concept from Deleuze’s reading of Lawrence’s reading of the Book of Revelation, how that philosophical concept of apocalypse is transformed into an affirmative concept in Deleuze’s thought, and how, as such, it reveals not only the importance of deterritorialization, but also that of reterritorialization, in the creative orientation towards the actual advocated by Deleuze.
Recommended Citation
Dempsey, Grant, "Deleuze's Apocalypse" (2014). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 2496.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/2496