Historical time and Latin American uprising: on suspension as a critical moment

Abstract

Following on some of the ideas proposed by Georges Didi-Huberman in an exhibition at the Jeu de Paume in Paris, this article offers reflections on uprising as a repetitive, sovereign, and collective gesture of a search for freedom. First, we define this idea of the uprising based on a series of recent works by authors such as Judith Butler, Elsa Dorlin, and Jacques Rancière. We will try to think about the relation between revolt, revolution and crisis, emphasizing the temporary characteristics of these terms. Following that, we specifically address the relationship between uprisings and the suspension of historical time that has been clearly proposed by the Italian historian Furio Jesi in Spartakus. This leads us to a review of the same notion of suspension from Walter Benjamin's perspective, while also considering proposals made by Giorgio Agamben and Aby Warburg as fundamental interlocutors. Finally, we will discuss the current state of the concept through the lenses of some recent occurrences in Latin America.