This magical power was transmitted by a direct contact during the ritual of anointment and manifested itself in a Royal Touch , whose mystique was studied by Marc Bloch. With the gradual bureaucratization of the State and waning of the charisma, the symbolic body as a main locus of power was replaced by an emerging public space, that acquired a symbolic dimension. The Magician was replaced by the Theater, that became the main metaphor for power relations. This shift was reflected in Hobbes s Leviathan with its complicated relations between persona, author and actor. This process provokes a radical critique of social mimicry in Rousseau and makes possible the emergence of a sublime utopian empty space of power that will accommodate the practice of Revolutionary Terror.
Monster is an ultimate embodiment of the body of power at the time of the French Revolution.
The first sessions of the course will focus, therefore, on Aristotle s treatise. Time permitting,the course will conclude with some discussion about the use and validity of genre theory. Tentative reading schedule. Aristotle s Poetics ,tr.