Althusserian Interpellations: Intellectual Trajectory and New Avenues

Abstract

This essay proposes an approach to thinking and analyzing identification processes through the application of recent theoretical developments linked to the work of Deleuze and Guattari—specifically the concept of “assemblage”—in conjunction with Althusser’s concept of interpellation. The latter serves as a point of departure as the essay first summarizes Althusser’s argument to highlight the complexity of the original interpellation proposal. The essay then traces the trajectory of the assemblage concept through varying critiques and modifications over the past several decades, above all that advanced by Won Choi. The essay concludes by discussing the idea of “identitarian articulations” as a potential approach for using interpellation to understand processes of identification.