Episodes

  • „A Precarious Happiness“ – Peter E. Gordon on the Sources of Normativity in Adorno

    „A Precarious Happiness“ – Peter E. Gordon on the Sources of Normativity in Adorno
    Jun 9 2024
    In this episode, Marvin Ester interviews Peter E. Gordon about his new book, 'Precarious Happiness: Adorno and the Sources of Normativity.' Gordon is the Amabel B. James Professor of History and a faculty affiliate in the Departments of Germanic Languages and Literatures, Government, and Philosophy at Harvard University. In 'Precarious Happiness,' Gordon argues that Theodor W. Adorno's social critique—contrary to what is often assumed—is, in all its ruthlessness, still grounded in the however fragile experience of happiness that hints at an unfulfilled potential for human flourishing. Peter E. Gordon, A Precarious Happiness: Adorno and the Sources of Normativity, The University of Chicago Press, 320 pages, 2023. Peter E. Gordon, Prekäres Glück: Adorno und die Quellen der Normativität, 470 pages, Suhrkamp, 2023.
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    1 hr and 13 mins
  • Vergesellschaftung

    Vergesellschaftung
    Mar 6 2024
    Vergesellschaftung erlebt gegenwärtig in der öffentlichen und wissenschaftlichen Debatte ein Revival. Es ist vor allem der Kampagne Deutsche Wohnen und Co enteignen zu verdanken, dass das Konzept heute erneut aufs Tableau gebracht wurde und, auch über den Bereich des Wohnens hinaus, als politische Alternative und Strategie sozialer Veränderung zurück ist. Vergesellschaftung ist nicht zuletzt eine erfolgreiche soziale Bewegung von unten, die mit ihren Kämpfen auf die Krisen der gegenwärtigen Zeit reagiert. Zentralen Lebensbereichen wie dem Wohnen, der Energie, Mobilität, Bildung oder Gesundheit stehen grundlegende Transformationen bevor. Vergesellschaftung beansprucht diese Transformation aktiv und basisdemokratisch zu gestalten: Gemeineigentum und Demokratie sollen als nachhaltige Krisenlösung für lang vernachlässigte Probleme gelten. In dieser Folge diskutieren Justus Henze, Selana Tzschiesche und Jacob Blumenfeld mit Isette Schuhmacher über die Notwendigkeit von Vergesellschaftung, die historischen Ziele und Mechanismen von Vergesellschaftungskämpfen, sowie die Bedingungen gelungener Vergesellschaftungsprozesse und werfen einen besonderen Blick auf Vergesellschaftungsbestrebungen im Energiesektor.
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    1 hr and 1 min
  • Special Issue: New Revolutionary Subjects

    Special Issue: New Revolutionary Subjects
    Sep 2 2023
    A multitude of social and political crises concerning, among others, public health, environmental justice, poverty, border struggles, and the rise of nationalist forces have brought the question of radical change – and its subject – back on the table. Herbert Marcuse, whose birthday was celebrated for the 125th time this July, prominently questioned the role of the proletariat as the sole and determined driving force of social revolutions. Not only did he analyze the fact that the proletariat had failed to fulfill its intended role in the 1930s, but he was also among the first of his peers to recognize a previously underappreciated candidate for the role of “catalyst” of revolutions to come: the groups and social movements formed by and around the socially marginalized. Much has changed since Marcuse’s famous “Essay on Liberation”, and thus the search for revolutionary subjects is, once again, on. In this special issue of “Critical Theory in Context”, we invited some of the most interesting contemporary theorists of revolution and social movements to discuss in Marcuse’s spirit the pressing questions raised by the persisting crises we face today: Who are the collective agents that have both the will and the ability to profoundly transform societies? Does it make sense to think about future revolutions as driven by a definable subject? And can the revolution be predicted? We present the full recording of the public roundtable that took place at Vierte Welt Berlin and was part of our Critical Theory Summer School: Radical Social Change. You can find more information about our annual Summer School on criticaltheoryinberlin.de. Participants of the debate, hosted by Robin Celikates, were Gianfranco Casuso, Alex Demirović, Verónica Gago, Sally Haslanger, Rahel Jaeggi, and Eva von Redecker. With special thanks to Vierte Welt Berlin Amin Wagner (Audio-Recording) Lane Hots (Mixing, Mastering and Audio-Restauration) Josefine Berkholz (Audio-Editing and Postproduction)
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    1 hr and 37 mins
  • On the Relationship between Philosophy and Activism

    On the Relationship between Philosophy and Activism
    Apr 19 2023
    What is the relationship between social theoretical reflection and practical struggles? What contribution can theory make when it is in conversation with social movements? And what are the major challenges that social movements are facing today? In this episode, this year's Benjamin Chair Sally Haslanger speaks about her activist trajectory and understanding of the relationship between philosophy and activism.
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    56 mins
  • Kritik der Polizei

    Kritik der Polizei
    Dec 20 2022
    Durch die Black Lives Matter Proteste, aber auch Nachrichten über rechtsextreme Zellen in der Polizei und die Thematisierung von racial profiling, ist in den letzten Jahren die Kritik der Polizei wieder verstärkt in den Fokus öffentlicher Debatten und linker Praxis gerückt. Wie aber verstehen wir die gesellschaftliche Funktion der Polizei? Wie und wo sollte eine Kritik der Polizei ansetzen? Welche Möglichkeiten gibt es, die Polizei zu demokratisieren? Und welche Alternativen sind möglich, wenn wir die Polizei abschaffen wollten? Rahel Jaeggi im Gespräch mit Christina Clemm, Tobias Singelnstein und Daniel Loick zu Perspektiven und Möglichkeiten einer Kritik der Polizei.
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    1 hr and 15 mins
  • Structural Racism in Practice

    Structural Racism in Practice
    Apr 10 2022
    Talking and thinking about race and racism has once again become a contested terrain of social, political and also symbolic struggles. The concept of structural racism lies at the center of these debates. Anti-racist struggles and social movements as well as a new wave of critical theorizing about race and racism have focused our attention on this concept, emphasizing the structural nature of racism. But there is also a massive public backlash against (largely imaginary constructions of) critical race theory which focuses on this term, attacking its presumably unscientific and ideological character. Where are we in the debates and conceptual struggles about racism today? What is structural racism? What are the practical and theoretical advantages and disadvantages of different concepts of racism? What are the practical and theoretical advantages and disadvantages of different concepts of racism? And how do they allow us to fight racism effectively? These are the question Robin Celikates discusses with Magali Bessone and César Cabezas in this episode.
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    1 hr and 36 mins
  • The nascent anti-war movement in Russia

    The nascent anti-war movement in Russia
    Mar 1 2022
    In this special episode of Critical Theory in Context, Robin Celikates is joined by Greg Yudin, a prominent voice of the Russian anti-war protests. With Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the focus is rightly on what is happening on the ground, in Ukraine, and on the international reaction to the war. At the same time, Russians around the world and in Russia itself have come out to protest against the war and the Putin government. In the conversation, Robin and Greg discuss the reactions of the Russian population to the war in Ukraine, possible fractures within the Russian elite, the prospects for resistance, and the responses of the Western left to this war.
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    43 mins
  • Critical Philosophy of Race

    Critical Philosophy of Race
    Feb 21 2022
    In dieser Folge spricht Robin Celikates mit Kristina Lepold und Marina Martinez Mateo über Anspruch und Zielsetzung des von ihnen herausgegebenen Readers zum Thema „Critical Philosophy of Race.“ Neben einer umfassenden und instruktiven Einleitung der Herausgeberinnen versammelt der Band eine Auswahl einschlägiger Texte dieser noch jungen Disziplin, um sie - zum Teil in deutscher Erstübersetzung – einem deutschsprachigen Publikum zugänglich zu machen. In dem Gespräch geht es unter anderem um die Fragen, welchen Beitrag die Philosophie zur begrifflichen Erfassung des Rassismus leisten kann; welche Schwierigkeiten und Herausforderungen sich für die Übertragung der US-amerikanischen Diskussion und ihrer Kategorien auf den europäischen und den deutschen Kontext ergeben; und welche Implikationen die Critical Philosophy of Race spezifisch für die Kritische Theorie haben kann – und haben sollte
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    1 hr and 11 mins