Cogut Institute for the Humanities

Political Concepts Events

The initiative hosts an annual conference at the Cogut Institute in addition to ad hoc reading groups.

An ongoing project, “Political Concepts: A Critical Lexicon” takes as its goal to serve as a platform for revising, inventing, and experimenting with concepts while exploring the political dimension of their use and dissemination. The project’s participants operate under the assumption that our era urgently needs a revised political lexicon that would help us better understand the world in which we live and act, and that the humanities at large can and should contribute toward such a revision. In the past, some of the participants revised key political concepts while others showed the political work done by terms and common nouns that are not usually considered “political.” Scholars from all disciplines in the humanities and social sciences were invited to re-think and re-articulate concepts they are working with or to construct new ones that seem necessary for their work. Read more.

Upcoming Events

  • Democracy is in decline as a prized global ideal for governance and power-sharing. What are the forces responsible for “undoing the demos”? Does democracy still support the infrastructure capital needs to ease its flows? Is the decline of democracy a response to the catastrophic effects of climate change or a process that accelerates it?

    Democracy — its goals, what gives it its sense and meaning — requires urgent rethinking. It must be reconfigured, when understood as both a system of constraints over power and a form of being-with-others, a call to multitudes of individuals to share the power(s) to which they have been subjected.

    Can democracy still be thought of as a transformative process, a vector of power continuously exercised by the many who live through it — with, alongside, and against each other?

    The 2025 Political Concepts conference will provide a space for reckoning with the decline of democracy and allow participants to recall, affirm, and reimagine its possibilities and promise.

    Free and open to the public. For questions or to request special services, accommodations, or assistance, please contact humanities-institute@brown.edu or (401) 863-6070.


    The event is presented by the Cogut Institute for the Humanities and convened by Timothy Bewes, Ainsley LeSure, Brian Meeks, Adi M. Ophir, and Vazira Zamindar.

    Conference schedule
  • Democracy is in decline as a prized global ideal for governance and power-sharing. What are the forces responsible for “undoing the demos”? Does democracy still support the infrastructure capital needs to ease its flows? Is the decline of democracy a response to the catastrophic effects of climate change or a process that accelerates it?

    Democracy — its goals, what gives it its sense and meaning — requires urgent rethinking. It must be reconfigured, when understood as both a system of constraints over power and a form of being-with-others, a call to multitudes of individuals to share the power(s) to which they have been subjected.

    Can democracy still be thought of as a transformative process, a vector of power continuously exercised by the many who live through it — with, alongside, and against each other?

    The 2025 Political Concepts conference will provide a space for reckoning with the decline of democracy and allow participants to recall, affirm, and reimagine its possibilities and promise.

    Free and open to the public. For questions or to request special services, accommodations, or assistance, please contact humanities-institute@brown.edu or (401) 863-6070.


    The event is presented by the Cogut Institute for the Humanities and convened by Timothy Bewes, Ainsley LeSure, Brian Meeks, Adi M. Ophir, and Vazira Zamindar.

    Conference Schedule

Previous Events

  •  Location: Cogut Institute, Pembroke HallRoom: 305

    This world is on a razor’s edge. Glaciers are melting, seas are warming, and species are disappearing at unprecedented rates. Authoritarianism, racism, book-banning regimes, anti-abortion legislation, and political closures of all kinds are on the rise. Mass violence is taking place in numerous contexts across the globe.

    And yet there are new openings, too. This world is also a place where popular movements, novel initiatives, and advances in science make it possible for us to imagine a carbon neutral future. The global uprisings of 2019, the Black Lives Matter movement, and countless demonstrations in Latin America, Africa, and Asia confirm that social change, though its pursuit may be arduous, is possible.

    What really is this world “we” are called to heal? Who is the “us” whose futures are radically entangled in it? The 2024 edition of the Political Concepts conference brought together a cohort of scholars to reflect on concepts that may be revised, deconstructed, or invented to face this world’s critical challenges.

    Speakers

    • Aliyyah Abdur-Rahman (Brown University)
    • Markus Berger (Rhode Island School of Design)
    • Michael Berman (Brown University)
    • Paula Gaetano-Adi (Rhode Island School of Design)
    • Macarena Gomez-Barris (Brown University)
    • Stathis Gourgouris (Columbia University)
    • Sharon Krause (Brown University)
    • Dilip Menon (University of Witwatersrand)
    • Mohamed Amer Meziane (Brown University)
    • Rebecca Nedostup (Brown University)
    • Thangam Ravindranathan (Brown University)
    • Christopher Roberts (Rhode Island School of Design)
    • Ada Smailbegović (Brown University)
    • Jason Stanley (Yale University)
    • Alexander Weheliye (Brown University)
    • Gary Wilder (City University of New York, Graduate Center)

    The event was presented by the Cogut Institute for the Humanities and convened by Timothy Bewes, Ainsley LeSure, Brian Meeks, Adi Ophir, and Vazira Zamindar.

    Conference Schedule & Speaker Bios
  •  Location: Cogut Institute, Pembroke HallRoom: 305

    This world is on a razor’s edge. Glaciers are melting, seas are warming, and species are disappearing at unprecedented rates. Authoritarianism, racism, book-banning regimes, anti-abortion legislation, and political closures of all kinds are on the rise. Mass violence is taking place in numerous contexts across the globe.

    And yet there are new openings, too. This world is also a place where popular movements, novel initiatives, and advances in science make it possible for us to imagine a carbon neutral future. The global uprisings of 2019, the Black Lives Matter movement, and countless demonstrations in Latin America, Africa, and Asia confirm that social change, though its pursuit may be arduous, is possible.

    What really is this world “we” are called to heal? Who is the “us” whose futures are radically entangled in it? The 2024 edition of the Political Concepts conference brought together a cohort of scholars to reflect on concepts that may be revised, deconstructed, or invented to face this world’s critical challenges.

    Speakers

    • Aliyyah Abdur-Rahman (Brown University)
    • Markus Berger (Rhode Island School of Design)
    • Michael Berman (Brown University)
    • Paula Gaetano-Adi (Rhode Island School of Design)
    • Macarena Gomez-Barris (Brown University)
    • Stathis Gourgouris (Columbia University)
    • Sharon Krause (Brown University)
    • Dilip Menon (University of Witwatersrand)
    • Mohamed Amer Meziane (Brown University)
    • Rebecca Nedostup (Brown University)
    • Thangam Ravindranathan (Brown University)
    • Christopher Roberts (Rhode Island School of Design)
    • Ada Smailbegović (Brown University)
    • Jason Stanley (Yale University)
    • Alexander Weheliye (Brown University)
    • Gary Wilder (City University of New York, Graduate Center)

    The event was presented by the Cogut Institute for the Humanities and convened by Timothy Bewes, Ainsley LeSure, Brian Meeks, Adi Ophir, and Vazira Zamindar.

    Conference Schedule & Speaker Bios
  •  Location: Cogut Institute, Pembroke HallRoom: 305

    If we know anything about the relation between literature and politics, it is that what takes place or is spoken within a literary work cannot guarantee its political effects. What we call “content” may have little or nothing to do with the work’s political significance. “The more the opinions of the author remain hidden,” said revolutionary socialist thinker Friedrich Engels, “the better for the work of art.”

    “Political Concepts: The Literature Edition” featured scholars from a variety of fields exploring concepts drawn from the realm of literature that may be revised, deconstructed, or created anew to shed light on our contemporary political climate.

    The event, hosted by the Cogut Institute for the Humanities, was organized by Tim Bewes, Sharon Krause, and Adi Ophir.

    See conference website for video recordings
  •  Location: Cogut Institute, Pembroke HallRoom: 305

    If we know anything about the relation between literature and politics, it is that what takes place or is spoken within a literary work cannot guarantee its political effects. What we call “content” may have little or nothing to do with the work’s political significance. “The more the opinions of the author remain hidden,” said revolutionary socialist thinker Friedrich Engels, “the better for the work of art.”

    “Political Concepts: The Literature Edition” featured scholars from a variety of fields exploring concepts drawn from the realm of literature that may be revised, deconstructed, or created anew to shed light on our contemporary political climate.

    The event, hosted by the Cogut Institute for the Humanities, was organized by Tim Bewes, Sharon Krause, and Adi Ophir.

    See conference website for video recordings
  • The Political Concepts Initiative operates under the assumption that our era needs a revised political lexicon to help us better understand the world in which we live and act, and that the humanities can and should contribute to such a revision. This is all the more urgent today, given the dramatic and traumatic events of the past two years and their repercussions for all aspects of our lives, from the intimacy of our homes to our shared workplaces, countries, and planet.

    The 2022 conference featured Brown and RISD scholars from a variety of fields working to revise, deconstruct, or create concepts in the effort to uncover or recover their political import. These concepts responded to recent historical experience and were meant to meet the challenges of an ominously uncertain future. What can this period teach us about our society and institutions, “us,” “them,” the planet, the historical present we share, and the future of this sharing?

    The event, hosted by the Cogut Institute for the Humanities, was organized by Tim Bewes, Sharon Krause, and Adi Ophir.

    Sessions

    Session 4

    Juliet Hooker, Political Science • “Loss” (video)
    Yannis Hamilakis, Archaeology and the Ancient World • “Remains” (video)

    Moderator: Rolland Murray, English

    Session 5

    Masako Fidler, Slavic Studies • “Impoverished morphemes” (video)
    Thomas Schestag, German Studies • “Term” (video)

    Moderator: Peter Szendy, Comparative Literature

    Session 6

    Holly Case, History • “Struggle” (video unavailable)
    Leon Hilton, Theatre Arts and Performance Studies • “Destituence” (video)

    Moderator: Tim Bewes, English

    YouTube playlist and abstracts
  • The Political Concepts Initiative operates under the assumption that our era needs a revised political lexicon to help us better understand the world in which we live and act, and that the humanities can and should contribute to such a revision. This is all the more urgent today, given the dramatic and traumatic events of the past two years and their repercussions for all aspects of our lives, from the intimacy of our homes to our shared workplaces, countries, and planet.

    The 2022 conference featured Brown and RISD scholars from a variety of fields working to revise, deconstruct, or create concepts in the effort to uncover or recover their political import. These concepts responded to recent historical experience and were meant to meet the challenges of an ominously uncertain future. What can this period teach us about our society and institutions, “us,” “them,” the planet, the historical present we share, and the future of this sharing?

    The event, hosted by the Cogut Institute for the Humanities, was organized by Tim Bewes, Sharon Krause, and Adi Ophir.

    Sessions

    Session 1

    Zachary Sng, German Studies • “Counting” (video)
    David Frank, Philosophy • “Cooperation” (video)

    Moderator: Amanda Anderson, Cogut Institute

    Session 2

    Lynne Joyrich, Modern Culture and Media • “Unthinkable” (video)
    Vazira Zamindar, History • “Civilian” (video)

    Moderator: Sharon Krause, Political Science

    Session 3

    Jinying Li, Modern Culture and Media • “Wall” (video)
    Avishek Ganguly, Literary Arts and Studies, RISD • “Repair” (video)

    Moderator: Adi Ophir, Cogut Institute

    YouTube playlist and abstracts
  • The Spring 2021 edition of Political Concepts at Brown, which took place from May 20 to May 22, invited the featured graduate speakers and the conference participants more broadly to generate and rethink concepts from the positions of the student. The conference addressed a moment of crisis indicated in the U.S. by the failure to contain the coronavirus pandemic, sustained state violence against Black Americans, and increasingly active White supremacist movements. Proposed as early as April 2020, all the concepts discussed from across the humanities and social sciences link the structural conditions of, as well as the persistence of popular resistance to, this crisis. The conference wagered that graduate students have a distinctive political role as intellectual workers whose avowal of their lack of knowledge drives their will to generate concepts—insisting that the world is not reducible to what already is, but might be otherwise.

    The conference was organized by Brown University graduate students Felicia Denaud (Africana Studies), Jeffrey Feldman (Political Science), Julia Huggins (Modern Culture and Media), Kristen Maye (Africana Studies), Marah Nagelhout (English), Rachel Nusbaum (Political Science), and Nick Pisanelli (English).

    Hosted by the Cogut Institute for the Humanities as part of the Political Concepts Initiative and co-sponsored by Hispanic Studies, Italian Studies, Modern Culture and Media and the Malcolm S. Forbes Center for Culture and Media Studies, Religious Studies, and the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs.

    Image: “Almost Heaven” by Tate Hudson.

    View the conference’s playlist and abstracts
  •  Location: Cogut Institute, Pembroke HallRoom: 305

    The 2019 conference of the Political Concepts Initiative, subtitled “Retouch,” was co-organized by Ariella Aïsha Azoulay (Brown University), Aliyyah Abdur-Rahman (Brown University), Leela Gandhi (Brown University), and Vazira Zamindar (Brown University).

    The conference addressed questions related to structures of imperialism, racial capitalism, and gender violence catalyzed by movements such as Black Lives Matter, the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) protests, food sovereignty, and #MeToo. Speakers engaged with concepts through which these crimes and the indispensability of reparations can be described, explained, and analyzed. The conference explored modalities and initiatives of redress, redistribution, and resurgence through which, once these crimes are acknowledged, different worlds can be reimagined and retouched.

    Session 5

    Moderator: Itohan Osayimwese, Brown University
    Aliyyah Abdur-Rahman, Brown University • Regard (video)
    Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning • Resurgence (video)

    Session 6

    Moderator: Vazira Zamindar, Brown University
    Imani Perry, Princeton University • Mother (video)
    Thangam Ravindranathan, Brown University • Elephant (video)

    Session 7

    Moderator: Ariella Aïsha Azoulay, Brown University
    Ainsley LeSure, Brown University • Equality (video)
    Patricia Ybarra, Brown University • Debt (video)

    Co-sponsored by the Charles K. Colver Lectureships and Publications, Cogut Institute for the Humanities, Humanities Initiative Programming Fund, Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Malcolm S. Forbes Center for Culture and Media Studies, Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women, Departments of Africana Studies, American Studies, Anthropology, Comparative Literature, English, History, History of Art and Architecture, Literary Arts, and Modern Culture and Media.

    YouTube playlist
  •  Location: Cogut Institute, Pembroke HallRoom: 305

    The 2019 conference of the Political Concepts Initiative, subtitled “Retouch,” was co-organized by Ariella Aïsha Azoulay (Brown University), Aliyyah Abdur-Rahman (Brown University), Leela Gandhi (Brown University), and Vazira Zamindar (Brown University).

    The conference addressed questions related to structures of imperialism, racial capitalism, and gender violence catalyzed by movements such as Black Lives Matter, the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) protests, food sovereignty, and #MeToo. Speakers engaged with concepts through which these crimes and the indispensability of reparations can be described, explained, and analyzed. The conference explored modalities and initiatives of redress, redistribution, and resurgence through which, once these crimes are acknowledged, different worlds can be reimagined and retouched.

    Session 1

    Moderator: Patsy Lewis, Brown University
    Jasmine Johnston, University of Pennsylvania  Choreography (video)
    Keisha-Khan Y. Perry, Brown University • Occupation (video)

    Session 2

    Moderator: Paula Gaetano-Adi, Rhode Island School of Design
    Dixa Ramírez D’Oleo, Brown University • Indolence (video)
    Poulomi Saha, University of California, Berkeley • Contingency (video)

    Session 3

    Moderator: Leora Maltz-Leca, Rhode Island School of Design
    Emily Owens, Brown University • Violence (video)
    Ariella Aïsha Azoulay, Brown University • Errata (video)

    Session 4

    Moderator: Naoko Shibusawa, Brown University
    Vazira Zamindar, Brown University • Waiting (video)
    Tina Campt, Brown University • Adjacency (video)

    Co-sponsored by the Charles K. Colver Lectureships and Publications, Cogut Institute for the Humanities, Humanities Initiative Programming Fund, Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Malcolm S. Forbes Center for Culture and Media Studies, Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women, Departments of Africana Studies, American Studies, Anthropology, Comparative Literature, English, History, History of Art and Architecture, Literary Arts, and Modern Culture and Media.

    YouTube playlist
  •  Location: Cogut Institute, Pembroke HallRoom: 305

    The “Science Edition” was co-organized by Timothy Bewes, Leela Gandhi, Adi Ophir, and Lukas Rieppel and brought together scholars with a broad range of disciplinary trainings and affiliations. Speakers presented a single concept, one that needed to be revised, deconstructed, or invented in order to understand, criticize, and, if necessary resist recent changes in the organization of scientific knowledge and academic knowledge more broadly.

    The concepts are tools for a critical explication of the ways in which scientific knowledges have been impacted by, and integrated into, the neoliberal economy and global order, the forces that have eroded liberal democratic regimes and brought about the disintegration of the common, and the struggles for decolonization, democracy and social justice. Presentations questioned, first, the ways these processes, forces, and struggles work through the sciences and transform the inner fabric of scientific research and academic practice, and second, how science itself has been shaped as an arena of political struggle.

    Session 5

    Moderator: Timothy Bewes
    Etienne BensonEnvironment (video)
    Joanna RadinFuture (video)

    Session 6

    Moderator: Leela Gandhi
    Mara MillsImpairment (video)
    Iris MonteroScala Naturae (video)

    Session 7

    Moderator: Lukas Rieppel
    Banu SubramaniamDiaspora/e (video unavailable)
    Suman SethRace (video unavailable)

    Session 8

    Moderator: Jacques Lezra
    Yarden KatzEntrepreneurial Science (video)
    Peter Galison and Noah FeldmanCorporatized Knowledge (video)

    This conference was funded in part by the Herbert H. Goldberger Lectureship, the CV Starr Foundation Lectureship, the Humanities Initiative Programming Fund, and the Program in Science, Technologies, and Society.

    YouTube playlist
  •  Location: Cogut Institute, Pembroke HallRoom: 305

    The “Science Edition” was co-organized by Timothy Bewes, Leela Gandhi, Adi Ophir, and Lukas Rieppel and brought together scholars with a broad range of disciplinary trainings and affiliations. Speakers presented a single concept, one that needed to be revised, deconstructed, or invented in order to understand, criticize, and, if necessary resist recent changes in the organization of scientific knowledge and academic knowledge more broadly.

    The concepts are tools for a critical explication of the ways in which scientific knowledges have been impacted by, and integrated into, the neoliberal economy and global order, the forces that have eroded liberal democratic regimes and brought about the disintegration of the common, and the struggles for decolonization, democracy and social justice. Presentations questioned, first, the ways these processes, forces, and struggles work through the sciences and transform the inner fabric of scientific research and academic practice, and second, how science itself has been shaped as an arena of political struggle.

    Session 1

    Moderator: Adi Ophir
    Stephanie DickDatabase (video)
    Dan HirschmanStylized Facts (video)

    Session 2

    Moderator: Sharon Krause
    Rebecca NedostupPractice/Praxis (video)
    Barbara Herrnstein SmithScientism (video)

    Session 3

    Moderator: Alka Menon
    Alex CsiszarPeer Review (video)
    Kaushik Sunder RajanValue (video)

    Session 4

    Moderator: Etienne Balibar
    Raphael SassowerScientific Progress (video)
    Tamara ChinHomo Geoeconomicus (video)

    The conference was funded in part by the Herbert H. Goldberger Lectureship, the CV Starr Foundation Lectureship, the Humanities Initiative Programming Fund, and the Program in Science, Technologies, and Society.

    YouTube playlist
  •  Location: Cogut Institute, Pembroke HallRoom: 305

    The 2017-18 conference was dedicated to analyzing and contesting the transformation of the American political system under the presidency of Donald Trump.

    Session 5

    Moderator: Rebecca Schneider, Brown University
    Wendy Chun, Brown University • Authenticity
    Sara Guindani, Collège d’études mondiales, Fondation Maison des sciences de l’homme • Transparency

    Video

    Session 6

    Moderator: Timothy Bewes, Brown University
    John Cayley, Brown University • Reading
    Lynne Joyrich, Brown University • Television

    Video

    Session 7

    Moderator: Lingzhen Wang, Brown University
    Nick Mirzoeff, New York University • Love
    Jack Halberstam, Columbia University • Wildness

    Video

    Session 8

    Moderator: Susan Buck-Morss, The Graduate Center/City University of New York
    Claire Brault, Brown University • Uchronia
    Françoise Vergès, Collège d’études mondiales, Fondation Maison des sciences de l’homme • Water

    Video

    YouTube playlist
  •  Location: Cogut Institute, Pembroke HallRoom: 305

    The 2017–18 conference was dedicated to analyzing and contesting the transformation of the American political system under the presidency of Donald Trump.

    Session 1

    Moderator: Amanda Anderson, Brown University
    Joan Scott, Institute of Advanced Studies • Trump
    Zahid R. Chaudhary, Princeton University • Impunity

    Video

    Session 2

    Moderator: Ann Stoler, The New School
    Brian Meeks, Brown University • Hegemony
    Lisa Lowe, Tufts University • Migrant

    Video

    Session 3

    Moderator: Elizabeth Weed (Brown University)
    Akeel Bilgrami, Columbia University • Academic Freedom
    Beshara Doumani, Brown University • Academy

    Video

    Session 4

    Moderator: Leela Gandhi (Brown University)
    Benjamin Parker, Brown University • Disruption
    Anthony Bogues, Brown University • Disobedience

    Video

    YouTube playlist
  •  Location: Cogut Institute, Pembroke HallRoom: 305

    Session 5

    Moderator: Kevin McLaughlin, Brown University
    Judith Butler, University of California/Berkeley • Religion
    Patrice Maniglier, Université Paris Ouest/Nanterre • Materialism
    Monique David-Ménard, Université Paris VII; Institute for Cultural Inquiry • Conversion

    Video

    Session 6

    Moderator: Lukas Rieppel, Brown University
    Ann Stoler, New School for Social Research • Interior Frontier
    Stathis Gourgouris, Columbia University • Border

    Video

    Session 7 

    Moderator: Timothy Bewes, Brown University
    Michel Feher, Zone Books • Investee
    Bernard Harcourt, Columbia University • Contre/Counter

    Video

    Session 8

    Moderator: Bonnie Honig, Brown University
    Peter Osborne, Kingston University • Subject
    Étienne Balibar, Université Paris Ouest/Nanterre; Columbia University • Concept

    Video

    YouTube playlist
  •  Location: Cogut Institute, Pembroke HallRoom: 305

    Session 1 

    Moderator: Amanda Anderson, Brown University
    Jacques Lezra, New York University • Relation
    Ellen Rooney, Brown University • Trope

    Video

    Session 2 

    Moderator: Sharon Krause, Brown University
    Jay Bernstein, New School for Social Research • Rights
    Didier Fassin, Institute for Advanced Study/Princeton • Punishment

    Video

    Session 3 

    Moderator: Suzanne Stewart-Steinberg, Brown University
    Emily Apter, New York University • Equaliberty
    Adi Ophir, Brown University • Political

    Video

    Session 4 

    Moderator: Susan Buck-Morss, City University of New York
    Charles Mills, City University of New York • Race
    Gary Wilder, City University of New York • Solidarity
    Bruce Robbins, Columbia University • Anthropological

    Video

    YouTube playlist
  •  Location: Cogut Institute, Pembroke HallRoom: 305

    Session 5

    Moderator: Tim Bewes, Brown University
    Joanna Howard, Brown University • Possession
    William Keach, Brown University • Property

    Video

    Session 6 

    Moderator: Stephen Bush, Brown University
    Lukas Rieppel, Brown University • Nature
    Anna Bialek, Brown University • Indeterminacy

    Video

    Session 7 

    Moderator: Gerhard Richter, Brown University
    Suzanne Stewart-Steinberg, Brown University • Abiura
    Rebecca Schneider, Brown University • Gesture

    Video

    Session 8 

    Moderator: Thangam Ravindranathan, Brown University
    Ariella Azoulay, Brown University • Sovereignty
    James Kuzner, Brown University • Bondage

    Video

  •  Location: Cogut Institute, Pembroke HallRoom: 305

    Session 1

    Moderator: Amanda Anderson, Brown University
    Sharon Krause, Brown University • Agency
    James Schmidt, Boston University • Publicity

    Video

    Session 2

    Moderator: Nathaniel Berman, Brown University
    Alex Gourevitch, Brown University • Strike
    Thomas A. Lewis, Brown University • Formation

    Video

    Session 3

    Moderator: Bonnie Honig, Brown University
    Joan Cocks, Mount Holyoke College • Disappearance
    Branka Arsic, Columbia University • Desert

    Video

    Session 4

    Moderator: Adi Ophir, Brown University
    Marc Redfield, Brown University • Shibboleth
    Vazira Zamindar, Brown University • Minority

    Video

    YouTube playlist
  •  Location: Cogut Institute, Pembroke HallRoom: 305

    Session 5

    Moderator: Marc Redfield
    Jacques Khalip • Triumph
    Peter Szendy • Katechon

    Video

    Session 6

    Moderator: Ravit Reichman
    Stephen Bush • Ecstasy
    Michael Sawyer • Sacrifice

    Video

    Session 7

    Moderator: Rebecca Schneider
    Timothy Bewes • Free indirect
    Amanda Anderson • Character

    Video

    Session 8

    Moderator: Michael Steinberg
    David Wills • Blood
    Jacques Rancière • Occupation

    Video

    YouTube playlist
  •  Location: Cogut Institute, Pembroke HallRoom: 305

    Session 1

    Moderator: Bonnie Honig
    Elizabeth Weed • Reality
    Thangam Ravindranathan • Missing

    Video

    Session 2

    Moderator: Adi Ophir
    Beshara Doumani • Region
    Lukas Rieppel • Organization

    Video

    Session 3

    Moderator: Lynne Joyrich
    Susan Bernstein • Synaesthesia
    Philip Rosen • Cinematic

    Video

    Session 4

    Moderator: Joan Copjec
    Suzanne Stewart-Steinberg • Reclamation
    Gerhard Richter •Inheritance

    Video

  •  Location: Pembroke Hall, Room 305

    Session 5 

    Elias Muhanna, Brown University • Vernacular
    Jacques Lezra, New York University • Like
    Moderator: Akeel Bilgrami, Columbia University

    Video

    Session 6

    Eduardo Cadava, Princeton University • Trees
    Bonnie Honig, Brown University • Resilience
    Moderator: Barrymore A. Bogues, Brown University

    Video

    Session 7

    Ariella Azoulay, Brown University • Human Rights
    Federico Finchelstein, The New School • Populism
    Moderator: Stathis Gourgouris, Columbia University

    Video

    Session 8

    Roundtable with Jay Bernstein, Akeel Bilgrami, Stathis Gourgouris, Adi Ophir, and Ann Stoler (Chair and Participant)

    Video

    YouTube playlist
  •  Location: Pembroke Hall, Room 305

    Session 1

    Moderator: Michael Steinberg, Brown University
    Étienne Balibar, Columbia University and Université de Paris X • Exploitation
    Andreas Kalyvas, The New School • Statelessness

    Video

    Session 2

    Moderator: Susan Bernstein, Brown University
    Ellen Rooney, Brown University • Reading
    Linda Quiquivix, Brown University • Map

    Video unavailable

    Session 3

    Moderator: Suzanne Stewart-Steinberg, Brown University
    A. Kiarina Kordela
    , Macalester College • Horror
    Nathaniel Berman
    , Brown University • Demonization

    Video

    Session 4

    Moderator: Jay Bernstein, The New School
    Kevin McLaughlin, Brown University • Raison d’État
    Adi Ophir, Brown University • Concept (ii)

    Video

    YouTube playlist