Professor Ruth Leys, Johns Hopkins University

Title: "Violence, affect, and the post-traumatic subject"

Abstract: The talk will offer an assessment of the latest twists in affect theory. Among the questions to be posed are: If the 20th century was the Freudian century, the century of libido, will the 21st century-- as has been suggested-- be the century of the 'post-traumatic' subject, whose affective indifference and profound disengagement with the world mark him or her as a victim of brain damage? Will political, economic, and natural violence now take the form of a meaningless traumatic shock to the 'emotional brain' thereby depriving victims of all affect and meaning?  What are the stakes and implications of such claims?"

Dr. Linsey McGoey, University of Essex

Dr. McGoey’s research is focused on three broad areas. First, the sociology of ignorance and the usefulness of strategic unknowns in asserting expertise, evading liability and consolidating authority in daily and organizational life. Second, the politics of “philanthrocapitalism,” and a study of how new philanthropic players such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are reshaping the fields of global health and education delivery in US and global contexts, often with unintended or unspoken consequences. Finally, a third, nascent project is focused on the politics of abundance, exploring how a range of theorists, from Sen to Bataille, have reconfigured notions of scarcity, excess and surplus wealth.