International Conference: Lost in Perfection
Note on the Conference "Lost in Perfection. Impacts of Optimisation on Culture and Psyche" on Oct. 9th 2015 at the University of Hamburg
Since we have already received a large number of registrations and we want to offer seats and headphones for all the participants (headphones for simultaneous translation of the presentations and contributions in the discussions),
we would like to ask those, who want to participate, but aren't registered yet, to sign up soon and binding.
Contributions to the Conference by: Alain Ehrenberg (Paris), Eva Illouz (Jerusalem), Ada Borkenhagen (Leipzig), Heinz Bude (Kassel), Ève Chiapello (Paris), Hans-Christoph Koller (Hamburg), Benigna Gerisch (Berlin), Vera King (Hamburg), Hartmut Rosa (Jena).
The Conference is free of charge, please sign up via apas"AT"uni-hamburg.de
Also, please let us know, if you want to use the simultaneous translation (Ger-En/En-Ger) and need a headphone for that (Lending fee: 3€).
Kind Regards
Prof. Dr. Vera King
Prof. Dr. Benigna Gerisch
Prof. Dr. Hartmut Rosa
Further information can be found on our Flyer (english, german)
Abstracts for the contributions (english, german)
The permanent struggle for optimization can be seen as one of the most significant cultural principles of contemporary Western societies: The incessant increase of performance and productivity, the constant pursuit of self-improvement and human multitasking are considered necessary in order to keep pace with an accelerated, competitive modernity.
Hence, in different social fields and in everyday life activities, various necessities of optimization and new efforts in terms of perfection emerge creating conflicts and contradictions. Thus, the demand for constant improvement and increase in efficiency does not only have effects on work and education, but also on family life, parent-child-relationships and intimate relation-ships in respect to body and self, in the public as well as in the private realm. In this context, questions regarding psychic effects and costs, contradictions and limits of optimization are to be raised in this international, transdisciplinary conference. Furthermore, the effects of social transformations on individuals, the inter-relation between culture and psyche, including the shifts in regard to the meaning of 'pathology' and 'normality' are of particular interest.
Organized by the research group of the APAS project (Univ. Hamburg, IPU Berlin, FSU Jena):
Prof. Dr. Vera King, Prof. Dr. Benigna Gerisch, Prof. Dr. Hartmut Rosa, Dr. Diana Lindner, Christiane Beerbom, Katarina Busch, Benedikt Salfeld-Nebgen, Julia Schreiber, Niels Uhlendorf
Funded by VW Foundation in association with the initiative » Key Issues for Research and Society«.
Program
9:00 – 9:30
Greeting and Introduction
9:30 – 10:30
Alain Ehrenberg (Paris): »The two meanings of the notion of social pathology: Toward an anthropology of adversity in individualistic societies«
10:30 – 11:00
Coffee break
11:00 – 12:00
Ève Chiapello (Paris): »Optimisation in the context of financialisation«
12:10 – 13:10
Heinz Bude (Kassel): »Fear as the key to the meaning of the whole thing«
13:10 – 14:30
Lunch
14:30 – 15:30
Eva Illouz (Jerusalem): »Intimacy and Self worth as receding points of the horizon«
15:40 – 16:40
Ada Borkenhagen (Leipzig): »Optimized Bodies – fighting death in the context of aesthetic medicine«
16:40 – 17:10
Coffee break
17:10 – 18:10
Vera King, Benigna Gerisch, Hartmut Rosa et al. (Hamburg, Berlin, Jena): » ›There's a lot of progress, but that doesn't mean it's getting better.‹ Contradictions of perfection in the accelerated modernity«
18:15 – 19:10
Panel discussion with A. Borkenhagen, H. Bude, È. Chiapello, A. Ehrenberg, B. Gerisch, E. Illouz, V. King, H.-C. Koller, H. Rosa
19:15 – 19:30
Closing words
Simultaneous translation provided (English-German).
Location:
Auditorium Maximum (Map)
University of Hamburg
Von-Melle-Park 4
DE-20146 Hamburg
Train & S-Bahn station »Hamburg Dammtor«. Bus Station »Grindelhof« (Bus Lines M4 und M5)
Registration:
Attendance is free of charge. Mandatory registration to: apas@uni-hamburg.de
Please let us know, if you want to use the simultaneous translation (Ger-En/En-Ger) and need a headphone for that (Lending fee: 3€).
Places to have lunch
please follow this link
Kontakt und Information:
Julia Schreiber, Niels Uhlendorf
Tel.: +49 40-49838-9544
E-Mail: apas"AT"uni-hamburg.de