In the summer, readers, friends, and colleagues were left mourning the loss of Lauren Berlant, a hugely influential writer and thinker whose work spans philosophy, “affect theory,” cultural studies, sexuality, contemporary politics, history, and literature. There seemed sufficient interest in their work here at the EUI to launch a reading group, to run from October through to December, to allow researchers and post-docs to read and discuss their ideas and work. Participation is open to anyone in the EUI community.
This 8-week reading group will spend 4 meetings on selected chapters from Cruel Optimism (Duke UP, 2011)—about half the book—and the other 4 meetings on other articles and chapters. Participants should get hold of Cruel Optimism and the rest of the readings are available online (apart from the chapter from Queen of America, which Dr. Carver will provide).
Meetings will be at the EUI on Fridays at 13:30–15:00, with first meeting on 15 October. There will be the option for remote presence for anyone unable to attend in person. The venue is dependent on number of participants. The list of readings below is adjustable by agreement at the first meeting.
If you have any questions about the group, please contact [email protected]