Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Political Theory

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin | Department of Social Sciences | Political Theory | Events | Politics Lecture Series | Alasia Nuti on "Emancipation and the Unjust Past"

Politics Lecture Series | Alasia Nuti on "Emancipation and the Unjust Past"

The Department of Social Sciences hosts a Politics Lecture Series this semester. The lectures take place every Tuesday from 12 to 1 p.m. in room 002 at the ISW. On November 8th Alasia Nuti from the University of York is going to talk about "Emancipation and the Unjust Past".

Alasia Nuti on her talk:

What is the relationship between unjust history and present revolutionary actions? In this paper, I will build on Walter Benjamin’s insights on history, historical progress and revolution to develop a distinctive approach to historical injustices and our obligations towards them. By engaging with feminist LGBTQ+ activism, I will stress the emancipatory force of the unjust past. In particular, I will argue that a crucial and demanding obligation arising from an unjust past is to continue the historical fight against oppression in the name of those oppressed in the past who are now dead. An account of obligations for historical injustices inspired by Benjamin vindicates the centrality of the dead in our considerations about justice. However, unlike other existing approaches centred on our duties towards the dead, this new account is distinctive in focusing on the interdependence of the unjust past and the present and suggesting that obligations towards the dead can be fully discharged in activist politics. By comparing different types of LGBTQ+ campaigns, I will show how discharging our obligations towards the dead in activist politics is crucial yet challenging.

 

Politics Lecture Series