Renowned Philosopher Judith Butler to Speak on the World in Crisis
Prominent American philosopher Dr. Judith Butler will be the featured speaker at the 39th annual Simon Silverman Phenomenology Center symposium at Duquesne.
The free event, What Makes for a Livable life, an Inhabitable World? A Phenomenology Symposium with Prof. Judith Butler, will be held virtually Friday, March 12, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Butler, who is recognized as one of the most prolific modern philosophers and social theorists, has recently focused their work on political theory, non-violence and vulnerability.
“It is a privilege and honor for the Simon Silverman Phenomenology Center to welcome Judith Butler to campus virtually as our speaker for the center’s 39th Annual Symposium,” Dr. Jeffrey McCurry, director of the center, said. “Professor Butler is one of the most important living American philosophers. It will be a gift to listen to their philosophical reflections on life in the contemporary world amidst its many crises.”
The symposium will feature two separate lectures from Butler:
- What is an Inhabitable World?: Scheler and the Tragic, at 11 a.m.
- Touching, Breathing: Merleau-Ponty for the Pandemic, at 2 p.m.
Each lecture will focus on the world in crisis—environmentally, politically and socially—and what it means to live in a seemingly inhabitable world. A question-and-answer session for both lectures will be held at 4 p.m.
“It is my honor to speak for the Department of Philosophy at Duquesne, which has been one of the most important historical centers for teaching and research in the field of phenomenology,” Butler said. “A recent resurgence in phenomenology reminds us of its timeliness as so many aspects of our world are laid bare for a new consideration: the concept of world, the condition of interconnectedness and the question of how to think about our ethical obligations to one another under pandemic.”
Butler, who earned a Ph.D. from Yale University, has taught at George Washington University and Johns Hopkins University. Currently serving as the Maxine Elliot Professor in the Department of Comparative Literature and the Program of Critical Theory at the University of California at Berkeley, Butler also is the Hannah Arendt Chair at the European Graduate School. Butler’s 1990 book Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity is considered one of the most talked-about scholarly works of the past 50 years.
In addition to being awarded four honorary doctorates, Butler received the Theodor W. Adorno Prize from the city of Frankfurt, Germany, and was recently named a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Register for What Makes for a Livable life, an Inhabitable World? A Phenomenology Symposium with Prof. Judith Butler on Gumberg Library’s event page. Email phenomenology@duq.edu with questions.