The Politics of Fear and the Shift to the Right

Location: Hemsley Building B7
Date: Wednesday 1st February 2017 (16:00-18:00)
Contact: King-Ho Leung

The Centre of Theology and Philosophy presents a teach-in with staff and students.

Following recent sessions by History and Philosophy departments, this session offers a chance to discuss and debate the fundamental issues concerning the so-called ‘Shift to the Right’:

• Is there really a ‘Shift to the Right’?
• Is the left/right binary still useful in the light of the emergence of Trump and the Scottish National Party? Do the post-Brexit and post-Trump social divisions constitute a new political and cultural landscape?
• Does the language of ‘the shift to the right’ imply meta-narrative of history? Are we witnessing a return to great power politics as well as ‘grand theory’?
• How does one understand American or indeed Western identity after 2016? What are the similarities between the political atmosphere in America, Britain, Continental Europe and the rest of the world?
• What is ‘post-truth’? Is it simply anti-intellectualism or is it a critical reaction to the modern idealisation of rationality and scientistic ‘experts’ over affects and tradition? Do the upsets in polling predications reveal the limits of social-scientific positivism?
• Does political liberalism inevitably lead to a ‘politics of fear’? Can one ever move beyond a political culture driven by fear and the logic of self-preservation?

However, departing slightly from the format of similar events last year, in addition to ‘experts’ such as John Milbank, Agata Bielik-Robson and Tarah Van De Wiele who have taught and published widely on political theory and ethics, this event will also feature contributions from a number of students from the younger generation.

No registration necessary. For more information, email King-Ho Leung.

View the poster.