Miscellaneous scientific news/publications

When Jeff Nichols released his feature film Take Shelter in 2011, the effects of the 2007/2008 financial crisis were still very much palpable in US-society. At the same time, effects of climate catastrophe started to increasingly impact everyday life. The film follows Curtis LaForche, a young working-class father in rural Ohio, who experiences a number of disquieting visions that point towards the coming of a storm of unseen dimensions.

Hannes Becker argues that the visual representation and fictional logic of Curtis LaFoche’s struggle resonate with the powerful, century-old narrative of Self Reliance (and other forms of what Lauren Berlant termed Cruel Optimism) as a specific form of socially advised risk-taking in US-culture and history. Drawing from Niklas Luhmann’s differentiation between risk and danger, Becker interprets Curtis LaForche’s defective course of action as an example of Self Reliance gone awry, where those devoid of real decision-making power or communal support end up being burdened with responsibilities beyond their reach, or grasp.

HANNES BECKER is a German and American studies scholar. He studied modern German literature, literary writing, American studies and history in Berlin and Leipzig. Together with Benjamin Bühler, Sandra Pravica and Stefan Willer, he edited the anthology Zukunftssicherung: Kulturwissenschaftliche Perspektiven published by transcript in 2019. He also writes theatre and radio plays as well as short stories, and works as a translator of plays and poems.

PARTICIPATION ON SITE
To participate on site, please register with Marion Fiekens (marion.fiekens@kwi-nrw.de) by 24 April 2024.

PARTICIPATION ON ZOOM
To participate via Zoom, use the link on the KWI homepage.

ORGANISATION
The keynote is organized by the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities Essen (KWI).

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Wissenschaftlicher Ansprechpartner:
Jakob Schnetz, KWI

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Weitere Informationen:
https://www.kulturwissenschaften.de/veranstaltung/keynote-becker-24/ - Link on KWI Homepage
https://uni-due.zoom-x.de/j/61857471085?pwd=a2V5N0lDRXB4NG1ETWZCaDJPaEp1Zz09 - ZOOM-Link for participation