Date: October 26 – 27
Location: Kassel, Germany
Join a two-day, multi-genre symposium, exploring the post-liberal state of the world through theory, games and other creative practices. The Symposium will take place on October 26 and 27 in Kassel. While the first day is open to the public, the workshop on the second day requires an application. Information about the symposium and how to apply for the workshop can be found here.
Neoliberal globalization is in tatters: deregulation, trade liberalization, and promoting unfettered markets are no longer seen as the only “rational” economic activities. Instead, various other strategies have re-emerged, such as industrialization, friendshoring and state intervention into ostensibly free markets and international trade policies. The symposium Experimental Publics aims to address this critical moment by transitioning from theoretical discussions concerned with the crisis of our present social order to postconceptual collective experimentalism. Grounded in a pluralist understanding of practical reasoning, its ambition is to develop a cooperative, dialogical and practice-based approach that is sensitive to a multiperspectivist view on the state of the world and the need to situate knowledge production while rearticulating the role of art.
The first day of the symposium is public and will feature contributions from Zhao Dingxin, Jacob Dreyer, Mi You, Heinz Bude, Shawn Chua, Danilo Scholz, Joost Vervoort, and others. The opening session will explore the shortcomings of contemporary liberalism, particularly addressing issues of post-globalization, multipolarity, the evolving role of the state, and the influence of value pluralism in political reasoning. The second session will focus on the role of games and other experimental tools for socio-political change. Throughout the symposium, the artist Cem A., in an adaptation of his Crit Club series, will invite participants to engage in alternative modes of debate through Ping Pong. The first day will conclude with a lecture performance & concert by Terzij de Horde.
On the second day, an experimental workshop led by Pekko Koskinen will invite the participants to deepen their engagement with the issues raised during the talks and discussions from the first day, using the game mechanisms. In this way, we aim to further illuminate the contradictions of our present time and explore possible pathways for alternative futures.
We are seeking workshop participants from diverse fields, including the arts, political science, sociology, economics, and game design. To apply, please send a brief introduction of your practice and explain why you wish to participate in the workshop to andreas.niegl@uni-kassel.de. The deadline for submission is October 7, 2024. Small stipends are available to cover travel and accommodation.