Judith Butler
On Belonging: Rethinking Power, Violence, and Justice
Dates
sat 27 sep 2025 - 20:00
location
Blauwe zaal
price
€ 10 → € 22
duration
1h 30' language
spoken language English, surtitles Dutch
Star philosopher Judith Butler on grief, violence and solidarity
Few contemporary thinkers are as influential as Judith Butler, political philosopher and distinguished professor at the University of California, Berkeley. With Gender Trouble, the best-known of their more than 25 publications, Butler left an indelible mark on feminism and queer theory in 1990. In their most recent book, Who’s Afraid of Gender (2024), Butler exposes far-right leaders’ fear of gender as a diversionary tactic from their true agenda.
DE SINGEL now offers you the unique opportunity to hear this influential voice live. As part of the seasonal theme Longing to Belong, Butler delves into the central idea of their most ‘emotional’ book, Precarious Life (2004). Butler wrote this book after 9/11, ‘in response to the conditions of heightened vulnerability and aggression that followed from those events.’ At the heart of the discussion lies the question of how grief and violence can inspire solidarity and global justice, rather than perpetuating an endless war. Rarely has this work felt so relevant as it does today. During this unmissable evening, Butler will engage in conversation with Sarah Bracke, professor of ‘Sociology of Gender and Sexuality’ at the University of Amsterdam. Together they will ponder how we can reconnect in a divided world that creates divided individuals.
DE SINGEL now offers you the unique opportunity to hear this influential voice live. As part of the seasonal theme Longing to Belong, Butler delves into the central idea of their most ‘emotional’ book, Precarious Life (2004). Butler wrote this book after 9/11, ‘in response to the conditions of heightened vulnerability and aggression that followed from those events.’ At the heart of the discussion lies the question of how grief and violence can inspire solidarity and global justice, rather than perpetuating an endless war. Rarely has this work felt so relevant as it does today. During this unmissable evening, Butler will engage in conversation with Sarah Bracke, professor of ‘Sociology of Gender and Sexuality’ at the University of Amsterdam. Together they will ponder how we can reconnect in a divided world that creates divided individuals.