TICKETS £5 (plus booking fee)
Across the globe, right-wing populist are leading opinion polls and winning elections with the promise to fight for the interests and concerns of the people, which the political elite has supposedly neglected - but who are "the people"? What do they stand for, what are they against, and who gets to decide?
The people populists claim to represent today usually have a particular ethnicity, religion or identity. Populist politics places the people in opposition to those who do not share these characteristics and thus do not deserve the same rights and protections.
But do ordinary citizens actually correspond to the image conjured up by populist politicians? What holds the people together as a political community, and what sparks collective change? How can we imagine and create democratic collectives that defy the populist idea of the people?
This special event collaboration between Brighthink and Sussex University brings together five political philosophers to unpack and challenge the populist idea of “the people”, and to explore how democracy might be reclaimed.
BENOÎT DILLET
Benoît is Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Bath. His work focuses on the politics of technology, how digital technologies condition political agency and how citizens cope with the conditions of climate change.
GULSHAN KHAN
Gulshan is Associate Professor of Political Theory at the University of Nottingham. Her work focuses on ideas of paradox/contradiction, freedom, domination, dependency and populism and she is currently working on a book on identification.
MICHAEL LAZARUS
Michael is Lecturer in Political Theory in the Department of Political Economy at King’s College, London and author of the recent book, Absolute Ethical Life: Aristotle, Hegel and Marx. His work links theories of capitalism, labour and work with moral philosophy and political thought.
Paulina Tambakaki
Paulina is Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Westminster and author of the recent book Grieving Democracy: Navigating the Loss of Affect. She works in contemporary political theory with a particular interest in debates about radical democracy, citizenship.
DAVID VENTURA
David is Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in Philosophy at Newcastle University. His research engages the Black radical thinkers to highlight how the legacy of transatlantic slavery continues to structure lived experiences in today’s world, and explore how might we practically refuse such structuration.
HANNAH RICHTER (CHAIR)
Hannah is Lecturer in Politics at the University of Sussex. She is interested in the link between political subjectivity and right-wing authoritarianism, as well as in how conversations between European and non-Western thought can help us rethink key political concepts like solidarity in the face of climate change.
This event will take place downstairs in The Tusk Room at The Walrus Pub, Brighton. There is a licensed bar, but unfortunately there is no wheelchair access available at this venue.
DOORS OPEN : 19:00
TALK STARTS : 19:30
AUDIENCE Q&A : 21:00