Critical Theory in Berlin

New Podcast Episode: In part 1 of this two-part series on planning, Jacob Blumenfeld speaks with political economist and philosopher John O’Neill about the socialist calculation debate and its legacy.
Listen to it here or on your usual podcast app: https://criticaltheoryinberlin.de/podcast/podcast-15-1-the-grounds-of-planning-i-john-oneill-on-the-socialist-calculation-debate/

Save the Date: On March 10th, Quinn Slobodian & Ben Tarnoff will join us to present their new book on "Muskism", to discuss not just who Elon Musk is as a person but what he represents as an avatar of a technocratic ideology: a playbook for our postliberal age.
More info: https://criticaltheoryinberlin.de/event/muskismus-buchpraesentation-mit-quinn-slobodian-und-ben-tarnoff/

Save the Date - Our socialization project has invited Matteo Pasquinelli, Anna-Verena Nosthoff, Roland Meyer & Rainer Mühlhoff to discuss critical perspectives on AI on Monday, February 16th.
More information: https://criticaltheoryinberlin.de/event/critique-of-ai/

On Wednesday next week, Søren Mau will join us to talk about his book "Mute Compulsion" - a novel theory of the forms of abstract and impersonal power set in motion by the subjection of social life to the profit imperative.
More info: https://criticaltheoryinberlin.de/event/mute-compulsion/

Podcast Relaunch - We are relaunching our podcast Critical Theory In Context with regular episodes, alternating in German & English, with our new regular hosts @sabinenuss@mastodon.social & Jacob Blumenfeld.

Unsere neue Episode über das Jahresthema des Centres:
https://criticaltheoryinberlin.de/en/podcast/podcast-14-ueber-die-krise-des-rationalen-das-aktuelle-jahresthema-des-centres-for-social-critique/

RE: @criticaltheoryinberlin@sciences.social

Morgen Abend im Lichthof Ost (Hauptgebäude der HU Berlin):

NEW DATES - Our Benjamin Chair Dipesh Chakrabarty will hold this year's Benjamin Lectures on Tuesday June 23, Wednesday June 24 & Thursday June 25 at HKW. More information on what he will talk to us about can now be found on our website in EN and DE: https://criticaltheoryinberlin.de/en/benjamin_lectures/a-second-decline-of-the-west/

Save the Date: Am 30.1. diskutieren Christoph Menke, Katja Diefenbach, Helmut Draxler & Rahel Jaeggi über Krieg & den liberalen Diskurs darüber. Warum erscheint Krieg in diesem als Ausnahmezustand, nicht als instituierte Form von Herrschaft?
Mehr Infos: https://criticaltheoryinberlin.de/event/krieg-der-institution-oder-institution-des-krieges/

Our project 'Socialization in Theory and Practice: Democratizing Access to Land and Energy' now has its own website, including upcoming events, publications and resources on socialization and information about the project:
https://socializationproject.de/

Save the Date: Zu unserer ersten Veranstaltung im neuen Jahr werden Rahel Jaeggi und Thomas Seibert mit Daniel Loick über sein Buch "Die Überlegenheit der Unterlegenen", Gegengemeinschaften, und die Frage des revolutionären Subjektes sprechen.
Mehr Infos: https://criticaltheoryinberlin.de/event/krise-und-kollektive-handlungsfaehigkeit-ein-gespraech-zur-politik-von-gegengemeinschaften/

We support the community of the New School for Social Research in their demands to stop the financial restructuring and austerity measures that are planned in response to recent budget challenges.
The letter can be read and signed here: https://www.e-flux.com/notes/6783432/open-letter-on-the-new-school-s-restructuring-plans

The CfA for our next summer school is now online on our website. Our Benjamin Chair Dipesh Chakrabarty, Lillian Cicerchia, Maeve Cooke & Massimiliano Tomba will join us to discuss concepts of history and human agency.
More information and application form: https://criticaltheoryinberlin.de/summer_school/international-summer-school-in-critical-theory-2026-forces-of-history/

Save the Date: In a two-day workshop on December 4th & 5th we will bring together scholars working at the intersection of philosophy, political economy, and critical theory to reflect on the contested rationality of economic planning.
More information: https://criticaltheoryinberlin.de/event/the-grounds-of-planning-rationality-pseudorationality-and-critique/

We are excited to officially announce Dipesh Chakrabarty as our next Benjamin Chair in 2026. Chakrabarty, leading scholar of postcolonial theory and subaltern studies, will join us as Benjamin Chair in Berlin next summer.

Save the Date - More information coming soon on our website!

Save the Date: On Oct 30-31, our research project Socialization in Theory and Praxis will bring together a range of social, legal and historical scholars to analyze the question of land ownership and socialization.
Full programme now online on our website:
https://criticaltheoryinberlin.de/event/the-land-question-die-bodenfrage/

Registration now open for our mini-workshop on "Democratizing Finance" with Michael A. McCarthy (UC Santa Cruz), author of "The Master’s Tools: How Finance Wrecked Democracy (And a Radical Plan to Rebuild It)". https://criticaltheoryinberlin.de/event/democratizing-finance-a-mini-workshop-with-michael-a-mccarthy/

To wrap up the Benjamin Lectures that Tommie Shelby held this semester, we have published two texts reporting on the three evenings - in English (by Mara Cayarga & Marvin Ester) & in German (by Hanna Hoffman-Richter).
Go to Report/Veranstaltungsbericht here: https://criticaltheoryinberlin.de/en/benjamin_lectures/political-ethics-of-the-oppressed-on-freedom-solidarity-and-self-respect/