From Guilt to Shame: Auschwitz to Abu Ghraib

Description

Lecture by Professor Ruth Leys (John Hopkins University).

Professor Ruth Leys is an intellectual hisorian who studies the history and theory of psychoanalysis, psychiatry, and the neurosciences.

In her new work Professor Leys has been exploring the post-World War II vicissitudes of the concept of “survivor guilt” and its recent displacement by notions of shame. Her paper will address the question: Why has the concept of shame now come to dominate analyses not only of trauma but Eve Sedgwick's queer theory, Giorgio Agamben's examination of ethics after Auschwitz, and other projects? What are the stakes of the shift from guilt to shame?”

Followed by drinks and refreshments. All welcome.