In recent years we have witnessed a renewed interest in the oeuvre of Simone de Beauvoir (1908-19... more In recent years we have witnessed a renewed interest in the oeuvre of Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986). In the wake of a new English translation of The Second Sex and the publication of critical editions of her diaries and essays, De Beauvoir scholarship has focused on her literary and philosophical achievements. Yet, it has remained somewhat understudied how her political commitments have shaped her writing as well as her public interventions: existentialism, Marxism, anti-colonialism and, finally feminism. This conference, starting from Beauvoir’s social and political engagement, asks to what extent De Beauvoir provides important tools for diagnosing the present and offering a prognosis for the future. Her life and work are approached as a toolkit (Foucault), offering both a conceptual apparatus as well as practical examples of acts of solidarity and resistance.
In this endeavour, when the call for racial justice grows in global prominence because of the world-wide Black Lives Matter movement, it’s time to reflect on Beauvoir’s critical observations of anti-black racism in post-war U.S.A. (L’Amérique au jour le jour (1948)) and her public engagement with and in Algeria’s struggle for independence (“Préface”, Djamila Boupacha (1962)). Furthermore, living in a time of a pandemic crisis that brings out already existing inequalities, we might be struck by the timelines of De Beauvoir’s incessant critique of utilitarian thinking, which motivates both her earliest fiction (Les bouches inutiles (1944)) and her later work of social critique (La vieillesse (1970)). At the same time, we have to attend to the socio-historical developments that distinguish her era from ours. Critically assessing her legacy, we might ask if the existentialist concepts of responsibility and freedom can counter the neoliberal invocation of these terms in perpetuating the fiction of a self-sufficient agent; or, what Marxism and Beauvoir’s qualified appraisal of the Soviet Union and China might teach us in an era deprived of social utopia’s, of which the third way that most social-democratic parties opted for in the nineties is symptomatic; or what her support for the anti-colonial struggle offers us in thinking about solidarity with formerly colonized subjects suffering from exploitation and processes of othering, both in the decolonial states and in the former colonial powers; or what we can learn from her participation in the women’s movement when facing the alt-right and a renewed naturalization of gender roles.
This conference aims to bring together De Beauvoir scholars who draw on insights from fields such as critical phenomenology, post-colonial and feminist studies, (French) social theory, intellectual history and literary studies
Krisis | Journal for Contemporary Philosophy, 2020
Although for a long time, Dutch academic philosophy was characterized by a pluralism of – importe... more Although for a long time, Dutch academic philosophy was characterized by a pluralism of – imported – philosophical frameworks and paradigms, in more recent decades, a type of ‘normal philosophy’, in the Kuhnian sense, has become dominant which aims to solve ethical and political problems and dilemmas through rational-normative argumentation. Contrary to what is often claimed, the new 'normal philosophy' amounts not to thinking ‘beyond the analytic-continental divide’ in a fruitful synthesis, but to the subsumption of continental philosophical themes and concepts under the analytic tradition. The potentially critical tenor of continental philosophy threatens to be ‘solved’ by this subsumption. ‘Normal philosophy’, with its emphasis on rational-normative argumentation, risks leading to a state philosophy that fits in with existing policy questions, ignoring systemic and structural power inequalities. I argue that the journal Krisis, in keeping with its original principles, sho...
Approaching Simone de Beauvoir's feminism and social commentary as a resource to understand our c... more Approaching Simone de Beauvoir's feminism and social commentary as a resource to understand our current crises, Beauvoir and Politics: A Toolkit brings together established and emerging scholars to apply her insights to gender studies, political philosophy, decolonisation, intellectual history, age theory, and critical phenomenology. This collection starts from key concepts in Beauvoir's oeuvre and relates them to contemporary debates, asking how her notion of ambiguity speaks to lived experiences that have been highly politicized in recent years. The volume offers an important critical appraisal of Beauvoir's legacy, demonstrating the contemporary relevance of her thought as it diagnoses the present and looks toward change for a better future.
In recent years we have witnessed a renewed interest in the oeuvre of Simone de Beauvoir (1908-19... more In recent years we have witnessed a renewed interest in the oeuvre of Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986). In the wake of a new English translation of The Second Sex and the publication of critical editions of her diaries and essays, De Beauvoir scholarship has focused on her literary and philosophical achievements. Yet, it has remained somewhat understudied how her political commitments have shaped her writing as well as her public interventions: existentialism, Marxism, anti-colonialism and, finally feminism. This conference, starting from Beauvoir’s social and political engagement, asks to what extent De Beauvoir provides important tools for diagnosing the present and offering a prognosis for the future. Her life and work are approached as a toolkit (Foucault), offering both a conceptual apparatus as well as practical examples of acts of solidarity and resistance.
In this endeavour, when the call for racial justice grows in global prominence because of the world-wide Black Lives Matter movement, it’s time to reflect on Beauvoir’s critical observations of anti-black racism in post-war U.S.A. (L’Amérique au jour le jour (1948)) and her public engagement with and in Algeria’s struggle for independence (“Préface”, Djamila Boupacha (1962)). Furthermore, living in a time of a pandemic crisis that brings out already existing inequalities, we might be struck by the timelines of De Beauvoir’s incessant critique of utilitarian thinking, which motivates both her earliest fiction (Les bouches inutiles (1944)) and her later work of social critique (La vieillesse (1970)). At the same time, we have to attend to the socio-historical developments that distinguish her era from ours. Critically assessing her legacy, we might ask if the existentialist concepts of responsibility and freedom can counter the neoliberal invocation of these terms in perpetuating the fiction of a self-sufficient agent; or, what Marxism and Beauvoir’s qualified appraisal of the Soviet Union and China might teach us in an era deprived of social utopia’s, of which the third way that most social-democratic parties opted for in the nineties is symptomatic; or what her support for the anti-colonial struggle offers us in thinking about solidarity with formerly colonized subjects suffering from exploitation and processes of othering, both in the decolonial states and in the former colonial powers; or what we can learn from her participation in the women’s movement when facing the alt-right and a renewed naturalization of gender roles.
This conference aims to bring together De Beauvoir scholars who draw on insights from fields such as critical phenomenology, post-colonial and feminist studies, (French) social theory, intellectual history and literary studies
Krisis | Journal for Contemporary Philosophy, 2020
Although for a long time, Dutch academic philosophy was characterized by a pluralism of – importe... more Although for a long time, Dutch academic philosophy was characterized by a pluralism of – imported – philosophical frameworks and paradigms, in more recent decades, a type of ‘normal philosophy’, in the Kuhnian sense, has become dominant which aims to solve ethical and political problems and dilemmas through rational-normative argumentation. Contrary to what is often claimed, the new 'normal philosophy' amounts not to thinking ‘beyond the analytic-continental divide’ in a fruitful synthesis, but to the subsumption of continental philosophical themes and concepts under the analytic tradition. The potentially critical tenor of continental philosophy threatens to be ‘solved’ by this subsumption. ‘Normal philosophy’, with its emphasis on rational-normative argumentation, risks leading to a state philosophy that fits in with existing policy questions, ignoring systemic and structural power inequalities. I argue that the journal Krisis, in keeping with its original principles, sho...
Approaching Simone de Beauvoir's feminism and social commentary as a resource to understand our c... more Approaching Simone de Beauvoir's feminism and social commentary as a resource to understand our current crises, Beauvoir and Politics: A Toolkit brings together established and emerging scholars to apply her insights to gender studies, political philosophy, decolonisation, intellectual history, age theory, and critical phenomenology. This collection starts from key concepts in Beauvoir's oeuvre and relates them to contemporary debates, asking how her notion of ambiguity speaks to lived experiences that have been highly politicized in recent years. The volume offers an important critical appraisal of Beauvoir's legacy, demonstrating the contemporary relevance of her thought as it diagnoses the present and looks toward change for a better future.
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In this endeavour, when the call for racial justice grows in global prominence because of the world-wide Black Lives Matter movement, it’s time to reflect on Beauvoir’s critical observations of anti-black racism in post-war U.S.A. (L’Amérique au jour le jour (1948)) and her public engagement with and in Algeria’s struggle for independence (“Préface”, Djamila Boupacha (1962)). Furthermore, living in a time of a pandemic crisis that brings out already existing inequalities, we might be struck by the timelines of De Beauvoir’s incessant critique of utilitarian thinking, which motivates both her earliest fiction (Les bouches inutiles (1944)) and her later work of social critique (La vieillesse (1970)). At the same time, we have to attend to the socio-historical developments that distinguish her era from ours. Critically assessing her legacy, we might ask if the existentialist concepts of responsibility and freedom can counter the neoliberal invocation of these terms in perpetuating the fiction of a self-sufficient agent; or, what Marxism and Beauvoir’s qualified appraisal of the Soviet Union and China might teach us in an era deprived of social utopia’s, of which the third way that most social-democratic parties opted for in the nineties is symptomatic; or what her support for the anti-colonial struggle offers us in thinking about solidarity with formerly colonized subjects suffering from exploitation and processes of othering, both in the decolonial states and in the former colonial powers; or what we can learn from her participation in the women’s movement when facing the alt-right and a renewed naturalization of gender roles.
This conference aims to bring together De Beauvoir scholars who draw on insights from fields such as critical phenomenology, post-colonial and feminist studies, (French) social theory, intellectual history and literary studies
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In this endeavour, when the call for racial justice grows in global prominence because of the world-wide Black Lives Matter movement, it’s time to reflect on Beauvoir’s critical observations of anti-black racism in post-war U.S.A. (L’Amérique au jour le jour (1948)) and her public engagement with and in Algeria’s struggle for independence (“Préface”, Djamila Boupacha (1962)). Furthermore, living in a time of a pandemic crisis that brings out already existing inequalities, we might be struck by the timelines of De Beauvoir’s incessant critique of utilitarian thinking, which motivates both her earliest fiction (Les bouches inutiles (1944)) and her later work of social critique (La vieillesse (1970)). At the same time, we have to attend to the socio-historical developments that distinguish her era from ours. Critically assessing her legacy, we might ask if the existentialist concepts of responsibility and freedom can counter the neoliberal invocation of these terms in perpetuating the fiction of a self-sufficient agent; or, what Marxism and Beauvoir’s qualified appraisal of the Soviet Union and China might teach us in an era deprived of social utopia’s, of which the third way that most social-democratic parties opted for in the nineties is symptomatic; or what her support for the anti-colonial struggle offers us in thinking about solidarity with formerly colonized subjects suffering from exploitation and processes of othering, both in the decolonial states and in the former colonial powers; or what we can learn from her participation in the women’s movement when facing the alt-right and a renewed naturalization of gender roles.
This conference aims to bring together De Beauvoir scholars who draw on insights from fields such as critical phenomenology, post-colonial and feminist studies, (French) social theory, intellectual history and literary studies