The Predicament of Privilege: On the Affectivity of Catastrophes

The way we respond to disaster is structured not only by the economic, material, and social infrastructure of society, but also by its affective infrastructure.

The way we feel and wish to feel, the affective atmospheres governing our interests, our diverse emotional investments in the surroundings – in short, the ways in which disaster moves us or fails to do so.

How do we experience disasters that are not our own? In this seminar the aim will be to identify a certain ‘structure of feeling’ central to the Western cultural imagination of disaster.

This structure of feeling is by Devika Sharma termed ‘the predicament of privilege’, because, while conditioning the understanding of and response to disaster, it is always also an articulation of our self-image as globally privileged populations.

The seminar will draw on recent discussions within disciplines of cultural theory, moral anthropology, and media studies.

The event is open to the public and no registration is necessary. For further information contact: Morten Thanning Vendelø, email: mtv@cbs.dk