Seminar: Dr Carolyn Pedwell (University of Kent), Wednesday 5th May

You are warmly invited to join us for a seminar with Dr Carolyn Pedwell (University of Kent) on Wednesday 5th May, 12 - 1.30pm, entitled Revolutionary routines: the habits of social transformation. All are welcome and there is no need to register - please use the Zoom invite below to join.

Abstract

This talk explores themes from my forthcoming book, Revolutionary Routines: The Habits of Social Transformation (McGill-Queens UP, May 2021). Although we may associate social transformation with major events, historical turning points, or revolutionary upheaval, Revolutionary Routines argues that seemingly minor everyday habits are the key to meaningful change. Through its account of influential socio-political processes – such as the resurgence of fascism and the malleability of white supremacy, the crafting of new technologies of governance, and the operation of digital media and algorithms – the book rethinks not only how change works but also what counts as change.  Drawing examples from the affective politics of Trumpism and Brexit, nudge theory and behaviour change, social media and the international refugee crisis, and the networked activism of Occupy and Black Lives Matter, it argues that minor gestures may be as significant as major happenings, revealing the powerful potential in our ability to remake shared habits and imaginatively reinhabit everyday life. Revolutionary Routines offers a new understanding of the logics of habit and the nature of social change, power and progressive politics, illustrating diverse forms of consciousness and co-operation through which political solidarities might take shape.

Bio

Carolyn Pedwell is Reader in Cultural Studies at the University of Kent and the author of three monographs: Revolutionary Routines: The Habits of Social Transformation (McGill-Queens UP, 2021); Affective Relations: The Transnational Politics of Empathy (Palgrave, 2014); and Feminism, Culture and Embodied Practice: The Rhetorics of Comparison (Routledge, 2010).

Chair: Karen Throsby

Join Zoom Meeting

https://universityofleeds.zoom.us/j/87877025867?pwd=UGdLckU0emljYkQydHBlQUxuZjlrQT09

Meeting ID: 878 7702 5867

Passcode: n13VR%