Ben Trott | Cancel Culture Context: Gender and Sexuality after the End of History
21. Oct
21. Oct, 6:00 pm, C40.530
In this talk, Ben Trott addresses the material context of what has come to be known as “cancel culture”, paying particular attention to the political contestation of speech around gender and sexuality in the years that have followed the 2007 global economic crisis. He provides an alternative to the dominant account of the current culture wars around speech, gender and sexuality as conservative or reactionary “backlash” to liberal or left identity politics. And he explores the role of speech as a vehicle for political organisation in contemporary social and political conflicts.
Prof. Dr. Ben Trott is currently Visiting Professor at the Institute for Philosophy and Art History (IPK). He serves as Speaker of the Center for Critical Studies (CCS) and Co-Speaker of the university-wide Gender and Diversity Research Network. His research brings together political philosophy, queer theory, gender studies, and the study of social movements and global political change. He previously held academic positions at Cardiff University and Duke University and has been a research fellow at institutions including the University of Nottingham and the University of Basel. In early 2026, he will be a Visiting Scholar at New York University. He received his PhD in Philosophy from Freie Universität Berlin.
Language: English
The event is a cooperation between the Center for Critical Studies (CCS) and the research initiative on the Disruptive Condition.
Contact: Nicolas Schneider (nicolas.schneider@leuphana.de)