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Dr. Henrike Kohpeiß

21335 Lüneburg, Universitätsallee 1, C40.303
Fon +49.4131.677-1915, henrike.kohlpeiss@leuphana.de
Leuphana Transformation Lab

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Vita

I am a philosopher, working primarily in the fields of critical theory, philosophy of emotion, Black Studies, feminist philosophy and aesthetics. 

I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Leuphana Transformation Lab, studying affects of Transformation, the relationship between crises and transformation and the notion of Transformation Literacy.

In my current project Respect for Reality, I seek to understand the social affective dynamics that lead to a derealization of the global ecological crisis. I initiate a dialogue between different methodologies like psychoanalysis, decolonial critique of extractivism, phenomenology and aesthetics of devastation in order to generate insights into the current experience of planetary collapse.

I was formerly employed at the CRC “Affective Societies” at Free University, Berlin (2019-2025), where I completed my doctoral degree in Philosophy with summa cum laude. The book resulting from this work was published in 2023 (Campus) and released as "Bourgeois Coldness" in English translation in 2025 (divided).

I studied philosophy and applied theatre studies in Berlin, Rome, Vienna and Gießen. My work and teaching are currently focused on critical theory, institutions, theories of affect and capitalism and psychoanalysis. In addition to my academic research, I organize and host events at Volksbühne Berlin and other venues. 

Keywords: Social philosophy, Black Studies, philosophy of affect and emotion, critical theory, aesthetics, feminist philosophy

Publications

Books and anthologies

  1. Bourgeois coldness
    Henrike Kohpeiß (Author) , 2026 Brussels , 280 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologies › Book › Research

  2. Bürgerliche Kälte - Affekt und koloniale Subjektivität
    Henrike Kohpeiß (Author) , 2023 Frankfurt / New York , 407 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologies › Book › Research

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Journal contributions

  1. Respect for Reality: Unfeeling and Ecological Catastrophe
    Henrike Kohpeiß (Author) , 01.10.2025 , in: Graduate Faculty Philosophy Journal, 46, 2 , p. 539-560 , 22 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  2. Missed Feelings: Sexual Violence and the Affective Mediation of Harm
    Henrike Kohpeiß (Author) , 26.12.2023 , in: Media Theory, 7, 2 , p. 225-244 , 20 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

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Contributions to collected editions/anthologies

  1. Unfeeling
    Henrike Kohpeiß (Author) , 16.12.2025 London , p. 245-254 , 9 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Chapter › Research › peer-review

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Courses

No events found.