Sparse: Lecture with Jane Bennett

The Vital Politics research group is pleased to host a lecture with Professor Jane Bennett on new modes of ecological action. In her lecture, Professor Bennett will explore some resemblances between the Zhuangzi (China, 5th-3rd century, BCE) and the atoms-and-void materialism of Lucretius’s De Rerum Natura (Rome, 1st century, BCE), with an emphasis on how both orientations affirm the salience of the sparsest and how this, in turn, can inspire a more generous orientation towards human and nonhuman modes of life.

Jane Bennett is Professor of Political Science and Andrew W. Mellon Professor of the Humanities at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA. She is the author of five books, including The Enchantment of Modern Life (Duke University Press, 2001), Vibrant Matter (Duke University Press, 2010) and Influx/Efflux (Duke University Press 2020). Her articles have appeared in journals such as Political Theory, Theory & Event, Contemporary Political Theory, Polity, and Theory, Culture & Society.

Immediately following the lecture, the Vital Politics research group is pleased to host a small reception for all participants.

Read more about the event here.