We live in an age of catastrophe, and the utopian project is left as either a naive dream at best or a wilful ignoring of the facts in front of us. The stakes for the audacious gamble of “socialism or barbarism” have never been higher and so it is incumbent upon us to find ways of thinking the possibilities of a better future. For this, we have no better resource than the colossal archive of work from the German philosopher and militant Ernst Bloch. This talk, an introduction to Bloch’s work, context, and overall philosophical project aims to make the case that even here and now, in the midst of ever more despair, what Bloch termed “the warm stream of Marxism” offers resources for an agential and politically meaningful philosophy of hope.

Register here: https://videoconf-colibri.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkd-Chpz0uGddid2VTs1gn8wwtXBNES46C

Dr Jon Greenaway (pronouns he/they) is an independent academic and author. He has taught at universities across the UK on the intersections of horror, theology, and Marxism. He is the co-editor of Horror and Religion: New Literary Approaches To Theology, Race and Sexuality (UWP, 2019), the author of Theology, Horror and Fiction (Bloomsbury, 2021), and the forthcoming book Capitalism: A Horror Story (Repeater Books, 2024). His work has appeared in The Guardian, The New York Times, and a host of other outlets, and he is the co-host of the podcast Horror Vanguard which reaches 5,000 listeners a week covering horror film, theory, and left politics. Greenaway’s new book A Primer on Utopian Philosophy (Zer0 Books) is available here: https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/zer0-books/our-books/primer-utopian-philosophy-ernst-bloch  

Hosted by Manuel Sousa Oliveira (University of Porto / CETAPS).  In partnership with Zer0 Books