CITY RELIGION CAPITALISM

An event hosted by Haus der Kulturen der Welt in partnership with Alfred Herrhausen Gesellschaft and LSE Cities

In partnership with the Alfred Herrhausen Society and the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Theatrum Mundi hosted a public screening of new films by Alexander Kluge on cities, religion and capitalism, along with a post-film programme in Berlin. A group of early career scholars and practitioners met along side the public programme to discuss the themes emerging from the films and panel discussions.

On Cities
Richard Sennett, Professor of Sociology at LSE and NYU in conversation with the architect David Chipperfield, Principal of David Chipperfield Architects and Director of the 2012 Venice Biennale of Architecture.

On Religion
Angelika Neuwirth, Professor of Arabic Studies at Freie Universität Berlinin conversation with José Casanova, Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University, and head of the Berkley Center’s Program on Globalization, Religion and the Secular.

On Capitalism
Saskia Sassen, Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology and Co-Chair of The Committee on Global Thought at Columbia University in conversation with Joseph Vogl, Professor of German Literature, Cultural and Media Studies, Humboldt University Berlin and author of ‘The Spectre of Capital’.

Thursday 03.04.2014

The Emergence of Civilization from Paradise and Terror, and the Principle of the City | 18:00
Film by Alexander Kluge

The Principle of the City | 20.00
with Richard Sennett, David Chipperfield
Welcome and panel discussion

Friday 04.04.2014

When the Heavens Still Spoke to Each Other | 18.00
The Struggle of the Religions in Late Antiquity
Film by Alexander Kluge

The Principle of Religion | 20.00
with Angelika Neuwirth, José Casanova
Panel discussion

Saturday 05.04.2014

History of the World | 10.00 – 18.00
with an introduction by Chris Granlund and Alexander Kluge
Filmscreening

Grapes of Trust | 18.00
Financial Crisis, Adam Smith, Keynes, Marx, and Ourselves. What Can We Rely On?
Film by Alexander Kluge

The Principle of Capitalism | 20.00
With Saskia Sassen, Joseph Vogl
Panel discussion

You can watch video recordings of the discussions here.

This project was funded by the generous support of the Alfred Herrhausen Society.

Heading image © ullstein bild – SIPA / Aguirre Emmanuel

Event materials

Profiles

    José Casanova

    José Casanova is Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University, and head of the Berkley Center’s Program on Globalization, Religion and the Secular.

    David Chipperfield

    Sir David Chipperfield is a British Architect who established the global architectural practice David Chipperfield Architects in 1985. He has taught and lectured worldwide and has been recognised for his work with an array of honours and awards.

    Alexander Kluge

    Alexander Kluge is a protean figure of the New German Cinema, one of the organizers of the 1962 Oberhausen Manifesto, which demanded state subsidies for German independent filmmakers and revised the postwar distribution monopoly of the American film industry over German Cinemas. A lawyer, who studied critical theory with Adorno and Horkheimer, Kluge also represented the Frankfurt School and its faculty’s war reparation claims in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s.

    Angelika Neuwirth

    Angelika Neuwirth is Professor of Arabic Studies at Freie Universität Berlin

    Saskia Sassen

    Saskia Sassen is Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology at Columbia University and co-chairs its Committee on Global Thought. Her research and writing focuses on, immigration, global cities, the new networked technologies, and changes within the liberal state that result from current transnational conditions. Her most recent book is Expulsions: Brutality and Complexity in the Global Economy (Harvard University Press 2014). She has received multiple honours, most recently the 2013 Principe de Asturias Prize for the Social Sciences.

    Richard Sennett

    Richard Sennett is Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and University Professor of the Humanities at New York University. His research interests include the relationship between urban design and urban society, urban family patterns, the urban welfare system, the history of cities and the changing nature of work. His books include The Craftsman (2008), The Culture of the New Capitalism (Yale, 2006), Respect: The Formation of Character in an Age of Inequality (Penguin, 2003), The Corrosion of Character (1998), Flesh and Stone (1994) and The Fall of Public Man (1977). He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Society of Literature, the Royal Society of the Arts and the Academia Europea. He is past President of the American Council on Work and the former Director of the New York Institute for the Humanities. Recent honours and awards include The Schocken Prize, 2011; Honorary Doctorate from Cambridge University, 2010; The Spinoza Prize, 2010; The Tessenow Prize, 2009; The Gerda Henkel Prize, 2008; The European Craft Prize, 2008; and The Hegel Prize, 2006.

    Joseph Vogl

    Joseph Vogl is Professor of German Literature, Cultural and Media Studies, Humboldt University Berlin and author of ‘The Spectre of Capital’.