Talks

“Some Remarks on the Metonymic Community.” Conference: “Constructing and Contesting Community.” Universität Bern, 9-10 May 2019.

“Alterity, Contingency, and the Difference of it All.” Workshop: “Alterity Revisited.” Universität Luzern, 8-9 December 2018.

“Dead or Alive? Blues and the Question of Authenticity.” Conference: “Blues in the 21st Century.” Università di Catania, 23-24 November 2018.

“Realism, Metonymy, and the Contingency of it All.” Conference: “Realisms.” Universität Göttingen, 5-6 Juli, 2018.

“Neo-realism and the Problem of Recognition.” Conference: “Current Tendencies in Contemporary American Fiction.” Warburg Haus, Hamburg, 22-23 June 2018.

“The Road Not Taken: Environmental Ethics, Reciprocity, and Non-Negative Non-Agency.” GCSC Keynote Lectures. Justus-Liebig Universität, Giessen, 29 June 2018.

“Where is Jacques when You Need Him? Rancière, Populism and the Demos.” Annual Symposium: “Philosophy and Social Science.” Charles University Prag, Tschechien, 16-10 May 2018. 

“Grey Metonymy: Contingency and Community in Agamben and Esposito.” Colloquium Philosophy Center. De Paul University, Chicago, 13 April 2018.

“Contingency in Agamben and Esposito.” Italian Studies Colloquium. Cornell University, New York, 10 April 2018.

“The Metonymic Community.” CGS Forum: “Community.” Universität Bern, 26 February 2018.

“Anecdote and Contingency: The Relevance of the Irrelevant.” Conference: “Exemplary Singularity: Fault Lines of the Anecdotal.” John F. Kennedy Institute, Berlin, 1-3 February 2018.

“Dramas of Misrecognition: Critical Theory as Literary History.” Annual Symposium: “Philosophy and Social Science.” Charles University Prag, Tschechien, May 2017.

“A Critique of Authenticity.” Conference: “Theory and Practice of Authenticity in Global Cultural Production.” Universität Bern, 5-7 November 2016.

“The Road Not Taken: Environmental Ethics, Reciprocity, and Non-Negative Non-Agency.” Colloquium. Rice University, Houston, 5 April 2016. Philosophisches Colloquium. University of Bern, 25 February 2016.

“Reading the American Assemblage as Metonymic Community.” Annual Meeting of the American Philosophical Forum. Key West, 11 April 2016.

“A Critique of Authenticity and Recognition.” Conference: “Authenticity and Cultural Translation in the Global City and Community.” University of Lausanne, 14 November 2015.

“Dramas of Recognition: Philosophy as Literary History.” Conference: “Philosophy and Social Criticism.” Prag, 29 May 2015.

“Environmental Ethics, Responsibility, and the Problem of Agency.” Kolloquium Universität Düsseldorf, 6 November 2015; Kolloquium Universität Bern, 6 November 2015.

“The Metonymic Community: Walt Whitman and Herman Melville.” University of South California, Los Angeles, 9 November 2014.

“Authenticity, Community, Being-With: Heidegger, Arendt and Levinas.” Dartmouth College, 4 November 2014; Penn State, 13 November 2014.

“Krise, Kontingenz, Kritik: Prolegomena zu einer neuen Poetik der Gemeinschaft.” Jahrestagung des Schweizer Philosophenverbands. St. Gallen, 5 June 2014.

“The World Literature Program of the CCS Bern.“ Institute for World Literature. Hong Kong, 2-5 July 2014.

“Being-With: Authenticity, the ‘They’ and Community in Heidegger’s Being and Time.” Colloquium “Philosophy and Sociology.” Prague, 19 May 2014.

“The Sublime - a Critical Reassessment.” Doctoral Workshop. Université de Genève, 3 April 2014.

“Post-Subjectivity, Contingency, Community.” Conference: “Extra-Subjectivity: New Concepts in Post-Identitarian Thought.” Universität Bern, 1-2 December 2013.

“The Limits of Recognition: Authenticity, Hibridity, Alterity.” Conference: “Variations of Authenticity.” Universität Bern, 23-24 November 2012.

“A Reply to Stewart Martin and Steven Shapiro.” CUSO Workshop: “New Aesthetic Paradigms.” Brienz, 7-9 September 2012.

“Politicizing the Game: Rancière, Schiller, and ‘Free Play’.” Kolloquium: “Literature und Spiel.” Universität Bern, 8-9 June 2012.

“From Fanon to Bhabha and Back: Hybridity Reassessed.” Workshop: “For the Health of Body (Politic).” EAAS Conference. Izmir, 30 March-2 April 2012.

“Bartleby’s Second Career: Agamben, Deleuze, Zizek.” Conference: “Melville in Europe,” Biennial Conference of the Melville Society. Rome, 22-26 Juni 2011. Conference: “American Configurations,” Biennial Conference of IASA. Rio de Janeriro, 27-29 Juli.

“Jamming What Exactly? Some Notes on the ‘Anthropological Machine’ and Ethics in Derrida, Agamben, Calarco, and Latour.” Conference: “Literature, Ecology, Ethics.” Augsburg, 3-5 March 2011.

“Die Rückkehr des Mythos - das Ende der Aufklärung?” Conference: “Das Ende der Aufklärung?” Universität Bern, 16-17 September 2010.

“Toni Morrison’s Paradise: Toward a Metonymic Society?” SAUTE Annual Meeting. Université de Neuchâtel, October 2009.

“Addressing the Gap: French Theory, Aesthetics & Ethics, and American Academic Politics.” Temple University, Philadelphia, October 2008.

“Sentimental Law and Chattle Slavery: A New Look at Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” Soka University, Aliso Viejo, October 2008.

“The Southern Demiurge at Work.” Colloquium. Soka University, Aliso Viejo, October 2008.

“Democracy: À Venir, À Dieu, or Au Revoir?” International Trans-Coop Conference. Dartmouth College, Hanover (N.H.), August 2007.

“Migration, Cosmopolitanism, and Hospitality: Some Notes Regarding the Ethical and Moral Problems of Otherness.” Forum for Migration Studies. University of Stavanger, May 2007.

“The Black Man’s Burden: Richard Wright’s Native Son and Identity Politics.” Colloquium: “Affirmative Action and Its Cousins.” University of Oslo, November 2006.

“American Cosmopolitanism from Henry James to Toni Morrison.” Language Forum. University of Stavanger, October 2006.

“Discipline and (Non-)Conformity, or: European American Studies as Non-American Studies.” Parallel Lecture, EAAS-Conference. Nicosia, May 2006.

“How American Is It? – A Response to Don Pease.” Colloquium: “Trans-Atlantic Networks and the Future of the Field.” Università di Bergamo, March 2006.

“Truth, Untruth, and Other Negligible Trifles: Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 and its Reception as Postmodern Tableau.” Seminar: “Europa und Amerika.” German Research Foundation. Potsdam, September 2004; International Colloquium. JFK-Institute, Berlin, December 2004; Conference: “Documentary and Truth.” Humboldt University Berlin, February 2005; Annual Conference of the German Association of American Studies. Frankfurt, June 2006.

“Pragmatic Transcendence: Robert Kagan’s ‘Power and Weakness’ and the Rhetoric of Anti- Terrorism.“ MALS Lecture Series: “Ideologies of Terrorism.” Dartmouth College, August 2004.

“Emergences and Emergencies: A Reply to Wolfgang Iser and Donald Pease.” Conference: “Aesthetic Transgressions: Modernity, Liberalism, and the Function of Literature.” JFK- Institute, Berlin, April 2004.

“Between Cosmology and Cosmopolitanism: The Politics of the Contemporary Native American Novel.” EAAS-Conference. Prague, April 2004.

“Ecology as Moral Stand(s): Environmental Ethics, Western Moral Philosophy, and the Problem of the Other.” Conference: “Literature, Culture, Environment: Positioning ‘Ecocriticism.” Munster, March 2004.

“Rainbows, Fogs, and Other Smokescreens: Billy Budd and the Question of Ethics.” W.E.B. Du Bois Lectures. Humboldt-University, Berlin, November 2003.

“Deep-Freezing the Other: Ethics and Justice in Uncle Tom’s Cabin.“ Research Colloquium. JFK-Institute, Berlin, May 2002.

“Ecology as Moral Stand(s): On the Normative Implications of Literature and Science.” 82nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of the Sciences, Pac. Division. University of California, Irvine, June 2001.

“Whose ‘American’ Century? Whose ‘American’ Studies? Or: What Indeed Is in a Name?“ Annual Conference of the German Association of American Studies. Dresden, June 2000.

“Contemporary Theoretical Approaches to Moral Imagination.“ Research Colloquium. JFK-Institute, Berlin, May 2000.

“Narrating Environmental Ethics: N. Scott Momaday and Walter Benjamin.” Annual Conference of the German Association of American Studies. Cologne, May 1999; Lecture Circle. JFK- Institute, Berlin, January 2000.

“The Economy of Ethics and the Ethics of Economy: Emmanuel Levinas and Paul Ricoeur.” Conference: “Addressing Levinas.” Emory University, Atlanta, October 1999.

“‘Blotted Out’: Richard Wright’s Native Son and the Limits of Narrative Ethics.” America- Institute Munich, June 1999.

“Writing What Comes Naturally: Leo Marx and the Search for Ecological Genealogies in American Culture.” Annual Conference of the German Association of American Studies. Freiburg, May 1997.

“The Myth of Violence in American Culture: Roots and Philosophical Positions.“ Lecture Series. JFK-Institute, Berlin, November 1995.

“‘Dimensioning Society’: Sacvan Bercovitch, Herbert Marcuse, and the New Historicism.” Conference: “The Historical and Political Turn in Literary Studies.” Berlin, November 1994.