The Philosophy Department welcomed Professor Etienne Balibar as its distinguished Guest Speaker on 11 February 2019, as part of the new research programme 'Philosophy in a Time of Crisis'. Professor Balibar's Public Lecture focused on 'Circulation and Hospitality as Fundamental Rights', and was recorded. It can now be viewed via the project website. www.philosophyx.co.uk

Summary Overview of Lecture:

As migrants and refugees in increasing numbers are subjected to extreme violence in their attempts at crossing borders to reach a more livable place, a fundamental reflection is needed to update the concepts which frame mankind’s treatment of its own mobility. This includes a critical return on the question of the “law of population” of capitalism, but also a juridical elaboration of the rights of circulation and hospitality which articulate territory, citizenship, and community. At stake, ultimately, is a political transformation of the world into a place where everyone can live a decent life.

Etienne Balibar is Emeritus Professor at Paris X Nanterre and Anniversary Chair of Modern European Philosophy at Kingston University, London. He is an internationally recognized political philosopher and critical thinker, a leading voice in the Marxist tradition, and the author of Spinoza and Politics, The Philosophy of Marx and co-author of Race, Nation and Class and Reading Capital. In these, and many other seminal works, Professor Balibar has addressed fundamental questions such as racism, the notion of border, whether a European citizenship is possible or desirable; violence, identity and emancipation.