Barbaren (Barbarians)

Contemporary term of contention

Symposium

Theo Steiner, Barbaren Symposium, steirischer herbst 2002, photo: Lukas Beck

←

→

Dates
14.–16.11.2002

Location
Wallzentrum der Universität Graz
Graz

Production specifics
Cooperation between steirischer herbst and Universität Graz

“The anxiety obsession of our civilization is called ‘barbarism’” (Jan Philipp Reemtsma). Although civilized existence by no means prevents execrable acts of violence, our age is marked by violent identity conflicts. The colonialist and yet currently surprisingly frequently used concept of the barbaric is employed in numerous political controversies to demarcate inhumanity. Is it merely a rhetorical device that suggests moral rigourism? Or is it essential for the self-perception of “civilised” societies? In addition to the logic of violence and extermination, the symposium looks into mechanisms of stigmatization and rhetoric of hatred and the role of reflection thereon.
—Theo Steiner

Concept: Theo Steiner
Participants: Gabriele Klein, Georg Sommeregger, Karl Kaser, Svetlana Slapšak, Jean Fisher, Sue Golding, Karl Heinz Kohl, Theo Steiner, Michael Taussig, Claude Rawson, Philipp Sarasin, Elisabeth List, Klaus Theweleit
Collaborators: Georg Steiner, Helmut Konrad, Claude Rawson, Elisabeth List, Sue Golding