Interdisciplinary conference "Against the elites"

26.-27.10.2018 in Göttingen

Anti-elitist affects, practices and projects colour the contemporary political conjuncture as much as they shape pop cultural and media trends in many countries. Populists – right-wing authoritarian ones and others – direct their anger at specific representations of cultural, political and sometimes economic elites while supporting other elites and creating new ones. At the same time, “elitist” knowledge and expertise, decision making power and taste and recognition regimes are being put into question in societal transformations that are often discussed much more positively as forces of participation and democratization.
What are the implications, the tendencies and the limits of anti-elitist formations in contemporary culture and politics in different parts of the world? What connections and resonances are there between anti-elitist themes in different fields or spheres, such as politics and popular culture? How are they diverging and coming into conflict? And who can make use of them to what effect? The conference brings together an interdisciplinary group in order to better understand how the battle cry “against the elites” shapes the current conjuncture.

*Conference website 'Against The Elites'