In Order To Change the World, You Must First Film an Apology

Come see my upcoming talk Oct 24 in Boise, Idaho (or via Zoom)

Dearest reader,

I’m excited to share that I will be speaking at the

Theory Underground

conference in Boise, Idaho on Thursday, October 24th. The focus of my talk will be Digital Rituals of Authenticity & I’ll be leaving substantial time for discussion.

This conference has an incredible mix of theorists, both self-taught and university-based, who are breaking new ground on a wide variety of topics:

• Human Futures

• Post-Marxism, the Professional Managerial Class, and the Left

• Critique of Libidinal Economy, Zizek, and Lacan

• Film and Critical Media Theory

• Education and Theorizing the Underground

• Critical Doxology Theory

• The Political Question and the Question of the Left

I will be there in person and, if you’re within travelling distance of Boise, I’d highly suggest you come! The conference can also be attended virtually via livestream. A ticket for the whole weekend is $20 USD/$28 CAD, which you can purchase here.

A great way to get a taste for the personalities and topics you can expect at the conference is to check out this marathon livestream

Theory Underground

hosted last month (I come in at 08:03:10).

Here’s a longer description of my talk:

In Order To Change the World, You Must First Film an Apology: Are digital rituals of authenticity anti-political?

Many theorists have examined the effects of social media on political engagement. While increased social isolation and growing institutional distrust have been widely discussed, there is much work to be done in examining not just the content of political engagement online, but the form. 

I hypothesise that rituals of authenticity, which have emerged within today’s privatised digital commons, allow for the closely surveilled and sequestered release of political sentiment in an individualised and depoliticised manner that defuses and prevents the potential for mass collaboration on universal solutions. 

Rather than a lecture, the majority of my time slot will be a discussion about these rituals of authenticity, their political potential or lack thereof, what a digital communication platform that disincentivises such rituals would look like, and what possibilities may emerge therein.

This talk is my very first step in a long-term research project about the contemporary notion of authenticity and its role in our social and political lives.

And, in case you’ve been wondering, Recovering Anarchist will be returning to a regular publishing schedule in January 2025. I’ve been reading and thinking up a storm during my hiatus & I can’t wait to get back here and pick up where we left off!

Until then,

Kier