Facing Ohnmacht Lecture series
June – November 2023

Political strategies for reflecting feelings and empowering action

Ohnmacht is paralyzing. It is an accumulation of debilitating feelings, it passivates and discourages – even to the point of resignation. Crises intensify feelings and experiences of Ohnmacht and reveal their systematic character. This can be observed in the rising number of cases of domestic violence and femicides, increasingly precarious living and housing conditions, wars, and ecological catastrophes.

With a perspective on Ohnmacht as a systematically generated feeling, the lecture series focuses on possible ways out, strategies, and counter-narratives. On the basis of selected topics, the concept of Ohnmacht will be scrutinized and examined with regard to the following questions: How is Ohnmacht currently experienced in different forms? What possibilities are there to counter these individual and collective experiences and feelings? And how can we achieve collective agency?

• 02.06.2023: Patriarchy and Ohnmacht
• 13.10.2023: Housing and Ohnmacht
• 14.10.2023: Workshop: Evictions. Power & powerlessness of the involved actors
• 16.11.2023: Climate and Ohnmacht

Curated by:
Sara T. Huber und Rivka Saltiel

Graphic: Haras Ananas