Sexual violence and the discourses of vulnerability

Description

In this lecture I focus on two concepts that are important for reflections on sexual violence: the concept of the victim and the concept of vulnerability. With each of these terms there is a movement of negation, in which discourses developed to address those who have suffered harm seem to fall short of their goals of protecting lives worth living. I review the fate of the victim concept in anti-rape discourses and the recent turn to vulnerability. I consider problems with how vulnerability has been framed and consider whether there is a transformative potential in these concepts.

In this lecture I focus on two concepts that are important for reflections on sexual violence: the concept of the victim and the concept of vulnerability. With each of these terms there is a movement of negation, in which discourses developed to address those who have suffered harm seem to fall short of their goals of protecting lives worth living. I review the fate of the victim concept in anti-rape discourses and the recent turn to vulnerability. I consider problems with how vulnerability has been framed and consider whether there is a transformative potential in these concepts.

Period	10 Nov 2015
Event title	Dem Erleben auf der Spur: Feminismus und die Philosophie des Leibes
Event type	Seminar
Organiser	Institut für Philosophie, Freie Universität Berlin
Location	Berlin, GermanyShow on map