In this workshop we will discuss Christoph Menke’s highly anticipated new book with him. We will prepar our discussion on December 1, 4-7pm and will discuss with Christoph Menke on December 15, 4-7.30pm.

We live in a time of failed liberations. For, when viewed in the light of day, all attempts at liberation have sooner or later produced new forms of domination and thus of servitude. For Christoph Menke, explaining this situation requires a reversal of gaze. Instead of simply turning to the next liberation project, we must analyze how previous attempts at liberation have proceeded. Above all, their beginning is crucial here – the ordinary but fascinating experience of suddenly breaking a habit that enslaves us. To affirm it is to enter into the practice of liberation.

From this basic thesis, Menke develops a groundbreaking theory of liberation that involves a revision of the usual notions of freedom – anchored in nature or society. It turns out: freedom and domination are indissolubly intertwined, and liberation is not the prehistory of freedom, but freedom’s mode of actualization. This is illustrated by two exemplary liberation narratives on which this book draws significantly: the Exodus narrative from Genesis 2 and the story of Walter White in the television series Breaking Bad.