Political Theology in Jewish and Christian Contexts: Reception Histories and Controversies with Carl Schmitt
Berlin, Monday-Wednesday, July 18–20 2022
Carl Schmitt’s Political Theology, written in 1922, is present in almost every discussion of the place of the theological within the politics of our secularized societies. Political theology — whether in the configuration offered by Schmitt or beyond — has become a paradigm with which some of the most urgent challenges of our age are approached: states of emergency, the crisis of liberalism, and the complex relations between modernity and religious traditions. The 100th anniversary of Schmitt’s influential work is an opportunity to inquire into the genealogy of political theology and trace its diverse and conflictual applications in answering urgent contemporary questions. The attempt is not to embrace Schmitt, whose anti-Semitism and notorious involvement with the Nazi regime continue to shadow his thought, but rather to critically think political theology in all its variety.
Please join us for three public events that will address the legacy of political theology. The discussions will examine the history and philosophy of political theology from the interwar period to the present.
Monday, July 18, 7:30 p.m.
(JLM time 20:30)
Humboldt University of Berlin, Senate Hall in the Main Building (Unter den Linden 6, 10117), and live on Youtube
Chair: Karma Ben Johanan (Humboldt University of Berlin)
Christoph Schmidt (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem) – Carl Schmitt and the Dialectics of Theology and Secularization, or: the Two Bodies of the Subject
Agata Bielik-Robson (University of Nottingham) – Carl Schmitt’s Cryptotheologies
Tuesday, July 19, 7:30 p.m.
(JLM time 20:30)
Humboldt University of Berlin, Senate Hall in the Main Building (Unter den Linden 6, 10117), and live on Youtube
Chair: Stephan Steiner (Katholische Akademie Berlin)
Christian Polke (University of Göttingen) – In the Long Shadow of Carl Schmitt: Protestant Theology and the Drama of the German Past
Leora Batnitzky (Princeton University) – The Absence of Redemption: Galut, Martyrdom, and Deferment in Twentieth-Century Jewish Political Theology
Wednesday, July 20, 6:00 p.m.
(JLM time 19:00)
Humboldt University of Berlin, Tieranatomisches Theater (Philippstraße 13, Campus Nord, Haus 3, 10115), and live on Youtube
Chair: Shai Lavi (The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute; Tel Aviv University)
John Milbank (The University of Nottingham) – From Schmitt to Agamben: The Theme of Divine Government
Vivian Liska (University of Antwerp; The Hebrew University of Jerusalem) – German-Jewish Critical Modernists vs. Carl Schmitt
Admission is free, with pre-registration at Humboldt University of Berlin:
lidia.jerkiewicz@hu-berlin.de
The events will be broadcasted live on the youtube channel of the Katholische Akademiein Berlin and www.vanleer.org.il
Humboldt University of Berlin and Institut Kirche und JudentumKatolische Akademie in BerlinThe Political Theology NetowrkVan Leer Jerusalem Institute The conference is co-sponsored by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)