Protest, Performativity, Post-Truth - The Legacy of 1968

The ‘performative turn’ affecting the study of culture towards the end of the 20th century placed a new emphasis on the production, processes and reception of cultural phenomena. In the intervening decades, however, performativity has taken on dimensions previously inconceivable. Political protest has traditionally aimed at communicating the truth of its message — but what happens when performativity itself has displaced any notion of truth? This symposium will address this question through consideration of the history of protest as performance, starting from Iron Curtain dissidence — and Václav Havel’s famous injunction to ‘live in truth’ — through the democratic convulsions of recent years, which often took direct inspiration from the Changes of 1989, to the current predominance of untruth and affect in political dynamics.

Part of #czech100, a festival of exciting cinema, theatre, visual arts, design and music celebrating the Czech Republic’s centenary (28 October - 9 December 2018). 
Part of SSEES #CzechAndSlovakCentury series. Event hosted by the Czech Centre London, the UCL European Institute, UCL Fringe Centre, and the UCL Institute of Advanced Studies. Part of #Czech100. In partnership with the Austrian Cultural Forum London, Embassy of Lithuania in London, and Embassy of the Czech Republic in London