Today, loneliness is recognized as a societal concern with psychological, social, and economic dimensions. However, loneliness can also serve as a catalyst for politically motivated hatred. Within online communities, discussions surrounding loneliness are used to feed radicalization and extremism, with consequences ranging from online harassment to acts of terrorism.
The workshop Politicized Loneliness: Perspectives on Hate, Extremism, and Radicalization seeks to shed light on this overlooked dimension of loneliness and its role in anti-democratic developments. The workshop is organized at the University of Helsinki on March 7–8, 2024.
Keynote speech
The keynote, titled “Responsibility in an Age of Political Loneliness”, will be delivered by Dr. Jennifer Gaffney, an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Loyola University, Chicago, and the author of Political Loneliness: Modern Liberal Subjects in Hiding (2020).
Program
The workshop program can be downloaded here.
Further information
For inquiries and further information, please contact ari-elmeri.hyvonen@helsinki.fi or sanna.tirkkonen@helsinki.fi.
There is no fee for attendance. Please note that, unfortunately, we do not have the financial resources to provide travel grants or cover accommodation expenses for participants. We kindly ask all potential presenters and attendees to make their own arrangements for travel and lodging.
Organizers: Research projects Politicized Loneliness: Hatred, Violence, and Experiences of Loneliness Online funded by Emil Aaltonen Foundation and Philosophy of Loneliness: Phenomenological Inquiries into the Social and Affective Dimensions of Experiencing a Lack of Meaningful Connection funded by the Research Council of Finland (grant number 356415). The workshop is sponsoder by University of Helsinki.