A panel with J. Kameron Carter (Indiana University - Bloomington), Nancy Levene (Yale University) and George Shulman (New York University). Moderated by Timothy Vasko (Barnard College).

Co-sponsored by the Department of Religion and the Department of Political Science.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of Carl Schmitt’s book, Political Theology. In that time, but especially in the past few decades, Schmitt’s notion of sovereignty, his assertion of the persistence of theological appeals in secular politics, and the very idea of “political theology” itself have been hugely influential. They have shaped our understandings of everything from state power to the “War on Terror” to the abject subject. Schmitt has also been controversial, not least given his work as a Nazi ideologue and jurist. In this panel discussion, leading critical thinkers reflect on the past, present, and future of both Political Theology and political theology. What does this concept offer now for an understanding of our world? A century on, how should we think about—and act upon—the notions of sovereignty, miracles, and sacrifice that Schmitt, and many others, have brought to the fore?

Watch the event recording here.