Rotelli Lectures 2024: Nancy Fraser brings her innovative vision on labor and social justice

From 8th to 10th May 2024, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University will host Nancy Fraser, one of the most renowned and influential contemporary philosophers, as well as a Professor of political and social sciences at the New School for Social Research in New York, for the highly anticipated "Rotelli Lectures 2024". An event organized since 2017, dedicated each year to issues of relevance for contemporary societies and entrusted to prominent international personalities.

The full program of the 2024 edition, dedicated to the theme Three faces of capitalist labor. Uncovering the hidden ties between gender, race, and class is available here below:

As the world of work continues to take on increasingly multifaced forms and to change before our eyes, it becomes more essential than ever to wonder about the meaning and implications of these transformations.

From the widespread adoption of the shorter workweek to the rise of smart working and the phenomena of the "great resignation" and "quiet quitting": for many, work is no longer just a matter of making ends meet, but also of finding a balance between professional and personal life, of pursuing passions and personal goals.

With the contribution of Prof. Roberto Mordacci (Vice Rector for Humanities and Social Sciences UniSR) and Dr. Giacomo Maria Arrigo (Research Fellow for the Rotelli Lectures UniSR) we explore the philosophical current and the central issues of the research of contemporary philosopher Nancy Fraser, guest of the Rotelli Lectures that will be held from 8th to 10th May 2024 at the Campus Mi2.

Nancy Fraser, with her experience in political philosophy and normative ethics, will lead us on a journey of reflection and discovery. She will delve into the dynamics of work in our late capitalist era and propose new insights on her theoretical production, thus integrating her well-established positions with an examination of what should meaningfully occupy our lives - notably work - which becomes more and more often a nightmare for both those who are consumed by it (the work swallows) and those who do not have it (work is a mirage).

The philosopher will also shed new light on the issues of injustice, exclusion and domination that permeate our societies beneath the surface.

Committed to political philosophy and normative ethics, Nancy Fraser belongs to that philosophical current known as Critical Theory. This current, born within the Frankfurt School between the twenties and thirties of the last century, combines philosophical research with social investigation to denounce the inequities of contemporary society and create the conditions for profound change.

With an approach informed by the most recent social sensibilities (the issues of the environment and discrimination), and with a remarkable originality in theoretical reflection, Fraser has tenaciously carried out this project, contributing to building a transdisciplinary ground between moral and political philosophers, sociologists, economists, and political scientists.

Among the themes at the center of her research are the statute of political representation, the criticism of neoliberalism and capitalism (see the recent Cannibal Capitalism), the theory of economic redistribution, the paradigm of recognition as an indispensable element of full social justice, socialism and Marxism (on this, among her titles we recall What Should Socialism Mean in the Twenty-First Century? and Capitalism: A Conversation in Critical Theory written with Rahel Jaeggi), but also environmentalism and feminism (Feminism for the 99%: A Manifesto written with Cinzia Arruzza and Tithi Bhattacharya).

A distinctive sign of her thinking is a broad conception of justice, not limited solely to the economic aspect alone. Since the seventies, Fraser has deepened the paradigm of recognition, which is not based solely on economic redistribution: only in this way it is possible to include people in the participatory and democratic dynamics of society, ensuring a condition of genuine equality. In this regard, we recall the famous debate with the philosopher Axel Honneth in the book titled Redistribution or Recognition?.

Fraser’s merit is to have always developed her thinking in a fruitful dialogue with other authors (Charles Taylor, Axel Honneth, Rahel Jaeggi), in a constant effort to deepen, clarify, and refine a theoretical itinerary committed to the study of actual social conditions.

The lessons will be hold in presence:
Aula DO 103, Donatello Building
Vita-Salute San Raffaele University – Campus Mi2
Centro Direzionale Milano 2 – 20054 Segrate (MI)

If you are unable to attend, you can follow the event via streaming at this link.

The event is open to the public.

Those who are not University’s students or academic staff can attend the Lectures upon registration. In order to register, please fill in the form.