Jule Govrin: »Verbotene Körper? Demokratische Sorge und körperliche Selbstbestimmung in Zeiten autoritärer Austerität«

“Forbidden Bodies? Democratic Concern and Bodily Self-Determination in Times of Authoritarian Austerity” with Martina Wernli.

Democracies currently appear to be under threat, amid a cascade of crises and a climate of social crisis. Far-right parties such as the AfD are capitalizing on the uncertainties of these times of crisis. With the rise of authoritarian forces, a new phase of austerity is emerging globally, whose disruptive policies have extreme consequences for democratic life. Pioneers of this authoritarian austerity, such as Javier Milei in Argentina and Donald Trump in the U.S., stand out for their political performances of authoritarian masculinity. They deliberately cut funding for gender equality measures and restrict the rights of women and queer people.

How can the connections between austerity, authoritarianism, and anti-feminism be understood? How do they manifest in terms of body politics, as attacks on the social reproduction of society as a whole, and as attacks on bodily and gender self-determination? Where can we find counterstrategies rooted in democratic concern that sustainably strengthen democracy?

JULE GOVRIN: Philosopher; visiting professor of practical philosophy at the University of Wuppertal. Govrin conducts research at the intersection of social philosophy, feminist political philosophy, ethics, and aesthetics. Her research focuses on questions of equality and universalism, care and solidarity, and the political dimension of bodies. In addition to research stays in Marseille and Porto Alegre, she was a visiting scholar at the Centre Marc Bloch in Berlin and the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt am Main.

Her publications include “Political Bodies: On Care and Solidarity” [2022], “Desirable: Erotic Capital and Authenticity as Commodities” [2023], and “Desire and Economy: A Social-Philosophical Study” [2020]. Her most recent book is “Universalism from Below: A Theory of Radical Equality” [2025].

Overview of the lecture series

“Thou Shalt, Thou Shalt Not. Prohibitions and Commandments Between Religion, Law, and Politics”

Prohibitions and commandments are at the heart of religious and ethical conduct, stabilizing social orders, protecting against violence, and limiting the abuse of power. Rights, including fundamental rights, are secured through prohibitions. At the same time, prohibitions themselves are an expression of political, economic, and social power relations. Prohibiting others—or even oneself—from doing something means restricting freedom of action and self-realization. The fact that this repressive function of prohibitions and taboos has an inherent culture-forming dimension is what accounts for the unease that Sigmund Freud already attributed to culture at the beginning of the 20th century. The productive power of prohibitions can also be traced etymologically: as far back as Old Low German, the verb “to prohibit” [mnd. vorbēden] was closely related to the command, in the sense of an emphatic directive for action.

In the summer semester of 2026, the Mosse Lectures aim to shed light on the ambivalences of prohibitions from a historical and systematic perspective and to examine their relevance to contemporary social debates. For while criticism of prohibitions has seemed ubiquitous in many social spheres for some time now, and “breaking taboos” carries positive connotations for good reasons, prohibitions are experiencing a renaissance in contexts where they become instruments of crisis management. For instance, in the global discussions surrounding the necessity and legitimacy of a social media ban for children and adolescents. Or in current climate policy, which, under the banner of safeguarding intertemporal freedom, faces the task of readjusting the relationship between intergenerational justice and “prohibition culture” and discussing a current imperative for bans. Debates surrounding cancel culture, fake news, and digital personality rights also revolve around possibilities for prohibitive restrictions.

The Mosse Lectures bring together perspectives from philosophy, cultural studies, ethnology, and law to examine the conditions under which bans appear legitimate, their cultural prerequisites and political functions, and, not least, the power that is constituted in the act of banning.

Further events in this series:

– Adrian Daub: “‘Still,’ ‘No Longer,’ ‘Finally Again’: Collective Perception of Time and Discourses on Prohibition” | Thu, June 4, 2026

– Heike Behrend: “The Horrors of Wanting to Know: The Prohibition of Questions and the Questionability of Questions in Ethnographic Field Research” | Thu, June 11, 2026

– Sabine Müller-Mall: “Future Freedom and the Presence of Prohibition” | Thu, July 9, 2026