2026 Lecture Two: On the Meaning of the End of History

A talk by Kyle Gleadell

It is safest to grasp the concept of the postmodern as an attempt to think the present historically in an age that has forgotten how to think historically in the first place. In that case, it either “expresses” some deeper irrepressible historical impulse (in however distorted a fashion) or effectively “represses” and diverts it, depending on the side of the ambiguity you happen to favor.

(Jameson, Fredric. Postmodernism: The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. Duke University Press. 1991. ix.)

In this talk I address the history of the concept of history and discuss how the present is understood today in light of the history of history or rather a lack of it.

The history of history is complex. For the Ancient Greeks history, or historia, meant the recounting of events. In Christian theology history meant providence, the return of Christ at a future moment. For many thinkers in the 19th century history meant progress, the progress of human reason, freedom, the progress of science, politics, labour and economy. But what does history mean when the ideas of progress break down? When our faith in human reason, and our ideas of the future, crumble? What is left in the unending persistence of the present where digital technology replaces strenuous deliberation? In this talk, I argue that we need to consider the history of history in order to understand our present and the possibility of an open future.

Lecture One: Flooding the zone and wagging the dog – how understanding crisis communication can help us avoid being duped by crisis capitalism

A talk by Tauel Harper
From 9/11 to the war on Iran; form the GFC to the ‘tariff wars’, from H1N1 to COVID and with increasing occurrence of environmental catastrophes, we have entered a time of continual crisis. In this talk I’ll examine how the neo-liberal political establishment produces and exploits the opportunity of crisis for personal gain. I will draw on communication theory to explain why our leaders are able to manage this sleight-of-hand and explain what the public can do to make crises work for us, instead of them.