Under Pressure: Diffuse Origins and Concrete Outcomes
March 25, 18:00–19:30

With

Mine Pleasure Bouvar,
political educator, DE

Diedrich Diederichsen,
independent writer, DE

Yuvviki Dioh, cultural worker
and scholar, Schauspielhaus Zürich, CH

Clara E. Mattei, economist,
University of Tulsa, US

Olga Reznikova, ethnographer,
University of Zurich, CH

Nina Kerschbaumer
Early-Career Fellow 2025–2026

Details

Venue: Collegium Helveticum, Meridian Hall

Free of charge, no registration required.

In physics, pressure is the application of force exerted perpendicular to a surface divided by the area over which it acts. As a metaphor, it points to an often called upon, diffuse social affect. By mapping out the structural decoupling of economic growth and employment, alongside the failed promises of a welfare state operating increasingly through conditionality and sanction—particularly when it comes to the case of unemployment— this conversation will inquire into the governing principles of Western capitalist societies. How does pressure circulate across social fields? Where does it accumulate, and what about its repercussions?

This discussion is part of the festival

Echoes of Authority
Three Days of Workshops, Discussions, Exhibitions, Performances, and More

March 24–27, 2026

Convened by Zainabu Jallo, Nina Kerschbaumer, Anna [Anouk] Luhn, and Victoria Seca

Festival