Angst und Freiheit

With its exploration of fear and freedom, this book examines a relationship that is historically evolving, yet simultaneously marks a nexus that continually preoccupies individuals, cultures, and societies alike. Different forms of power and domination, as well as the contingency of human life and the maelstrom of history, shift our focus beyond individual pathologies to collective anxieties. In this context, questions are directed, on the one hand, at the arts: What artistic strategies for dealing with fear are pursued in the arts? Do they function as an anesthetic, or can a counterforce to the instrumentalization of power be found in the artistic engagement with a "politics of fear"? Is artistic freedom sought apart from fear, or do fear and freedom mutually reinforce each other? To what extent does fear possess a potential for freedom that opens up spaces for cultural forms and thus also for artistic creation and action? On the other hand, philosophical and media-theoretical, cultural-historical and political questions arise: In what way does fear shape lifeworld, politics and theory today, and what technological innovations provide the basis for changed forms of restricting freedom and instrumentalizing fear?