The fourth Science & the Flavour of Aarhus talk with sociologist Hartmut Rosa
Renown sociologist Hartmut Rosa, professor at Friedrich-Schiller-University in Jena and Director of the Max-Weber-Kolleg at the University of Erfurt, Germany, will visit AIAS in the spring. Rosa will share his research at the next Science & The Flavour of Aarhus afternoon talk, followed by an interdisciplinary debate with Magtudredningen 2.0, the Danish Goverment appointed power inquiry and the research project Afmagt.dk.
In his talk ‘The Atrophy of Discretion? A Plea for Subversion' on 29 April at AIAS, Hartmut Rosa will address the shift that is right now happening: that our way of interacting with the world is changing rapidly and fundamentally in ways we hardly notice. Tasks like cooking, driving, grading or writing exams, casting a political decision, refereeing a football match or watching the stars once required judgment, experience and emotional involvement. Today, many of these actions are reduced to the mere execution of rules, algorithms or instructions. According to Rosa, this weakens the ‘organic’ link between our emotions and actions and can make us feel detached from our actions. This shift may help explain the rise of burnout and loneliness, but also political rage and polarization. Hartmut Rosa will investigate what drives this change and explore ways to counterbalancing it.
Rosa's talk is followed by a discussion with political scientist Lene Holm Pedersen, University of Copenhagen and member of Magtudredningen 2.0 and Henrik Reintoft Christensen, Head of Department of the Study of Religion at Aarhus University and member of the Afmagt.dk project. The event concludes with time for networking over a refreshment and a snack.
Date: Wednesday, 29 April 2026 at 17:00 - 19:00
Location: The Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies (AIAS), Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 6B, 8000 Aarhus C, Buildings 1630-32, the lecture theatre
Read more about the event and register
The event is held in English, open to all interested and free of charge by prior registration by Friday 24 April 2026:
https://aias.au.dk/events/science-and-the-flavour-of-aarhus-hartmut-rosa
Contact
Lena Bering, Head of Communications at AIAS
E-mail: lber@aias.au.dk
Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, AIAS
Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 6B
DK-8000 Aarhus C
Denmark