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Performativity belongs to one of the most prominent concepts in cultural studies and the social sciences more generally. In a nutshell, performativity refers to the idea that discourses, speech acts and practices do not just account for and describe realities but also bring them into being. However, this popularity also leads to much confusion about the actual meaning of the concept, as the notion of performativity is used in various and at times conflicting ways. This course offers an introduction to the most influential understandings of performativity and related debates about the politics of the performative in different fields of study. It shows that different conceptions and genealogies of the idea of performativity co-exist. Performativity can be traced back to James Austin’s speech act theory as well as early debates within gender studies and science and technology studies. Conceptions of performativity differ in how they understand the ‘doing’ of social realities, whether as reiterative practices, speech acts and discourses or scripts for action inscribed in laws or technological objects. Based on close readings, participants of this course are encouraged to develop their own understanding of the notion of performativity. Throughout the course we will pay particular attention to one crucial implication of the notion of performativity: the need for reflexivity and responsibility in the context of knowledge production as the knowledge we produce about in relation to our matters of concern does not only describe realities ‘out there’ but also brings them into being in particular ways.

- reception of abstract theoretical concepts;
- Introduction to debates on performativity

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