Past Events

	Title	Date	Type	Speakers
	Turning Point or Breaking Point?	Fri, 17.04.2026, 18:30	Panels and Discussions	Francis Fukuyama Ivan KrastevChristian Ultsch, Andreas Treichl	Turning Point or Breaking Point? Political Salon with Francis Fukuyama Fri, 17.04.2026, 18:30 Speakers: Francis Fukuyama Ivan KrastevChristian Ultsch, Andreas Treichl Series: Panels and Discussions What has driven the erosion of trust in traditional institutions and fueled the post-2016 populist surge? Can the Western alliance sustain the combined pressures of Russian aggression against Ukraine and “special operations” in regions such as Venezuela and Iran? Can US institutions, most notably its bureaucracy, judiciary, and the media, withstand the MAGA challenge? Together with a panel of co-hosts, Francis Fukuyama will explore some of the most contested questions in contemporary politics and economics. Read more
Turning Point or Breaking Point? Political Salon with Francis Fukuyama Fri, 17.04.2026, 18:30 Speakers: Francis Fukuyama Ivan KrastevChristian Ultsch, Andreas Treichl Series: Panels and Discussions What has driven the erosion of trust in traditional institutions and fueled the post-2016 populist surge? Can the Western alliance sustain the combined pressures of Russian aggression against Ukraine and “special operations” in regions such as Venezuela and Iran? Can US institutions, most notably its bureaucracy, judiciary, and the media, withstand the MAGA challenge? Together with a panel of co-hosts, Francis Fukuyama will explore some of the most contested questions in contemporary politics and economics. Read more
	Kalaallit Land Relations: Inuit Narrative Sovereignty and Wellbeing	Mon, 13.04.2026, 16:00	Seminars and Colloquia	Naja Dyrendom Graugaard Taras Fedirko	Kalaallit Land Relations: Inuit Narrative Sovereignty and Wellbeing Fellows' Colloquium with Naja Dyrendom Graugaard Mon, 13.04.2026, 16:00 Speakers: Naja Dyrendom Graugaard Taras Fedirko Series: Seminars and Colloquia Based on Naja Dyrendom Graugaard’s collaborative research on relations between land, body, and healing in Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland), this talk discussesd Inuit relational epistemologies and narrative sovereignty as central to Indigenous wellbeing. Read more
Kalaallit Land Relations: Inuit Narrative Sovereignty and Wellbeing Fellows' Colloquium with Naja Dyrendom Graugaard Mon, 13.04.2026, 16:00 Speakers: Naja Dyrendom Graugaard Taras Fedirko Series: Seminars and Colloquia Based on Naja Dyrendom Graugaard’s collaborative research on relations between land, body, and healing in Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland), this talk discussesd Inuit relational epistemologies and narrative sovereignty as central to Indigenous wellbeing. Read more
	Spring Fellows' Conference 2026	Fri, 10.04.2026, 09:00	Conferences and Workshops		Spring Fellows' Conference 2026 Fri, 10.04.2026, 09:00 Speakers: Series: Conferences and Workshops A staple of intellectual life at the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM Vienna) since its early days, the biannual conference provided an opportunity for early-career visiting researchers from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds to present their work and exchange ideas in a collegial atmosphere. Read more
Spring Fellows' Conference 2026 Fri, 10.04.2026, 09:00 Speakers: Series: Conferences and Workshops A staple of intellectual life at the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM Vienna) since its early days, the biannual conference provided an opportunity for early-career visiting researchers from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds to present their work and exchange ideas in a collegial atmosphere. Read more
	The AI Race: Boom or Doom?	Thu, 26.03.2026, 18:00	Lecture	Hannes Werthner Toby Walsh	The AI Race: Boom or Doom? IWM Digital Humanism Fellowship Lecture with Toby Walsh Thu, 26.03.2026, 18:00 Speakers: Hannes Werthner Toby Walsh Series: Lecture Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant possibility; it is reshaping our economy, our security, our workplaces, and our democracy in real time. In this talk, Toby Walsh examined the rapid rise of AI. He explored both the extraordinary opportunities and the significant risks posed by increasingly powerful intelligent systems. Read more
The AI Race: Boom or Doom? IWM Digital Humanism Fellowship Lecture with Toby Walsh Thu, 26.03.2026, 18:00 Speakers: Hannes Werthner Toby Walsh Series: Lecture Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant possibility; it is reshaping our economy, our security, our workplaces, and our democracy in real time. In this talk, Toby Walsh examined the rapid rise of AI. He explored both the extraordinary opportunities and the significant risks posed by increasingly powerful intelligent systems. Read more
	Six Essential Ideas About AI	Wed, 25.03.2026, 17:00	Seminars and Colloquia	Ludger Hagedorn Toby Walsh	Six Essential Ideas About AI Book Talk with Toby Walsh Wed, 25.03.2026, 17:00 Speakers: Ludger Hagedorn Toby Walsh Series: Seminars and Colloquia Toby Walsh has recently published a highly successful book titled The Shortest History of AI: The Six Essential Ideas That Animate It (The Experiment, 2025). In this accessible work, Walsh explores how artificial intelligence is being created, how it functions—and how it will continue to transform and affect our lives, both now and in the future. We invited experts and IWM fellows for this closed-doors meeting, one day prior to Walsh’s public lecture at TU Wien. Read more
Six Essential Ideas About AI Book Talk with Toby Walsh Wed, 25.03.2026, 17:00 Speakers: Ludger Hagedorn Toby Walsh Series: Seminars and Colloquia Toby Walsh has recently published a highly successful book titled The Shortest History of AI: The Six Essential Ideas That Animate It (The Experiment, 2025). In this accessible work, Walsh explores how artificial intelligence is being created, how it functions—and how it will continue to transform and affect our lives, both now and in the future. We invited experts and IWM fellows for this closed-doors meeting, one day prior to Walsh’s public lecture at TU Wien. Read more
	The Thin Red-Blue Line: Soviet Ukrainian Patriotism Re-Considered	Tue, 24.03.2026, 18:00	Lecture	Andrii Portnov Marta Bucholc	The Thin Red-Blue Line: Soviet Ukrainian Patriotism Re-Considered Monthly Lecture with Andrii Portnov Tue, 24.03.2026, 18:00 Speakers: Andrii Portnov Marta Bucholc Series: Lecture In this lecture, Andrii Portnov reflected on the complex and contradictory relationship between the notions of “Soviet” and “Ukrainian,” including Soviet ideas of nationalism and patriotism, through a close reading of texts from the 1920s to the 1980s. He showed how these dynamics help explain the Soviet experience of Ukraine and their relevance for the dissolution of the USSR, post Soviet Ukraine, and the ongoing Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Read more
The Thin Red-Blue Line: Soviet Ukrainian Patriotism Re-Considered Monthly Lecture with Andrii Portnov Tue, 24.03.2026, 18:00 Speakers: Andrii Portnov Marta Bucholc Series: Lecture In this lecture, Andrii Portnov reflected on the complex and contradictory relationship between the notions of “Soviet” and “Ukrainian,” including Soviet ideas of nationalism and patriotism, through a close reading of texts from the 1920s to the 1980s. He showed how these dynamics help explain the Soviet experience of Ukraine and their relevance for the dissolution of the USSR, post Soviet Ukraine, and the ongoing Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Read more
	Veering Right While Talking Left: Diagonalist Political Communication in Italian Red-Brown and Rightwing Populism	Mon, 16.03.2026, 16:00	Seminars and Colloquia	Vito Laterza Ayşe Çağlar	Veering Right While Talking Left: Diagonalist Political Communication in Italian Red-Brown and Rightwing Populism Fellows' Colloquium with Vito Laterza Mon, 16.03.2026, 16:00 Speakers: Vito Laterza Ayşe Çağlar Series: Seminars and Colloquia In this Fellows Colloquium, Vito Laterza built on the emerging concept of diagonalist political communication to show its relevance to the mainstreaming of rightwing populism. Read more
Veering Right While Talking Left: Diagonalist Political Communication in Italian Red-Brown and Rightwing Populism Fellows' Colloquium with Vito Laterza Mon, 16.03.2026, 16:00 Speakers: Vito Laterza Ayşe Çağlar Series: Seminars and Colloquia In this Fellows Colloquium, Vito Laterza built on the emerging concept of diagonalist political communication to show its relevance to the mainstreaming of rightwing populism. Read more
	Resistance in Crumbling Democracies	Thu, 12.03.2026, 19:00	Panels and Discussions	Misha Glenny Slobodan MarkovichMichael Roth, Renata Salecl	Resistance in Crumbling Democracies Thu, 12.03.2026, 19:00 Speakers: Misha Glenny Slobodan MarkovichMichael Roth, Renata Salecl Series: Panels and Discussions "Resistance" is not only a common term in current political discourse; in psychoanalysis, it refers to an avoidance tactic directed against the conscious recognition of repressed content, whereas in society, it is a conscious act directed against the actions of an authority perceived as wrong or immoral. Read more
Resistance in Crumbling Democracies Thu, 12.03.2026, 19:00 Speakers: Misha Glenny Slobodan MarkovichMichael Roth, Renata Salecl Series: Panels and Discussions "Resistance" is not only a common term in current political discourse; in psychoanalysis, it refers to an avoidance tactic directed against the conscious recognition of repressed content, whereas in society, it is a conscious act directed against the actions of an authority perceived as wrong or immoral. Read more
	Questions of Race and Nation: The Persecution of the Romany Peoples in Europe 1933–1945	Tue, 10.03.2026, 18:00	Lecture	Michael Stewart Misha Glenny	Questions of Race and Nation: The Persecution of the Romany Peoples in Europe 1933–1945 Monthly Lecture with Michael Stewart Tue, 10.03.2026, 18:00 Speakers: Michael Stewart Misha Glenny Series: Lecture In this Monthly Lecture, Michael Stewart addressed the misalignment between different approaches to discussing the persecution of Romany peoples during World War II and asked the question: What does it mean to be racially persecuted? Read more
Questions of Race and Nation: The Persecution of the Romany Peoples in Europe 1933–1945 Monthly Lecture with Michael Stewart Tue, 10.03.2026, 18:00 Speakers: Michael Stewart Misha Glenny Series: Lecture In this Monthly Lecture, Michael Stewart addressed the misalignment between different approaches to discussing the persecution of Romany peoples during World War II and asked the question: What does it mean to be racially persecuted? Read more
	Literature Without Borders. Reconsidering the Polish-language Legacy of Belarus	Mon, 09.03.2026, 16:00	Seminars and Colloquia	Hanna Yankuta Ludger Hagedorn	Literature Without Borders. Reconsidering the Polish-language Legacy of Belarus Fellows' Colloquium with Hanna Yankuta Mon, 09.03.2026, 16:00 Speakers: Hanna Yankuta Ludger Hagedorn Series: Seminars and Colloquia There is a long tradition of Polish-language literature in Belarus, yet to date only a small number of authors have been incorporated into the Belarusian literary canon. Most of them are classified as Polish writers from the Kresy Wschodnie (Eastern Borderlands), the outskirts of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Second Polish Republic. Yet to date only a small number of authors have been incorporated into the Belarusian literary canon. In this presentation, Hanna Yankuta attempted to reinterpret the works of émigré writers from Eastern Belarus in relation to the region’s multilingual legacy. Read more
Literature Without Borders. Reconsidering the Polish-language Legacy of Belarus Fellows' Colloquium with Hanna Yankuta Mon, 09.03.2026, 16:00 Speakers: Hanna Yankuta Ludger Hagedorn Series: Seminars and Colloquia There is a long tradition of Polish-language literature in Belarus, yet to date only a small number of authors have been incorporated into the Belarusian literary canon. Most of them are classified as Polish writers from the Kresy Wschodnie (Eastern Borderlands), the outskirts of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Second Polish Republic. Yet to date only a small number of authors have been incorporated into the Belarusian literary canon. In this presentation, Hanna Yankuta attempted to reinterpret the works of émigré writers from Eastern Belarus in relation to the region’s multilingual legacy. Read more