Jens Balzer: After Woke

October 7, 2023 marks a turning point in the international climate of debate. Since the terrorist attack by Hamas and the war in Gaza, which continues to this day, the global left, universities and the cultural sector have been deeply divided. In many places, the question arises: is it time to say goodbye to any kind of “wokeness”? Or, as Jens Balzer explains with a knowledgeable view of the history of this contested term, is it not rather time to reflect on the original impulses of postcolonial and queerfeminist theories: on the critical awareness of the fundamentally becoming, hybrid, diverse, ambivalent that precedes all formation of identity?

Jens Balzer lives in Berlin, he is a writer and author for the feature section of DIE ZEIT. His books include a three-volume pop culture and social history of the Federal Republic (“Das entfesselte Jahrzeht. Sound and Spirit of the 70s”, “High Energy. Die Achtziger - das pulsierende Jahrzehnt” and “No Limit. Die Neunziger - das Jahrzehnt der Freiheit”, Rowohlt Berlin, 2019 - 2023) as well as the essays “Pop und Populismus” (Edition Körber 2019) and “Ethik der Appropration” (Matthes & Seitz Berlin 2022). His latest book “After Woke” (Matthes & Seitz Berlin 2024) was number 1 on the non-fiction bestseller list of DIE ZEIT, ZDF and Deutschlandfunk Kultur, on the shortlist for the Tractatus Prize for philosophical essay writing and on the SPIEGEL bestseller list.