ANGST ALS GESELLSCHAFTLICHE STIMMUNG

Wednesday, June 3, 2026, 7:30 p.m. Fear is spreading. It seems to paralyze our actions and sow distrust in our society. Sober political analysis is increasingly being replaced by emotionalization, which erupts in hatred and incitement. Our hopes are giving way to bleak visions of the future, and personal responsibility is replaced by a feeling of powerlessness. It is high time to examine this multifaceted feeling in a nuanced way – from social psychological, sociological, and legal-philosophical perspectives. We would like to critically examine the function of fear in our society and take a closer look at its effects. FEAR AS A SOCIAL MOOD Prof. em. Dr. Heinz Bude, Professor Emeritus of Macrosociology at the University of Kassel Moderator: Prof. Dr. Joachim Valentin, Director of the Catholic Academy Rabanus Maurus, Haus am Dom Frankfurt am Main PROF. EM. DR. HEINZ BUDE Heinz Bude, born in 1954, headed the Macrosociology department at the University of Kassel from 2000 to 2023. From 1992 to 2014, he also worked at the Hamburg Institute for Social Research, where he led the research unit "The Society of the Federal Republic of Germany." In 2016, he received the German Sociological Association's Prize for Outstanding Achievements in the Public Impact of Sociology. Since 2020, he has been the founding director of the documenta Institute in Kassel. His publications include Deutsche Karrieren (German Careers, 1987), Die Ausgeschlossenen (The Excluded, 2008), Solidarität. Die Zukunft einer großen Idee (Solidarity: The Future of a Great Idea, 2019), and most recently, Abschied von den Boxern (Farewell to the Boxers, 2024), as well as the novel with drawings by Bude, Munk, and Wieland, Transit 64 (2025).