The image of the afterglow describes a moment in which concepts, objects of research, and social orders become newly visible in the light of their possible endings. Yet it does not refer solely to closure and disappearance. In the afterglow, enduring attachments, unresolved conflicts, and new possibilities also come into view. Against the backdrop of current wars, authoritarian developments, increasing militarization, the climate crisis, and antifeminist backlashes, the conference asks about the affective dynamics of social ruptures and transitions. Which infrastructures connect or divide societies in times of uncertainty? How are emotions politically contested? And what critical possibilities, but also what limitations, does affect research have today?

The conference approaches these questions from a range of disciplinary, political, and artistic perspectives. Its central themes include the entanglements of affect and coloniality, contested emotions and infrastructures, the role of public institutions, and the ambivalences of care, repair, resistance, and social transformation. The sessions “Ruptures, Transitions,” “Contested Emotions, Struggling Infrastructures,” and “After Care, Beyond Repair?” examine how social conflicts are affectively experienced, negotiated, and transformed.

Multimodality is not only a subject of the conference but also one of its guiding principles. Academic talks and panel discussions will be complemented by walking tours across the campus and artistic approaches. In Future Labs entitled “Where do Affective Societies live on?”, participants will discuss how the questions, networks, and research contexts developed within the CRC can continue after its conclusion – and what kinds of futures might be reimagined through affect research.

A particular highlight of the programme will be the keynote lecture by philosopher and artist Denise Ferreira da Silva. The conference will conclude with a public evening featuring a reading, performance, and conversation at Aquarium am Südblock.

Registration opens on 1 December 2026. The full programme and further information on participation will be published shortly.