BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Harvard Law School//NONSGML Events//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN X-WR-CALNAME:Harvard Law School - Events X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://hls.harvard.edu/calendar/ X-WR-CALDESC:Harvard Law School - Events BEGIN:VEVENT UID:20251007T1312Z-1759842765.128-EO-726676-1@10.73.0.4 STATUS:CONFIRMED DTSTAMP:20260405T154946Z CREATED:20251007T125610Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251007T125610Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251030T121500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251030T131500 SUMMARY: Book Talk on “Coming Clean: The Rise of Critical Theory and the Fu ture of the Left” DESCRIPTION: Join us for a lively discussion with Eric Heinze\, featuring h is recently published book Coming Clean: The Rise of Critical Theory and th e Future of the Left.   In Coming Clean\, Eric Heinze examines the notion o f wokeness by arguing that the left should use it as an opportunity for sel f-accountability and internal critique. While wokeness […] X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

Join us for a l ively discussion with Eric Heinze\, featuring his recently published book < /span>Coming Clean: The Rise of Critical Theo ry and the Future of the Left.  

In Coming Clean\, Eric Heinze examines the notion of wokeness by arguing that the left shou ld use it as an opportunity for self-accountability and internal critique. While wokeness often emphasizes the importance of confronting historical in justices\, Heinze asserts that it must also include educating the public ab out the left’s own support for regimes that damaged and destroyed millions of lives for over a century—Stalin in the Soviet Union\, Mao Zedong in Chin a\, Pol Pot in Cambodia\, or the Kim dynasty in North Korea. Criticisms of Western wrongdoing are certainly important\, yet Heinze explains that lefti sts have rarely engaged in the kinds of open and public self-scrutiny that they demand from others. Citing examples as different as the Ukraine war\, LGBTQ+ people in Cuba\, the concept of “hatred\,” and the problem of leftwi ng antisemitism\, Heinze explains why and how the left must change its memo ry politics if it is to claim any ethical high ground. 

Eric Heinze ‘91 is a Professor and Co-founder and Direc tor of the Centre for Law\, Democracy\, and Society at Queen Mary Universit y of London. In 2022\, he served as General Rapporteur on the Criminalisati on of Hate Speech for the 21st General Congress of the Académie Internation ale de Droit Comparé\, held in Asunción\, Paraguay. His prior books include The Most Human Right: Why Free Speech Is Everything (The MIT Press\, 2022) \, Hate Speech and Democratic Citizens hip (Oxford University Press\, 2016)\ , and The Concept of Injustice (Routledge \, 2013). 

Abadir Ibrahi m (moderator) is the Associate Director of the Human Rights Progra m at Harvard Law School. His current research focuses on African approaches to human rights which studies\, among other things\, the iteration and pra ctice of human rights as impacted by Africa’s (post)colonial\, religious an d traditional heritages. 

This event is organiz ed by The Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School and co-sponsored by the Harvard Law School Democrats 

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