Mieke Bal at Stockholm university

The series of events, entitled “Moments of Meaning-Making,” and which circled around the notions of autobiography and the philosophy of meaning-making, started with a lecture on Rene Descartes by Kyoo Lee (May 19).

The discussion continued through the film on the meeting between Descartes and Queen Christina in Bal’s film “Reasonable Doubt” (hosted on may 20th by Mårten Snickare at Accelerator). The philosopher Cecilia Sjöholm from Södertörn University joined Lee and Bal in developing a critique of the “post-Cartesianism” (see the panel here).

The final big lecture by Bal was preceded by the launch of Bal’s new book, Moments of Meaning-Making: On Anachronism, Becoming, and Conceptualizing, in conversation with Adnan Mahmutović (see the lecture here).

Bal’s lecture, hosted by IKE (Magdalena Holdar) brought together art, scholarship, and public discussion in a way that highlighted how theory can move beyond the classroom and into wider cultural debate. Bal’s work connected philosophy, history, feminism, and visual art, offering a rich example of how meaning is created through context, memory, and interpretation.

By combining a film screening with a book launch and live discussion, the programme created a space for reflection on how knowledge is produced and shared across disciplines.