Pioneering Political Theorist Wendy Brown to Receive 2025 Honorary Doctorate
Wendy Brown, UPS Foundation Professor in the School of Social Science, will be awarded Södertörn University’s honorary doctorate for 2025.
This prestigious honor is presented annually to individuals who have made "significant contributions to society and culture, promoted the university’s education or research, or inspired or contributed to its development in other ways." Brown, a distinguished political theorist, has profoundly influenced contemporary political thought through her scholarship, which has been translated into over twenty languages.
"I am particularly pleased to receive this honor from Södertörn University, with its commitments to enriching public life through its research and to developing citizens in its classrooms," stated Brown.
Across her research, Brown examines the hidden dimensions of power that shape contemporary Western politics, focusing on the identities, subjectivities, and political formations that result. Her influential works address pressing issues from neoliberal governance and the de-democratisation of political culture to the nihilistic impoverishment of truth and values. She is currently writing a book provisionally entitled "Reparative Democracy: A Vision for the Twenty-First Century."
Södertörn University’s Faculty Board described Brown’s research as being closely aligned with the organization's core values of multidisciplinarity, multiculturality, and liberal education. "Wendy Brown is a researcher who truly works in the spirit of Södertörn University," said Stina Bengtsson, chair of the Faculty Board. "Her critical and socially relevant research sheds light on the critical issues of our time."
A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Brown has held numerous visiting professorships and fellowships at prestigious institutions worldwide. The citation for her honorary doctorate emphasizes the significant social relevance of her work and her commitment to issues that resonate with the university's mission. It reads: "In a time when fundamental democratic values are under threat, Professor Brown’s longstanding development of critical theory provides scholars and students in the humanities and social sciences with an invaluable resource for understanding current events and formulating alternatives."
Brown will officially receive the honorary doctorate in Stockholm in February 2025, when she will also deliver a public lecture.
