Judith Butler in Belgium: Reflections on Public Grief and Precarity in the Wake of the Paris Attacks

Judith Butler’s presence in Europe during the Paris attacks provides an opportu- nity to reflect on the contours of her rich, philosophical legacy. Butler’s most recent work can be characterised by way of a shift towards more explicit global and biopolitical concerns, as exemplified in her post 9/11 texts Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence (2004) and Frames of War: When Is Life Griev- able? (2009). This paper will explore specific aspects of public discourse in the wake of the Paris massacre through Butler’s concept of grievability. Butler contends that the ability to be mourned within the West illustrates which lives are valued or disposable in our contemporary geopolitical context. Examining the way in which certain social media platforms facilitated and circumscribed displays of public grief enables us to contend with the complex relationship between recog- nition, vulnerability, and the violence of defining “the human”.