Are you concerned about political policies toward marginalized people? Would you like to know more about how we can help them achieve a sense of security and well-being? Then come to the lecture by Dr. Chad Kautzer (University of Colorado, Denver) on November 6 (4:00-5:30 PM) in the Knight Library Browsing Room. This will be a great opportunity to think about society’s policies toward and obligations to the homeless. Please click the image below and consult the Calendar for more information on the presentation. For a complete overview of the Homelessness Project, please go to the UO Philosophy Department’s Community Philosophy Institute.

Lecture Abstract:
In disability studies, the concept of “dys-appearance” refers to bodies made visible through disabling social norms, practices, and environments. Chronic lack of shelter and access to private facilities often produce dys-appearance, as private lives are forced into public spaces. In this talk I consider three forms of security—in law, capital, and recognition—that contribute to this private-public dynamic of “homelessness” today: the policing and criminalization of the unhoused; mortgage securitization; and social recognition that supports trust and mitigates personal vulnerability or insecurity, that is, security as a dimension of “home.” Each of these works to define the public and private, but only the last, I argue, does not seek security at the expense of the insecurity of others.