THE EXCESSES OF GEORGES BATAILLE
A two-day workshop presented by the Departments of Philosophy and Comparative Literature, Penn State College of the Liberal Arts
Featuring Stuart Kendall, Craig Laubach and Emma Stamm of Acid Horizon Research Commons, with Nicolas de Warren (Philosophy), moderated by Adam DeCaulp (PhD Candidate, Comparative Literature and Asian Studies)
A mixture of invited talks and salon-style discussion. The workshop opens with an evening lecture by Stuart Kendall confronting the problem of time through the work of Georges Bataille, pulling apart several entwined and paradoxical problems: time and deep time; history and the end of history; the future and ignorance concerning the future; experience and the privileged instant. Day two opens with prepared remarks from Nicolas de Warren on Stuart's lecture, followed by a roundtable with Kendall, Laubach and Stamm, and ends with a seminar-length afternoon discussion between presenters and attendees. Thinking through what Bataille called the "catastrophe of time" and its implications for living on this planet in a sustainable way will require thinking about time in new ways.
Day 1: Tuesday, October 20, 2026, 6:00 to 8:00 PM. Keynote lecture, "Excesses of Georges Bataille: Deep Time and the Privileged Instant" — Venue: Burrowes 157
Day 2: Wednesday, October 21, 2026, 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM (panel and roundtable), 2:00 to 5:00 PM (salon-style discussion) — Venue: Sparks 133
Of interest to: students in philosophy, religion, anthropology, comparative literary studies, art history, design studies, and environmental humanities
Accessibility: This publication is available in alternative media on request. For accommodations, contact Merve Sen at mfs6340@psu.edu in advance of your participation or visit