David Lloyd

The Racal Regime: the Genesis of a Critique of the So-Called Liberal University

15 June 2026

In this talk, I will explore the shifting circumstances out of which the argument of Under Representation: The Racial Regime of Aesthetics emerged. What were the conflicts and social movements, in the university and in society at large, that called into question the formation and practices of the liberal university and, in particular, the humanities? Why did the successive crises of the university and the conflicts over race suggest that a field so apparently removed from the social and from political struggle as aesthetic theory might be relevant to an understanding of those issues? What can we learn from earlier conflicts about the current climate of repression in universities in the “White West”? Why would a book on aesthetics focus on either race or representation as key elements in the emergence of philosophical aesthetics? Can anything be learnt for contemporary art practice and exhibition culture from the critique of aesthetics and of the very concept of a distinct and autonomous sphere of “art”?  I will examine these questions while also situating my own conceptualization and writing of the book over many years in relation to the successive crises and transformations of the Euro-American university and of schooling in general.

Students wanting further reading might want to look at Paul Thomas and DavidLloyd, Culture and the State (Routledge, 1998), especially chapters 1 and 2. (They seem to be available on Google Books).

David Lloyd is Distinguished Professor of English Emeritus at the University of California, Riverside. Books include Beckett’s Thing: Painting and Theatre (2016) and  Under Representation: The Racial Regime of Aesthetics (2019). Rage, Shame, and Dread isforthcoming with Seagull Books. Poetry collections include Arc & Sill (2012) and The Harm Fields(2022). The Press, Shelter and The Pact: Three Plays appeared in 2025.