3rd Stuttgart Future Speech (2025) with Eva Illouz

It is undeniable that we live in times in which political emotions are becoming increasingly significant. Expressions of political anger, collective grief, or public contempt define our daily life. But how can these collective emotions be properly described from a scientific perspective? What picture emerges when we view emotions not as intimate, individual experiences, but as culturally mediated social phenomena?

These questions are addressed by the world-renowned sociologist of emotions, Eva Illouz. Her books are international bestsellers and have sparked discussions across multiple disciplines, including literature studies, political science, and history historiography?. From February 4th to 6th, Illouz visited Stuttgart, offering valuable insights into her current research and thoughts on her work.

In her "Stuttgart Future Speech," the third in a series following Daniel Kehlmann and Liao Yiwu, she argued to the large audience of more than 700 in the City Hall and 1,000 livestream viewers that the future has already begun: emotions, she pointed out, can already be digitally produced and consumed. Today, tech companies are not simply offering "entertainment" or "information" but providing an opportunity to curate one’s emotional balance through media-driven comfort, digital anger, or even social media hate.

During her lecture, Eva Illouz illustrated how these digitally consumable emotions, or "emodities," are not merely products but also valuable resources for multinational corporations. Consumers, she explained, feed algorithms with data that enables the increasingly precise targeting, i.e. emotional manipulation. Looking ahead, Illouz predicted the continued rise of "entertained loneliness"- a state in which individuals are isolated in front of a screen but emotionally stabilized and entertained, empowered to choose what they want to feel.

The third Stuttgart Future Speech highlighted how the University of Stuttgart, the Literaturhaus Stuttgart, and the Hospitalhof Stuttgart—supported by the City of Stuttgart and the Berthold Leibinger Foundation—have turned the metropolitan region into a hub for intellectual discovery. Stuttgart has proven itself as a center of science, engaging in global debates and bridging the gap between academia and broader urban society.

During a workshop at the University of Stuttgart, researchers had the opportunity to engage with Illouz, ask questions, and explore interdisciplinary connections. Emotions sociology proved to be a field situated at the intersection of numerous research areas. Illouz also offered a glimpse into her own working process, her methods, and her theoretical toolkit.

In preparation for this discussion, the students studied Eva Illouz's award speeches thoroughly (Aby Warburg Prize, October 2024, and Frank Schirrmacher Prize, November 2024). The focus was on Illouz’s ideas about "Fast Thought", identity politics, and the culture of victimhood.

In an evening-event, the audience had the chance to ask Eva Illouz questions. Feedback, gathered via postcards and email, formed the basis for a panel discussion at the Literaturhaus. One of the questions raised was: How is it possible that people seem to feel comfortable in "entertained loneliness"? Does our emotional world shrink if it starts to resemble emojis? What are the political implications of a fundamental restructuring of our emotional grammar?

•  Stuttgarter Zeitung online vom 31.01.2025, Stefan Kister: Gefühle der Macht
  (Printausgabe 1./2.02.25: „Die Rechten und die Furcht. Die israelische Soziologin Eva Illouz ist eine der wichtigsten Intellektuellen unserer Zeit. Ihre Arbeiten führen in den affektiven Glutkern der Gegenwart. Am Dienstag der kommenden Woche hält sie im Rathaus der Stadt die 3. Stuttgarter Zukunftsrede“
  (auch in Cannstatter Zeitung, Untertürkheimer Zeitung)
  
  
• Stuttgarter Zeitung online vom 05.02.2025, Stefan Kister: Wie die digitale Moderne unsere Gefühle ausbeutet
  (Printausgabe 05.02.25: "Schwerstarbeit im Bergwerk der Gefühle. Im Herzen der Stadtgesellschaft, im Stuttgarter Rathaus, hat die Soziologin Eva Illouz in einer aufrüttelnden Zukunftsrede gezeigt, wie der Technokapitalismus unserer Emotionen ausbeutet und wohin es führt, wenn wir uns zu Tode liken.“)

• Deutschlandfunk Kultur, 04.02.20252, 10:48 Uhr (05:46 Minuten), „Heute Abend: Stuttgarter Zukunftsrede – Eva Illouz“, Interview mit Stefanie Stegmann
  
  
• SWR Kultur, 05.02.2025, 10:56 Uhr (03:42), Silke Arning: Die Macht der virtuellen Gefühle. Wie beeinflusst das Internet unsere Gefühle? Eva Illouz hält Stuttgarter Zukunftsrede

• BR Podcast, BAYERN 2 „, Kultur-Update“, Christoph Leibold: „Gefühl und Gesellschaft: Die Stuttgarter Zukunftsrede von Eva Illouz“ (Originalbeitrag von Silke Arning)