Podcast Summary: New Books Network

Episode: Henrike Kohpeiß, "Bourgeois Coldness" (Divided Publishing, 2025)

Host: Michael Rossino
Guest: Henrike Kohpeiß, Postdoctoral Scholar, Leuphana University Lüneburg
Date: December 27, 2025

Overview of the Episode

In this episode of New Books in Critical Theory, sociologist Michael Rossino speaks with philosopher Henrike Kohpeiß about her new book, Bourgeois Coldness. The conversation explores how the concept of "bourgeois coldness"—rooted in Frankfurt School thought—illuminates the emotional and affective dynamics of capitalist and colonial societies. Kohpeiß explains her intellectual journey, methodological innovations, the intersections between critical theory and Black Studies, and the challenges of translating her nuanced work for different cultural contexts, especially given the urgent global political climate of late 2025.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Henrike Kohpeiß’s Intellectual Journey

• Background & Motivation:
  • Kohpeiß trained as a philosopher with a focus on critical theory and affect studies, inspired by both the Frankfurt School and Black Studies.
  • Her book emerged from her PhD research and her curiosity about the methodological affinities between early Frankfurt School theorists and the Black radical tradition, especially their shared attention to historical catastrophes (03:22–05:26).
  • “I just noticed some similarities between early Frankfurt School critical theory and Black studies in terms of the methodology that is used in both of these traditions of thought. And I was just curious to explore that and to think about negativity from these perspectives.” — Henrike Kohpeiß [03:54]

Defining ‘Bourgeois Coldness’ and Its Socio-Affective Role

• Conceptual Origins:
  • The term stems from Adorno and Horkheimer’s Dialectic of Enlightenment.
  • Describes an “affective social technique” where bourgeois subjects insulate themselves from the violence they perpetuate and witness, especially in the context of technological modernity and capitalist society.
  • Unlike pure indifference, bourgeois coldness involves a “virtuosity” in selectively displaying morality and empathy to stabilize a self-image rooted in Enlightenment ideals (05:56–11:26).
  • “Bourgeois coldness aptly describes an effective social technique that helps bourgeois subjects to shield themselves from the violence that they themselves enact.” — Kohpeiß [08:00]
  • She views bourgeois coldness as an “affective residue of colonialism,” persisting in feelings and social constellations, often obscuring white supremacy and imperial domination.

Methodology: Bringing Affect into Critical Theory

• Diverse Approaches:
  • Kohpeiß’s method is philosophically unconventional, blending close textual analysis, genealogies of key concepts, discourse analysis of media, and poetic, image-based inquiry (11:52–17:17).
  • She conducts a “materialist affect inquiry,” resisting the naturalization of feelings and tracing emotions as products of material and political conditions, drawing on theorists like Lauren Berlant and Sara Ahmed.
  • “I try to offer some more poetical methods in this book as well... The engagement with the Odyssey by Homer is not a coincidence. ... What are the colonial resonances of the Odyssey?” — Kohpeiß [15:12]

Frankfurt School, Black Studies, and the Critique of Modernity

• Missed Collaborations, Differing Focus:
  • Kohpeiß discusses the limited but notable intersections between Frankfurt School scholars and Black radical thinkers (like Adorno meeting James, Angela Davis’s studies with Adorno and Marcuse), and why more robust intellectual exchange didn’t materialize (18:41–24:39).
  • While both traditions are invested in critiquing modernity, their analytical foundations are rooted in different historical traumas (the Shoah for Frankfurt School; the Middle Passage for Black Studies). She argues for combining these perspectives to address Frankfurt School blind spots, especially regarding colonialism.
  • “Colonialism is really the blind spot of the Frankfurt School... [the book explores] what happens when we think these things together.” — Kohpeiß [22:54]

Contemporary Examples: The Persistence and Visibility of Bourgeois Coldness

• Present-Day Relevance:
  • Kohpeiß observes the concept at work in Western responses to ongoing violence, citing the genocide of Palestinians, the position of Palestine in Western political discourse, and the rise of explicit fascism (25:18–30:39).
  • She suggests that bourgeois coldness helps explain how societies prepare for and mask systemic violence, which can resurface in more overt forms during periods of crisis.
  • “Bourgeois society is one way to... bracket violence in a different way, until maybe it can have more explicit expressions again.” — Kohpeiß [29:35]

Cross-Cultural Applicability and Specificity

• European, German, and Beyond:
  • While the structure is recognizable in the U.S. and elsewhere, Kohpeiß notes its distinctly European—especially German and northern European—flavors, linked to cultural values of emotional containment (33:36–37:14).
  • She encourages scholars to adapt and apply the concept contextually, mindful of local emotional regimes.

On Translation & Reaching a Broader Audience

• Experiences & Adjustments:
  • Kohpeiß worked closely with translator Grace Nissan to maintain her complex German style and theoretical nuance while making necessary adjustments for an Anglophone audience more familiar with Black Studies discourse (39:00–43:37).
  • She highlights the challenge of translating both the content and affective texture of the work and celebrates the broader engagement and generosity of the English-reading audience.

What Readers Should Take from the Book

• Lessons for Today:
  • Kohpeiß hopes the book helps readers move past surprise at recurring violence and instead recognize how bourgeois democracies foster and obscure systemic harms through affective politics.
  • She calls for critical theory to experiment methodologically, given “we do not think that we know everything about [current crises] yet” (45:02–48:08).
  • “Political offers have to come with an offer of a feeling... We have to take [affect] into account in order to make political offers.” — Kohpeiß [47:17]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Roots of Bourgeois Coldness:
  “He [Adorno] thinks that this kind of technological power that he sees at the rise in the 20th century in Germany is very tied to forms of violence and also how violence can be ignored and how people become indifferent to social relations...” — Kohpeiß [07:01]

• On Methodological Innovation:
  “...something that I would call materialist affects inquiry... analysis of affect and emotion that is always trying to push against the naturalization of feelings.” — Kohpeiß [16:09]

• On the Intersection of the Frankfurt School and Black Radical Tradition:
  “The black radical tradition, when we think of the more Afro pessimist chapter of it, thinks through the history of race and capitalism ... Frankfurt School ... more invested in the forms of alienation of social relations and the forms of exploitation that are taking place.” — Kohpeiß [21:10]

• On the Challenges of Translation:
  “I've been astonished so many times with how much precision and sensitivity [Grace Nissan] has taken on this task... My voice ... is still captured, which I would imagine was a real challenge.” — Kohpeiß [39:00/43:37]

• On Affective Politics and Political Response:
  “Political offers have to come with an offer of a feeling, I'm sorry to say, but I think that is the case.” — Kohpeiß [47:17]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:22–05:26: Kohpeiß on her philosophical background and the genesis of the project
• 05:56–11:26: Explanation and expansion of ‘bourgeois coldness’
• 11:52–17:17: Detailed discussion of research methodology
• 18:41–24:39: On the relationship and missed potential between Frankfurt School and Black Studies
• 25:18–30:39: Contemporary manifestations: Palestine, fascism, and more
• 33:36–37:14: On the cross-cultural applicability and limits of the concept
• 39:00–43:37: The translation process and reaching new readers
• 45:02–48:08: What she hopes readers will take from the book

Summary Tone and Language

The conversation is rigorous yet approachable, blending the intensity of philosophical argument and affect theory with an openness to experimental methods and transnational perspectives. Kohpeiß and Rossino maintain an engaged, collegial tone, combining scholarly precision with personal reflection and urgency, given the current political context.

Takeaways

• Bourgeois Coldness offers a philosophical diagnosis of the ways dominant societies emotionally insulate themselves from systemic violence and maintain self-conceptions of morality.
• Henrike Kohpeiß’s methodological inventiveness, combining genealogy, close reading, media analysis, and poetic inquiry, opens new avenues in critical theory and affect studies.
• The book calls for a renewed critical engagement with both classic European theory and Black radical thought, tailored to the political crises and affective conditions of the present.
• Listeners are encouraged to consider how these affective regimes operate in their own societies and to recognize the necessity—and risk—of feeling in both oppression and resistance.