Marta Segarra, french philologist and feminist theorist, talks about the concepts of intimate space, private space and public space, if such distinctions still make sense. This lecture was part of The Open City Cycle. 

If intimacy had its origins with the bourgeoisie, which is to say with the city, could this notion be facing extinction with the erosion of the physical and symbolic frontiers of the city? Feminism, which also made its appearance bound to the bourgeoisie and the city, taught that “the private is political”, but is this rallying cry still applicable? Taking Virginia Woolf’s room, Maria-Mercè Marçal’s home and Hélène Cixous’ street as a starting point, this lecture considers the concepts of intimate space, private space and public space, if such distinctions still make sense.

This lecture was part of the “Open City” cycle which also featured the following speakers: Evgeny Morozov, Josep Maria Benet i Jornet, Manuel Forcano, Bruce Bégout, Rafael Chirbes, Erri de Luca, Richard Sennett and Kamila Shamsie.