SKUTA HELGASON | DATE 10/11/2026

Artbook @ MoMA PS1 Bookstore presents Catherine Liu and Michael Cavadias on 'Traumatized: The New Politics of Public Suffering'

Sunday, October 11, at 3 PM, Artbook @ MoMA PS1 Bookstore presents author and cultural theorist Catherine Liu in conversation with actor Michael Cavadias for the launch of Traumatized: The New Politics of Public Suffering, published by Verso. The talk will be followed by a Q&A and book signing.

RSVP here. *Please note that there is no charge to attend, but space is limited to 50 seats.

Pre-order a signed copy here.

What happens when an idea born of genuine suffering is weaponized as a tool of social control? Traumatized is the story of how shell shock became PTSD, how Oprah turned pain into profit, and how "authenticity" became the ultimate brand. It is a history of surveillance cap­italism's greatest coup: convincing us that wounds define us and that accom­modating each other's trauma is more important than challenging the powerful.

Catherine Liu delivers an unflinching diagnosis of our current crisis, rooted as it is in the collapse of liberal politics, the ascendance of performance fragil­ity, and the rise of emotional display as a surrogate for political action. Sharp, provocative, and urgently necessary, Traumatized argues that we must re­ject a politics of permanent victimhood since it destroys solidarity and leaves us defenseless against the systems that cause real harm.

Catherine Liu is professor in the Departments of Film and Media Studies/Visual Studies, Comparative Literature and English at the University of California, Irvine, where she also served as director of the UCI Humanities Center. She is the author of Copying Machines: Taking Notes for the Automaton, The American Idyll: Academic Anti-Elitism as Cultural Critique and Virtue Hoarders: The Case Against the Professional Managerial Class. Liu is the founder and director of the Palm Springs School for Social Research, an educational and research-focused think tank and platform for intellectual and creative engagement with history, culture, and politics.

Michael Cavadias is an actor/writer and performer. Film and TV credits include Wonder Boys, Girls and Difficult People. Theatre credits include Ahohni’s She Who Saw Beautiful Things at The Kitchen and A Bright Room Called Day, currently running in Brooklyn. Michael’s character, Claywoman, was originally created at Blacklips Performance Cult in the 90s and developed at Mabou Mines. The Mystery of Claywoman was presented at The New Museum, The Wild Project, Town Hall, Abrons Art Center and Howl Festival. Conversations with Claywoman was featured at The Meltdown Festival in London and continues regularly at the Parkside Lounge in New York City. Michael's newest projects include Cancellation Island, a fictional podcast co-written by John Cameron Mitchell, the short film You Should Feel Better (part of the Chapo Trap House anthology Chunks) and a new play The Janiken Dansen Show, premiering at Participant Inc. in December.

Artbook @ MoMA PS1 Bookstore
Catherine Liu and Michael Cavadias on 'Traumatized'
Sunday, October 11, at 3 PM EST
22-25 Jackson Ave (at 46th Ave.)
Long Island City, NY 11101
(718) 433-1088
RSVP here
Pre-order a signed copy here