Today humans live in societies that are defined by a high degree of security. Violent conflicts within and across communities have been declining precipitously and war itself has been 'sanitized' by the introduction of smart weapons and surveillance technologies. Innovations in medical science, education and mass communications mean that we live longer, enjoy access to greater resources and exercise greater control over our life choices, yet we feel less secure than the preceding generations. Anxiety rather than security seems to be the defining spirit of the era. With the rise of economic precarity and scarcity, global campaigns of disinformation and the resulting social polarization, artificial intelligence and killer robots, hybrid threats and ecological crises, the number of security challenges has multiplied. On the global level, the sense of international peace and security has been shaken by the destabilizing effects of the COVID – 19 pandemic and the return to great power competition and escalation. While wars have declined in frequency they last longer, and the lines between war and peace are blurred. Migration flows are increasingly seen as security threats by transit and host countries spurring ever greater use of surveillance technologies and return of militarized border walls. In the face of such radical uncertainty, the guiding principles and norms for how to govern societies appear to be failing. And, yet solidarity networks and models for alternative approaches to security are spreading and connecting more and more people in mutual aid. This seminar will think critically about several questions: What is the relationship between society and security and how has this relationship evolved? How is this relationship also situated in broader political, social, and cultural realms? Does the recent rise in great power competition signal the beginning of a new more dangerous era in global politics and the end of the post-Cold War dream of a more peaceful future? We will pay particular attention to the proliferation of discourses and images that increasingly shape our understanding of the line that separates reality and fiction. We will also experiment with new theoretical frameworks to engage more deeply with this evolving and complex relationship between society and security and to imagine new foundations for human flourishing.