Past Events Archive

Abstract: Figures of metamorphosis haunt the political imaginary from antiquity to the present. They testify to the enormous energies within processes of social formation. For my book project “Figuren der Verwandlung: Zur Mythologie und Plastizität des Politischen”, I investigate such figures in literature, theater and political philosophy from historical and systematic angles. The corpus includes works by Aeschylus, Plato, Ovid, Shakespeare, Thomas Hobbes, J. W. v. Goethe, Carl Schmitt, John Heartfield, Warlam Schalamow, Heiner Müller and Ulrike Ottinger, among others. The aim of the close readings is to broaden the understanding of the role of myth(ology) and aesthetic experience for…

Monday, April 27, 2020 12:00pm to 1:30pm via Zoom  RSVP here   Author Max Czollek’s essay collection Desintegriert Euch! transformed the debate about the integration of minorities in Germany when it appeared in 2018. His perspective on the roles of contemporary Jews in German society and its remembrance culture—its “theater of memory”—struck a nerve not just among Jews, but other minority groups as well. The threat from the right has created a new kind of solidarity, Czollek recently told the New York Times, speaking about his efforts to forge alliances among various minority groups in Germany. This joint event co-organized by the Stanford Taube Center…

This comprehensively revised, updated and significantly extended edition introduces German film history from its beginnings to the present day, covering key periods and movements including early and silent cinema, Weimar cinema, Nazi cinema, the New German Cinema, the Berlin School, the cinema of migration, and moving images in the digital era. Contributions by leading international scholars are grouped into sections that focus on genre; stars; authorship; film production, distribution and exhibition; theory and politics, including women’s and queer cinema; and transnational connections. Spotlight articles within each section offer key case studies, including of individual films that illuminate larger histories (Heimat, Downfall, The…

Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen Directed by Thomas Ostermeier In a version by Florian Borchmeyer October 12–13, 2018 Zellerbach Hall Price: Tickets start at $30 Berlin’s esteemed Schaubühne theater presents a radically revised adaptation of An Enemy of the People, Ibsen’s potent 1882 drama about individual and social responsibility. The story of a whistleblower in a small town whose efforts to speak truth to power are shut down by his self-interested neighbors, the play both implicates and exhilarates its audience in a conversation about the perils of democratic capitalism. Directed by Thomas Ostermeier, for decades a leading creative…

Brexit, the endless crisis of the euro and the suspension of „Schengenland“ are the symptoms of renationalization. So is the rise of anti-European populism – even in Germany, the traditional engine of integration. As always in its 65-years history, the EU will muddle through. But for all of its resilience, …read more

On September 24, Germans elected a new federal parliament. This talk will offer first insights into the political dynamics of the new administration, with particular view to the current challenges in domestic politics, transatlantic affairs and the future of the EU. Dr. Keller is the Coordinator of Foreign and Security Policy …read more