Humanities for Humans: Irene Kacandes on the New Transatlantic Discussion Series

Over the last few years, the misuse of contested terms such as “critical race theory” and “white privilege” have exacerbated social rifts – especially since these terms are often misunderstood or not clearly defined in the first place. What’s to be done? Can we counteract polarization by creating a better understanding of these concepts? Perhaps the answers lurk behind the doors of a historic townhouse at 1014 Fifth Avenue in New York City. Founded in 2017 upon the initiative of the German Federal Foreign Office and the Goethe-Institut, the non-profit organization 1014 – space for ideas aims to facilitate transatlantic relationships through talks, performances, and exhibitions. Their latest venture is the conversation series “Humanities for Humans,” presented in collaboration with the Walter de Gruyter Foundation. In eight virtual and in-person events over two years, renowned scholars from a variety of disciplines and from both sides of the Atlantic will take a deeper look at the polarizing issues of our era. According to Dr. Irene Kacandes, Professor of German and Comparative Literature at Dartmouth College and curator of the series, the lectures aim to bring out the “human” in the humanities and to contribute to a level-headed debate among the general public. In the run-up to the first event on September 27, De Gruyter’s director of communications Dr. Pablo Dominguez Andersen spoke to Irene about the origins of the series, the vital role of the humanities in times of crisis, and her plans for the future. Link to the interview transcript on our blog De Gruyter Conversations ► https://blog.degruyter.com/humanities-for-humans-an-interview-with-irene-kacandes More about "Humanities for Humans" ► https://www.1014.nyc/humanities-for-humans  More about the first event "Racism and Fascism: A Love Story" (27 September) ► https://www.1014.nyc/events/humanities-for-humans-racism-and-fascism-a-love-story  Subscribe ► https://www.youtube.com/c/DegruyterPublishers  FOLLOW US ► Website: https://www.degruyter.com  ► Blog: https://blog.degruyter.com/  ► Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/degruyter.publishers ► LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/de-gruyter  ► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/degruyter_official  ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/degruyter_history  ► SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-869529439  ► Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0xDjVUC6XzailRz20DxYDz

There are no comments yet.

Please log in to write the first comment.