Kursinformation

This block week is dedicated to gaining an understanding of how the present is haunted by structural paradoxes that are characteristic to the modern age, both in cultural and geopolitical terms. We will focus on how the distinction between reason and unreason, or rationality and irrationality has been foundational to legitimize to the production and reproduction of global wealth disparities since early colonialism and the age of the Renaissance since the 14th century, and in a newly consolidated form since the Enlightenment in the 18th century. We will explore why defending reason and rationality falls short of defending the liberal order against a resurgent illiberal authoritarianism in the present, and how this impacts our discussions of the role of the arts in society today.
The block week will be designed by Prof. Dr. Ana Teixeira Pinto, who is a critic, curator and author, in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Anselm Franke. It will feature distinguished guests such as Prof. Saree Makdisi, author of the books "Romantic Imperialism" and "The Impossible History of the 1790s", among others. It will expand on ideas laid out in the volume "The White West. Fascism, Unreason and the Paradox of Modernity" edited by Ana Teixeira Pinto, Kader Attia and Anselm Franke. The indicated hours of the block week are subject to adjustment.