What is the critical function of philosophy in general and in authoritarian states in particular? How are personal experiences of injustice processed and analysed in the context of Arab dictatorships and their successor states? What parallels are there to the treatment of similar experiences in the GDR, Eastern Europe and Latin America? How can criticism be formulated and expressed under authoritarian circumstances?

 

In recent years, an Arab-German research group led by Dr. Sarhan Dhouib (University of Hildesheim) has taken an interdisciplinary approach to these issues in the area of tension between the experience of injustice, memory culture and critical thinking. In addition to comparative perspectives (e.g. on whispered jokes in the GDR, Tunisia and Morocco, or on silence and speech as a resistance strategy in German and Arabic literature), contemporary witness accounts of Arab philosophers are made available for the first time in German. Here, women in particular break their silence and reflect on prison experiences, persecution and the practice of philosophising.

 

In a meeting with Dr. Sarhan Dhouib, the three volumes of the series Unrechtserfahrung in transkultureller Perspektive (published by Velbrück Wissenschaft) will be presented and discussed.

Presented by Dr. Amany Alsiefy

Lecture in Arabic, the German translation is available in written form. The discussion will be held in German and Arabic and, as always, we will translate as best we can.

All books available in German at Velbrück Wissenschaft (velbrueck.de)

 

The event will be on Saturday July 2, 2022 at 6pm.
Interkulturanstalten, Ulmenallee 35, 14050 Berlin-Westend