Susan Neiman, director of the Einstein Forum in Berlin, will give the second biennial Beamer-Schneider Lecture in Ethics and Civics on April 11, followed by a seminar on philosophical literature on April 12. The lectures are free and open to the campus community.
Neiman, author of The New York Times notable book Moral Clarity, the award-winning Evil in Modern Thought: An Alternative History of Philosophy and the memoir, Slow Fire: Jewish Notes from Berlin, will present the lecture “Learning from the Germans: Tarantino, Spielberg, and American Crimes.” In it, she will examine how German attempts to deal with its Nazi past have produced a template for confronting national evils. In American culture, such confrontations have been rare, and are usually confined to the academy. The recent films of Tarantino and Spielberg provide an exception. Neiman will discuss the German experience, the differing reception of the films in Germany and America, and reflect on how Americans can think about forging an identity in the face of our past. The lecture will be held Thursday, April 11, in Clark Hall 309 at 5:30 p.m. with a reception preceding it with some light fare and refreshments.
Her workshop will be on her forthcoming novel, Time Heals. The novel traces the lives of nine people as they are affected by the consequences of World War II in postwar Berlin, including the division of the country. In the seminar, Neiman will focus on segments of chapters dealing with the post-89 reunification of Germany, and discuss differing understandings of the end of communism, with a view toward questioning our understanding of the Cold War. The seminar will be held in Clark Hall 206/the Mather Library – Baker Nord Center Seminar Room from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Friday, April 12.
Pre-registration is requested to Jeremy Bendik-Keymer at bendik-keymer@case.edu.
For more information on the Beamer-Schneider Lecture in Ethics and Civics, visit the program’s website.