Members of the Case Western Reserve University community are invited to join the Siegal Lifelong Learning Program for a hybrid lecture titled “Esperanto: The Rise, Fall and Rise of the International Language.”
Jeremy Genovese, emeritus associate professor of human development and educational psychology at Cleveland State University and Great Lakes coordinator for Esperanto-USA, will deliver this lecture Thursday, Sept. 19, from 10 a.m. to noon via Zoom and in-person at the Landmark Centre Building (25700 Science Park Dr., Beachwood).
The constructed language Esperanto was invented in 1887 to facilitate international communication and understanding. Esperanto was designed to be easy to learn with phonetic pronunciation and a simple, consistent grammar. The Esperanto movement grew rapidly but suffered a severe setback in the run up to the Second World War. The language was specifically condemned by Hitler. Stalin labeled it “the language of spies.”
In recent decades, Esperanto has regained ground with the rise of the internet. Today the Esperanto movement is a growing transnational community of speakers who regularly communicate either virtually or in person.
The event will begin at 10 a.m. for light breakfast and coffee served to in-person attendees. The lecture will begin at 10:30 a.m.
Registration is required. Sign up to attend.