Ravanel Richardson, visiting scholar in CWRU’s department of medical humanities, will present a lecture with CWRU Siegal Lifelong Learning on the reading practices of Jewish literary scholars Hélène Berr and Etty Hillesum during the Holocaust. Richardson’s lecture is titled “We Seek the Meaning of Life: Reading in the Face of Destruction” and will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 26, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Landmark Centre Building.
Ravanel’s talk will discuss the diaries and academic careers of Berr and Hillesum, who were both doctoral students forced out of their education by the German invasion. Ravanel will explore the scholars’ continuation of their studying throughout the growing conflict as they sought to understand the meaning of life and death as they read works by their favorite authors.
The lecture is free and open to all community members.