Beschreibung

Conversation group with d.a.i. teacher Scott Stelle.

We are not only now facing the possibility of creeping catastrophic global climate change, but the immediate threat of nuclear war. The fall of the Berlin Wall seems like ancient history, yet with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a new generation may now be experiencing the anxiety and dread of the Cold War, the nearly half century conflict that threatened life on earth. Only the ideological battle is no longer between Capitalism and Communism, but rather Democracy versus Autocracy, which is what President Biden suggested during his first G7 summit last June. Although Biden framed his defense of human rights against authoritarianism as an international struggle between Washington and Beijing or Moscow, the struggle also exists within America itself. In his recent commemoration of the January 6th attack on the Capitol, Biden said, “democracy was attacked — simply attacked. The will of the people was under assault.”

This quarter we shall explore the frontlines of America's civil war as well as probe deeper into the underlying causes of polarization within American democracy. After the Soviet Union imploded in 1991, many mistakenly believed that capitalism and democracy were essentially identical, which was a comforting idea because the invisible hand of the market was supposed to automatically create peace. Yet, by delegating our freedom to impersonal forces and equating citizenship with consumerism, wealth has become obscenely concentrated into a few hands, and personal freedom has superficially been reduced to making consumer choices.

In English

Location: Ann Arbor room, current COVID regulations apply.
Admission: free

Further Dates: Fr. 24.6., Fr. 29.7.

Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut Tübingen (d.a.i.)

Karlstrasse 3
72072 Tübingen

Lageplan