In Dialogue with Martin Buber (2021-2022 Seminar Series)
Both inside and outside of the academy we witness the continued attempts of bringing people and disciplines, scholars and themes 'in dialogue' with each other. But how are we to understand dialogue in digital terms, in times of war and after a global pandemic? Is it possible to establish a dialogical relation despite or even through conflict? What can a praxis of dialogue look like that would be able to help us live through the besetting realities of our time? In this seminar we will explore answers to these questions, inspired by Martin Buber’s dialogical philosophy, but welcoming other authors and perspectives to address these issues. Taking a cue from last year’s reflections on Buber’s philosophy of communication, this year we will approach its main tenet – the mutual relation of trust and individual recognition at the core of dialogue – from the angles of a variety of different approaches and in the light of the pressing issues of the contemporary moment.
This seminar series will be hosted in collaboration with the Global Lehrhaus, an international platform for education and reflection on issues of common concern; the Global Lehrhaus has been initiated in 2020 by Paul Mendes-Flohr and Jessica Brown and is inspired by the Freies Jüdisches Lehrhaus (Free House of Jewish Learning), a centre for continuing education that used to be directed by Franz Rosenzweig, and after him by Martin Buber.
Convenors: Johan Siebers (Bloch Centre/Middlesex University) and Federico Filauri (ILCS).
Reading lists for each seminar are given on the respective seminar page.
Wednesday, 20 April 2022
Developing a Dialogical Politics
Recent events have raised the spectre of a renewed cold war that threatens the stability of the international order, while deepening the distrust between peoples and nations. Can Buber’s concept of dialogue forge new bonds of trust on the international stage?
Speakers: Paul Mendes-Flohr, Johan Siebers, Vic Seidler (seminar hosted by The Global Lehrhaus)
Wednesday, 4 May 2022
Dialogue In and 'After' the Covid-19 Pandemic
The Covid-19 pandemic exposed and exacerbated foundational issues of inequality, access to medical care and loneliness. How can Buberian dialogical perspectives serve our communities during this crisis?
Speakers: Paul Mendes-Flohr, Muhammad Zaman, Jessica Brown (seminar hosted by The Global Lehrhaus)
Wednesday, 18 May 2022
A Stroll through the Woods with Buber: Reflections on Environmental Ethics
In 2015 the UN Secretary-General told the Vatican Workshop on Climate Change that protecting the environment is 'an urgent moral imperative', a 'sacred duty'. How can Buber’s extensive writings, life and legacy help us address this imperative?
Speakers: Paul Mendes-Flohr, Kate Pahl, Essi Maria Ikonen (seminar hosted by The Global Lehrhaus)
Monday, 23 May 2022
The Charismatic Leader and the Life of the Community
In recent years, the political landscape in western democracies has changed drastically. The surge of populist movements reflects a lack of capacity of traditional political formations to deal with the necessities of the population, especially the marginalized and underprivileged. While these needs are more and more pressing, the movements’ leadership all too often takes a conservative if not despotic turn, with a charismatic leader holding sway of large groups of the populace. How are we to understand the role of charisma within the political sphere? Is it a mere instrument of power or can itself be the basis for the construction of dialogue and to foster the life of the political community? Can Buber’s reflections around theocracy and theopolitics lead us to problematise the notion of charisma and to cast new light on the nature and limits of political agency?
Speaker: Federico Filauri