"Culture: The Story of Us, from Cave Art to K-Pop" - Talk with Harvard Professor Martin Puchner

9 November 2022, 18 h (CET)
Online (ZOOM) & Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities Essen (KWI), Gartensaal, Goethestraße 31, 45128 Essen

Rapidly sinking enrollments in the humanities across the United States have led to a contraction of distribution requirements and the demand for a single introductory course covering all arts and humanities. Harvard Professor Martin Puchner responds to this phenomenon with his new book project Introduction to the Arts and Humanities to be used in schools and colleges, presenting it at KWI in November 2022.

Developing a new textbook for this type of general education course is an occasion for Puchner to rethink what a basic humanities education should entail. The transmission of cultural objects and practices in institutions such as caves, theaters, and libraries is central to his approach. Since these institutions are always prone to failure, cultural history is marked by different types of interruptions and corresponding attempts at recovery. In this way, cultural history is driven by the interplay of interruptions and attempted recoveries both historically and in the contact among different cultures.

SPEAKER
Martin Puchner, Byron and Anita Wien Professor of Drama and of English and Comparative Literature at Harvard University

INTRODUCTION
Julika Griem, KWI Director

MODERATOR
Laura Bieger, RUB

PARTICIPATION IN PERSON
Please register with Marion Fiekens at marion.fiekens@kwi-nrw.de with the indication of “Participation in Person – 09.11.2022“, by 3 November 2022.
NOTE: As seating is limited, attendance is only possible after written registration. Likewise, wearing a medical or FFP2 mask is mandatory upon entry to the building.

PARTICIPATION VIA ZOOM
For participation online via ZOOM please register via henrike.lambrecht@kwi-nrw.de with the indication of “Participation in Person – 09.11.2022“, until 8 November 2022.

ORGANISATION
Organized by the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities Essen (KWI) in cooperation with Ruhr-University Bochum (RUB)

Weitere Informationen:
http://Veranstaltung auf der KWI-Webseite https://www.kulturwissenschaften.de/veranstaltung/culture-the-story-of-us/