Can one understand what leads to a war? How to explain, how to classify events, backgrounds, how do you speak and write about life in an ongoing state of emergency? Political scientist and Eastern Europe expert Gwendolyn Sasse and Ukrainian writer and publisher Kateryna Mishchenko look at political and social dynamics in Ukraine's recent history. Based on Sasse's theses from her current book, they are looking for a language to think about, to „narrate “ this war. Between science and literature, analytical expertise and artistic approaches, they extend common perceptions to major political situations, everyday practices and life worlds in the midst of war. The journalist Jens Bisky will moderate the discussion.

In cooperation with C.H. Beck and silent green.

Language: German
Livestream: YouTube

Speakers

Gwendolyn Sasse is Scientific Director at the Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS), Einstein Professor of Comparative Study of Democracy and Authoritarianism at the Institute of Social Sciences at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Prinicipal Investigator at the Cluster of Excellence SCRIPTS. As a political Scientist she has been researching for decades on Eastern Europe and Ukraine - in particular on post-socialist transformation processes. Her research includes post-communist transformation processes, and the dynamics of war, migration and protest movements. Her work currently includes projects on the war and border regimes in Ukraine, and social mobilisation in Belarus.

Kateryna Mishchenko is a writer, publisher and translator. She is co-founder and editor of the Ukrainian publishing house Medusa and was the editor of Prostory, a magazine for art, literature and social criticism . She taught literary history at the Kyiv National Linguistic University and worked as a translator in the field of human rights. Mishchenko’s essays have been published in Ukrainian and international anthologies and magazines and she co-authored the book „Ukrainian Night” (Spector Books, 2015). From April to June 2022 K. Mishchenko was a fellow at the Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin, where she has lived and worked since the beginning of the war.

Jens Bisky is a journalist and author. Since 2021 he is editor-in-chief of Mittelweg 36 and Soziopolis, which are published by the Hamburg Institute for Social Research. From 2001 to 2020 he was a editor at the Feuilleton of the  „Süddeutsche Zeitung”. Jens Bisky is the author of the books „Born on August 13 (2004), „Kleist. Eine Biographie” (2007) and – most recently published – by „Berlin. Biography of a Great City” (2019). His essays have been published widely in magazines and newspapers. In 2017 Bisky was awarded the Johann Heinrich Merck Prize for literary criticism and essay by the German Academy for Language and Poetry.

About the Series - Futuring the Liberal Script

“Futuring the Liberal Script” is a conversation series live from the silent green. Researchers of the Cluster of Excellence “Contestations of the Liberal Script – SCRIPTS” discuss and analyze current crisis of liberal societies and democracies and reflect on future political imaginaries from diverse perspectives. As a script “in trouble” the liberal script needs manifold analytical and discursive registers for keeping track of open antagonisms but also of its inherent contradictions and tensions. 

As such, “futuring” is not necessarily a variant of optimizing, but rather relates to developing a critical and creative stance in response to current erosions and contestations of liberal values. The liberal script has to compete increasingly with alternative scripts and agendas for organizing societies, be they run by authoritarian, populist, Islamic fundamentalist, terrorist or technocratic autocracies. Whether liberal democracies are confident, flexible and agile enough to respond to the challenges posed by contrary political systems and alternative ideas is a central matter of acute political and social concern. The SCRIPTS conversations assemble a variety of views, concerns and actors by putting research topics and timely diagnosis up to public and ongoing debate.

Attending the Event

• Free admission. The event is open to all. No registration is required. Current pandemic regulations are followed (currently there are none).
• Would you like to sign up as a group? Feel free to send us an e-mail to events@scripts-berlin.eu
• Accessibility: The Kuppelhalle has barrier-free access for people with walking difficulties via the ramp in the inner courtyard; this path is also suitable for pushchairs. There are three disabled parking spaces on the premises. A sign language interpreter can be provided. If you need further assistance, please contact silent green at info@silent-green.net // 030/120 822 10.
• Public transport: S+U Wedding (Ringbahn S41 + S42 & U6) or U Leopoldplatz (U6 & U9), alternatively bus lines 247, M27 "Nettelbeckplatz/S-Wedding" and Bus 120 "Gerichtstraße".