1014 and Walter De Gruyter Foundation collaborate to help shed light on prevalent concepts of our times

New York / Berlin, 19 September 2022

Amidst an era of increasing polarization, the Walter de Gruyter Foundation and 1014 launch a new transatlantic event series to take a closer look at some of the controversial terms that deepen the divides in our societies. With eight episodes over two years, Humanities for Humans strives to generate a better understanding of what the humanities are and what role they can play in today’s complex world.

Vitally important concepts come out of academic humanities and travel through our everyday lives. But sometimes these terms are intentionally mis-defined, like “critical race theory” or “white privilege”; and sometimes they are simplified to a point of misrepresentation of the work the term was meant to do, like “intersectionality” and “gender performance.”

In each episode of Humanities for Humans, two renowned experts from the academic world will engage in a moderated discussion on one of the prevalent concepts of our times. Shedding light on their original roots and meaning, the humanities are re-energized for “humans”, particularly the way we live and interact with each other.

The inaugural event, titled Racism and Fascism: A Love Story will take place on Tuesday, September 27, 2022, at 1014 in New York. Professor Michael Hanchard, Political Scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, and Professor Dagmar Herzog, Historian at CUNY Graduate School, will debate the ways in which charges of being racist or fascist have filled the airwaves, cyberspace, and private and public discussions in our times of heightened crisis. The event will be moderated by Irene Kacandes, Professor of German Studies and Comparative Literature at Dartmouth College.

More information on the event series can be found on the 1014 event website, where more episodes will be added on a rolling basis. In this interview on De Gruyter Conversations, Professor Irene Kacandes speaks about the idea behind the event series and provides a look ahead at future episodes.

De Gruyter

Mauricio Quiñones
Communications Manager
Tel: +49 30 260 05 164
mauricio.quinones@degruyter.com
www.degruyter.com

The Walter de Gruyter Foundation is a nonprofit organization that promotes research and scholarship, with a focus on the humanities. It is named after Walter de Gruyter (1862–1923), an inquisitive and open-minded publisher, who was committed to disseminating new knowledge. Bringing together one hundred years of tradition and change, Walter de Gruyter built a modern publishing house devoted to scholarly works. All along, he was guided by the belief that a publishing house had to be strong in order to be “fruitful for scholarship”. In 2006, three granddaughters of Walter de Gruyter co-founded the Walter de Gruyter Foundation to continue his legacy.

1014 is an independent US not-for-profit organization, founded in 2017 upon the initiative of the German Federal Foreign Office and the Goethe-Institut. In the heart of New York City, 1014 creates a space to explore global challenges and opportunities together - across the worlds of culture, ideas and society. With its digital components, 1014 extends its reach beyond the city. Inclusive talks, performances and exhibitions offer perspectives from both sides of the Atlantic. Programs are free of charge. 1014 enables collaborations, forging individual and institutional partnerships.

De Gruyter publishes first-class scholarship and has done so for more than 270 years. An international, independent publisher headquartered in Berlin – with offices in Boston, Beijing, Basel, Vienna, Warsaw, and Munich – it publishes more than 1,300 new book titles each year and more than 900 journals in the Humanities, Social Sciences, Medicine, Mathematics, Engineering, Computer Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Law. The publishing house also offers a wide range of digital media, including Open Access journals and books. The group includes the imprints De Gruyter Akademie Forschung, Birkhäuser, De Gruyter Mouton, De Gruyter Oldenbourg, De Gruyter Saur, Düsseldorf University Press, Deutscher Kunstverlag (DKV), and Jovis Verlag, as well as the publishing services provider Sciendo. For more information, visit www.degruyter.com