Mehrzahl Moderne I – “Between Singular and Plural. The Historical Dynamics of Polish Modernity in the 20th and 21st Centuries”
New lecture series: Mehrzahl Moderne. An Introduction to the Intertwined Histories of Central and Eastern Europe”
First event: “Between Singular and Plural. The Historical Dynamics of Polish Modernity in the 20th and 21st Centuries”
Lecture by Prof. Przemysław Czapliński (Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań). This will be followed by a commentary from Dr Franziska Exeler (Freie Universität Berlin).
17 April, 6.00 pm | Pariser Platz 4A, 10117 Berlin | Registration: https://forms.gle/CqCLmwQu6q1Kvtey6
Languages: Polish and German (with simultaneous interpretation)
The opening lecture by Prof. Przemysław Czapliński is dedicated to reflecting on the diverse forms and developments of modernity. The starting point is the question of what accounts for the differences in the manifestation of modernity in various parts of Europe and the world, and how this category has changed historically. Against this backdrop, the lecture discusses the distinctive features of Polish modernity in the post-war and post-communist periods. Finally, it will address possible future developments of modernity as a historical and analytical category.
Lecture series “Mehrzahl moderne: An Introduction to the Intertwined Histories of Central and Eastern Europe”
The Pilecki Institute Berlin and the Public History department at the FernUniversität in Hagen are jointly exploring how the recent histories of Poland, Ukraine and Belarus can be narrated as part of European history. How can the historical experiences of these societies be recounted without perpetuating historical notions of asymmetry, backwardness and superiority? One answer to this question is to understand modernity as a plurality of diverse, interwoven processes. An awareness of the region’s polyphony, complexity and interdependence enables us to sharpen our focus on the so-called periphery. By placing its past at the centre, we remind ourselves that the future of Europe is being decided today in Ukraine.
Curators of the Mehrzahl Moderne series are Prof. Felix Ackermann and Dr. Małgorzata Jędrzejczyk.
