October 2023

In times of multiple crises, it is imperative to (re)examine the mandate of art. What role should art play in the face of rising social injustices? Could critical artistic practices facilitate transnational justice and democracy, protecting and promoting human rights? Or should art remain non-purposive? Given that art functions within structures of capitalism and coloniality, the role of art and art institutions is ambivalent. Can the political labor of training the imagination mitigate unjust structures and practices?

To find answers to these pressing questions, Nikita Dhawan and Maria do Mar Castro Varela, presently fellows at the Thomas Mann House in L.A., discuss with installation and performance artist Tania Bruguera if and how an aesthetic education can help us imagine a planetary future.

María do Mar Castro Varela studied psychology and pedagogy at the University of Cologne and earned her doctorate in political science at the Justus Liebig University Giessen. She is a professor of general education and social work with a focus on gender and queer at the Alice Salomon University of Applied Science in Berlin. Her research focus on social justice, digital hate and conspiracy theories, and issues of emancipation.

Nikita Dhawan studied German Studies, Philosophy und Gender Studies at Mumbai University and Ruhr-University Bochum. She holds the Chair in Political Theory and History of Ideas at the Technical University Dresden. Her research and teaching focuses on global justice, human rights, democracy and decolonization.

Tania Bruguera is a research and performance artist who earned her MFA in performance from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is the founder and director of Cátedra Arte de Conducta (Behavior Art School), the first performance studies program in Latin America. Bruguera’s work is in the permanent collections of many institutions around the world, including the Bronx Museum of the Arts, the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana, and the Museum of Modern Art, in New York.

In her book Learning from the Germans: Race and the Memory of Evil, Susan Neiman argues that Germany is exemplary in how a country can come to terms with its historical wrongdoings. Tracing the long and difficult path Germans faced in their effort to atone for the crimes of the Holocaust, Neiman outlines how progress is evident in laws, in language and in the education system. However, a number of controversies in the past years over Germany’s colonial past indicate the pitfalls of German Vergangenheitsaufarbeitung (working through the past). These controversies confront us with the challenge of how to think together different forms of discrimination and memorialization. The event addresses the conundrums of memory politics and engages with the “unfinished conversations” between Holocaust and Postcolonial Studies.

María do Mar Castro Varela is Professor of Pedagogy and Social Work at the Alice Salomon University in Berlin. Her research interests include Postcolonial Theory, Gender and Queer Studies, social justice, digital hate, and emancipation. Selected Publications: Untimely Utopias. Migrant Women between Learned Hope and Self-Invention; Postcolonial Theory. A Critical Introduction (co-authored); Post/Pandemic Lives. A New Theory of Fragility (co-authored) [all published in German]. In 2020 she was awarded the Sir Peter Ustinov Guest Professorship at the Institute for Contemporary History, University of Vienna, and in 2023 the Thomas Mann Fellowship. María do Mar Castro Varela is the founder of the bildungsLab* (www.bildungslab.net) and Chair of the Institute for Contrapuntual Social Analysis.

Nikita Dhawan holds the Chair in Political Theory and History of Ideas at the Technical University Dresden. Her research and teaching focuses on global justice, human rights, democracy and decolonization. She received the Käthe Leichter Award in 2017 for outstanding achievements in the pursuit of women’s and gender studies and in support of the women’s movement and the achievement of gender equality. Selected publications include: Impossible Speech: On the Politics of Silence and Violence (2007); Decolonizing Enlightenment: Transnational Justice, Human Rights and Democracy in a Postcolonial World (ed., 2014); Reimagining the State: Theoretical Challenges and Transformative Possibilities (ed., 2019); Rescuing the Enlightenment from the Europeans: Critical Theories of Decolonization (forthcoming). In 2023, she was awarded the Gerda-Henkel-Visiting Professorship at Stanford University and the Thomas Mann Fellowship.

The program will start with a talk The Archive Onscreen: Reflections on History "In Search of Bengali Harlem" by Associate Professor of Comparative Media Studies and Writing at MIT Vivek Bald. The lecture will be followed by 2023 Thomas Mann Fellow María do Mar Castro Varela, remarks, Emancipation (Re-)Considered: Aesthetic Education and the Aesthetics of Education. After her talk and a provided lunch, 2023 Thomas Mann Fellow, Nikita Dhawan will discuss the Aesthetic Enlightenment and the Art of Decolonization. Nikita's contributions will be followed with a talk by Helen Yitah, who is a professor of English at the University of Ghana-Legon's. Her lecture Singing [In]elegance: A Critique of Tradition and Custom in African Women's Songs will be accompanied by Hortense Spillers, professor at Vanderbilt University's Up Close and Personal: The Space of the Aesthetic. After a coffee break Emily Apter, Silver Professor of French and Comparative Literature from New York University will bring all the participants together for a discussion.

María do Mar Castro Varela studied psychology and pedagogy at the University of Cologne and earned her doctorate in political science at the Justus Liebig University Giessen. She is a professor of general education and social work with a focus on gender and queer at the Alice Salomon University of Applied Science in Berlin. Her research focus on social justice, digital hate and conspiracy theories, and issues of emancipation.

Nikita Dhawan studied German Studies, Philosophy und Gender Studies at Mumbai University and Ruhr-University Bochum. She holds the Chair in Political Theory and History of Ideas at the Technical University Dresden. Her research and teaching focuses on global justice, human rights, democracy and decolonization.

Emily Apter is an American academic, translator, editor and professor. Her areas of research are translation theory, language philosophy, political theory, critical theory, continental philosophy, history and theory of comparative literature, psychoanalysis, and political fiction. She is currently Silver Professor of French and Comparative Literature and Chair of the Department of French Literature, Thought and Culture at New York University.

Vivek Bald is a scholar, writer, and documentary filmmaker whose work focuses on histories of migration and diaspora, particularly from the South Asian subcontinent. He is also Associate Professor of Comparative Media Studies and Writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Hortense J. Spillers is an American literary critic, Black Feminist scholar and the Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor at Vanderbilt University. A scholar of the African diaspora, Spillers is known for her essays on African-American literature, collected in Black, White, and In Color: Essays on American Literature and Culture, published by the University of Chicago Press in 2003, and Comparative American Identities: Race, Sex, and Nationality in the Modern Text, a collection edited by Spillers published by Routledge in 1991.

Helen Yitah is a Professor in English, University of Ghana. She teaches Introductory Courses in Composition and Literary Studies. Her higher level teaching is in the areas of the New Literatures in English, Eighteenth Century British Literature, The Short Story, Practice in Criticism, Literary Theory, American literature and Research Methods. Her scholarly articles have appeared in many local and international peer reviewed journals.

In times of multiple crises, it is imperative to (re)examine the mandate of art. What role should art play in the face of rising social injustices? Could critical artistic practices facilitate transnational justice and democracy, protecting and promoting human rights? Or should art remain non-purposive (or, unzweckmäßig, as phrased by Kant and Adorno)? Given that art functions within structures of capitalism and coloniality, the role of art and art institutions is ambivalent. Can the political labor of training the imagination mitigate unjust structures and practices? To find answers to this pressing question we (a) look into artivism, whose origins lie in the social movements of the 1970s and 1980s in Los Angeles and Berlin and (b) examine if and how an aesthetic education can help us imagine a planetary future.

María do Mar Castro Varela studied psychology and pedagogy at the University of Cologne and earned her doctorate in political science at the Justus Liebig University Giessen. She is a professor of general education and social work with a focus on gender and queer at the Alice Salomon University of Applied Science in Berlin. Her research focus on social justice, digital hate and conspiracy theories, and issues of emancipation.

Nikita Dhawan studied German Studies, Philosophy und Gender Studies at Mumbai University and Ruhr-University Bochum. She holds the Chair in Political Theory and History of Ideas at the Technical University Dresden. Her research and teaching focuses on global justice, human rights, democracy and decolonization.

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak is an Indian scholar, literary theorist, and feminist critic. She is a University Professor at Columbia University and a founding member of the establishment's Institute for Comparative Literature and Society. Considered one of the most influential postcolonial intellectuals, Spivak is best known for her essay "Can the Subaltern Speak?" and her translation of and introduction to Jacques Derrida's De la grammatologie.

In these tumultuous times, it becomes imperative to reassess the role that art plays in our society. This discussion will explore questions such as: How can art address the pressing issues of social injustice? Can critical artistic practices promote transnational justice, democracy, human rights, and environmental justice? Should art maintain its non-purposive nature, as advocated by philosophers like Kant and Adorno? Given that art exists within structures of capitalism and colonialism, how can it navigate its ambivalent position? Can the imaginative power of art be harnessed to challenge imperialist, racist, orientalist, and heteronormative structures? Furthermore, how can artivism inspire us to envision a more inclusive and just planetary future?

Don't miss this opportunity to engage in a profound exploration of art's role in shaping our world. Reserve your spot today, and be part of the conversation that could redefine the political mandate of art in our society.

Afterward, you're invited to continue the conversation during a reception, where you can enjoy refreshments and network with fellow attendees.

The Round Table Discussion will be moderated by Mia Matthias, Assistant Curator, Glenstone Museum.

María do Mar Castro Varela studied psychology and pedagogy at the University of Cologne and earned her doctorate in political science at the Justus Liebig University Giessen. She is a professor of general education and social work with a focus on gender and queer at the Alice Salomon University of Applied Science in Berlin. Her research focus on social justice, digital hate and conspiracy theories, and issues of emancipation.

Nikita Dhawan studied German Studies, Philosophy und Gender Studies at Mumbai University and Ruhr-University Bochum. She holds the Chair in Political Theory and History of Ideas at the Technical University Dresden. Her research and teaching focuses on global justice, human rights, democracy and decolonization.

Nehemiah Dixon III adds his voice and experience to the Art Works Environmental Public Art Project team advocating for social justice through his artwork, community involvement and teaching. As a native of Washington D.C. he believes that art should be experienced through any means necessary which drives him to create art for public places.

Reginald L. Douglas is a DC-based director, producer, and new play advocate dedicated to creating theater that connects audiences of diverse backgrounds and perspectives. Throughout his career and as the Artistic Director of Mosaic Theater Company he has created and produced theater that catalyzes conversation, social change, and community building.

Maria Manuela Goyanes is a first-generation Latina theatre maker, known for her work at The Public Theatre in New York City, as well as her September 2018 appointment as the artistic director of Woolly Mammoth Theatre in Washington D.C. She received the Josephine Abady Award in 2007 from the League of Professional Theatre Women for her work on "cultural diversity" in theatre. In 2015, she became a member of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre. She also teaches and lectures at various universities.

Renee K. Harrison is a tenured Associate Professor of African American and US Religious History at Howard University. She earned her Ph.D. in Religion from Emory University (Atlanta, GA) with an interdisciplinary concentration in History, Philosophy, African American Studies, and Black Feminist/Womanist Thought. Her research interests include an interdisciplinary and interfaith approach to African American religious history and culture; Black feminist/womanist thought; aesthetic theory and the arts; phenomenology; and rituals of healing and resistance.

Maria del Carmen Montoya is an American artist working in participatory art, sculpture and new media. Her work is inherently collaborative and collective. In 2009, Montoya became a core member of Ghana Think Tank, an international artist collective that "develops the first world" by flipping traditional power dynamics, asking people living in the "third world" to intervene into the lives of the people living in the so-called "developed" world. Montoya is an assistant professor in sculpture and spatial practices at the Corcoran School of Art and Design at George Washington University.

The freedom of art is one of the imperatives of every democracy. But does this freedom make art inconsequential? Does art have a role in addressing social issues, promoting social justice, or in defending democracy when it comes under pressure? In short: does art have a political mandate and what is the role of art in weakened democracies?

The Student Council consists of a team of highly engaged, talented, and diverse high school, undergraduate and graduate students who invite prominent guest speakers to discuss topics relating to art, culture, politics and society.

In conversation with visual artists, musicians, dancers, writers, theater and filmmakers, cultural critics, curators and others, the students will explore how the arts can make a difference in times of social and political crisis; on what social issues they can give new impulses; how they can help shape local communities; and how the alleged freedom and autonomy of the arts might impede or help the arts in terms of social and political significance.

The guest speaker for our October program is Chinese-Vietnamese-American Los Angeles- based Emmy award-winning producer Elizabeth Ai. She writes, directs, and produces independent narratives as well as branded content for companies such as National Geographic, ESPN, and VICE. She is currently directing and producing two in-progress feature documentaries. She’s a fellow of Berlin Talent Campus, Film Independent, Sundance, and Tribeca. Her film projects are supported by California Humanities, Firelight Media, Knight Foundation, and ITVS.

Today a residence and political think tank on the Pacific Ocean, the Thomas Mann House offers not only exciting architecture but also a unique history: in the early 1940s, Thomas and Katia Mann had the residence built in Los Angeles and lived there in exile until 1952. From here, Thomas Mann campaigned for democracy and dealt intensively with topics such as migration and freedom. Following on from this debate, renowned authors from literature and academia have each devoted a room of the house in the volume Das Thomas Mann House - Politischer Denkort am Pazifik (Wallstein Verlag, 2023). The contributions report on the political life of the Manns and reflect on pressing questions of our time about migration, exile, or climate change, the devastating consequences of which are becoming apparent in California.

The book is edited by Nikolai Blaumer and Benno Herz, with photographs of the House by Jean Molitor. It will be published by Wallstein Verlag and released in September 2023. With contributions by Jutta Allmendinger on the Katia Mann House, Gustavo Arellano on the Californian "city of refuge" and its cultural diversity, Adrian Daub on Thomas Mann and his nightly readings, Veronika Fuechtner on the kitchen and the role of the house maids, Alice Hasters on the garage and Los Angeles without a driver's license, Claus Leggewie on the garden and the question: "How green is Los Angeles?", Frido Mann on the living room and his grandfather's grand piano, Andreas Platthaus on the driveway and the Mann family's path into exile, Alex Ross about "Doctor Faustus" and the soundscape of Los Angeles and many more contributions.

Jutta Allmendinger is a German sociologist. After scientific stations - among others - at Harvard University, the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, and the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Prof. Allmendinger became President of the WZB Berlin Social Science Center in April 2007. In 2013 she received the Federal Cross first class of the Federal Republic of Germany. In 2014, she received a Honorary Doctorate of the University of Tampere. She was one of the first Thomas Mann Fellows in 2018. In 2021, Pope Francis appointed her as a member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

Irmela von der Lühe was Professor of Modern German Literature at Freie Universität Berlin until her retirement. Together with Uwe Naumann, she publishes the works of Erika Mann, about whom she has also written a biography. In 2019, Irmel von der Lühe curated the first solo exhibition on Erika Mann at the Monacensia in Munich, under the title "Erika Mann. Cabaret Artist. War Reporter. Political Speaker."

Heinrich Wefing is a multi-award-winning journalist, architecture critic and book author. After many years at the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) as cultural correspondent in Berlin, and West Coast correspondent in San Francisco, he moved to DIE ZEIT in 2008. Since 2018, he has headed the politics department there. Wefing is one of the initiators of the Charter of Fundamental Digital Rights of the European Union, which was published at the end of November 2016.

Felix Heidenreich studied political science, philosophy, and medieval and modern history in Heidelberg, Paris, and Berlin. He works as a research coordinator at the International Center for Cultural and Technological Research (IZKT) at the University of Stuttgart and teaches in the Department of Political Science. His research interests include topics such as sustainability and democracy, political emotions, theories of justice, political metaphorology, and cultural politics. In 2022, he published his latest monograph Democracy as Imposition - For a Different Citizenship.

Benno Herz worked in the online communication division at the Städel Museum Frankfurt, Germany, before joining the Thomas Mann House team as Project and Communications Manager in 2019. Prior to this, he studied Theater, Film and Media Studies at the Goethe University Frankfurt and completed his M.A. with a focus on new social media aesthetics and interface theory. Since 2009, he has been creatively engaged in several music and film projects as a writer and instrumentalist. He is co-editor and co-author of the publication Thomas Mann's Los Angeles: Stories from Exile 1940-1952 (Angel City Press, 2022). As of May 2022, Benno Herz is serving as Program Director at the Thomas Mann House.

Nikolai Blaumer was the Program Director at the Thomas Mann House Los Angeles from its initial opening in 2018 until May 2022. Blaumer earned a doctorate in philosophy from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) and taught at LMU, Bauhaus University Weimar and at UCLA, Los Angeles. Since 2014, he has been working for the Goethe-Institut’s Department of Culture. He is co-editor of the book Teilen und Tauschen (S. Fischer Verlag, 2017), and Thomas Mann's Los Angeles: Stories from Exile 1940-1952 (Angel City Press, 2022).