Literature
Şeyda Kurt: Hass
Our conversation will be moderated by independent literary scholar and critic Maha El Hissy who is curating the 2024 #Vorzeichen series for the Goethe-Instituts in Northwestern Europe. The discussion will be held in German and broadcast via Zoom. As always, all are welcome and participation is free of charge.
Hass
Hate is omnipresent. Nevertheless, we seek to suppress it, dispel it cathartically, or transform it into love or reconciliation. Şeyda Kurt approaches this most human of emotions from a different angle, recasting this long-tabooed feeling as legitimate—or even as an act of defiant resistance. Hate is not simply an uncontrolled reaction, but a necessary course of action for the oppressed. Should those subject to rightwing or colonial violence feel anything other than hatred for Nazis or colonial oppressors?Through philosophical and theoretical deliberation, song lyrics, film clips, and personal experience, Kurt demonstrates how hate functions as a means of resistance, self-defense, and emancipation.
Quote
"This book begins where the grumblings of discontent end. It grinds and it rumbles. A raw, clear sound breaks through to reach my ears past clouds of background noise. A roar, a flash, a gasp of awe. I hold my breath: This is hate."
Şeyda Kurt: Hass. Von der Macht eines widerständigen Gefühls. HarperCollins, 2024.
Şeyda Kurt
Şeyda Kurt is an independent journalist, columnist, author, curator, moderator, and public speaker. Kurt studied Philosophy, Romance Languages, and Cultural Journalism in Cologne, Bordeaux, and Berlin. She writes for numerous print and online media sources, including Zeit Online, and is an editor for the Spotify original podcast 190220 – Ein Jahr nach Hanau, recipient of the 2021 Grimme Online Award. Its editorial board was featured by Medium Magazin on the 2021 list of journalists of the year. Kurt’s book Radikale Zärtlichkeit: Warum Liebe politisch ist [Radical Tenderness: Why Love is Political] — an examination of love in the context of patriarchy, capitalism, and racism — was also published in 2021.#Vorzeichen
This online event is part of the series #Vorzeichen. Wen, was und wie wir lesen [Accidental Portents: Whom, What, and How We Read]. This series illuminates the multiplicity of texts, forms, and aesthetic practices which have developed outside the hegemonial practices of canonization. It provides a critical perspective on the literary canon, highlighting the importance of reading as a practice for critiquing structures of power. In addition to literary conversations, the series will also include six online lectures at the intersection of literary studies and the contemporary literary scene, along with book discussions and reviews which will be published over the course of the year on Instagram. Further information about #Vorzeichen, as well as announcements for forthcoming events and recordings of previous sessions can be found at the following link.