Guest Lecture Series: Loss in the Land of Plenty: Understanding American Crisis, Decline, and Paths to Renewal

Download the program here.

 

America stands at a critical juncture. The erosion of democratic norms and institutions, growing economic precarity, systemic racial injustice, deepening polarization, and the reconfiguration of global commitments all signal a profound moment of change.

 

This series asks: How can the concept of “loss” help us understand these transformations? Loss may mean depletion, dispossession, or collapse of trust, equality, opportunity, or power. But it can also spark renewal, action, and reimagining.

 

This guest lecture series brings together scholars and practitioners from across discipline, including literature, cultural studies, sociology, political science, history to  explore how the notion of loss illuminates the dynamics of change in contemporary America.

 

Lectures will take place every Wednesday starting October 22 from 4-6pm in room B.001 (Gr. Hörsaal ), Arnimallee 22 (unless specified otherwise). Today, we will begin with an introductory session.