Fear and Pity in Times of Change: Bertolt Brecht’s Theater in the Present
02. Jun
Public lecture by Prof. Dr. Ulrike Steierwald (Modern German Literature) as part of the “University Society Tuesdays” series organized by the University Society of Lüneburg
Since the 18th century, fear and pity have been key concepts in the history of theater, addressing emotions and their social and cultural conditioning as well as their impact. Against the backdrop of the radical, global changes of the 21st century – the rise of totalitarian autocracies and dictatorships, and the escalation of war, terror, and violence – emotions and their sociopolitical effects must be redefined. In this context, the developments in artificial intelligence geared toward economic optimization and efficiency, as well as the omnipresent perceptual environments of virtual reality play an extreme role. Brecht’s writings on theater provide a framework for reflection against which not only the crises of the present emerge, but also fundamental questions regarding reality, mediality, and the aesthetics of effect appear in a new light.