Austrian born writer Jean Améry, who chose Brussels as his hometown after the Second World War, was one of the most distinguished essayists, cultural critics, and avant-garde writers of the twentieth century.
Jenseits von Schuld und Sühne (At the Mind’s Limits), the report on his time in Auschwitz, published in 1966, received worldwide attention. A series of challenging essays followed. Besides his book length studies on aging (1968), and on suicide (1976), Jean Améry, published numerous collections of shorter texts on the modern condition such as Widersprüche (Contradictions, 1971), but also on the politics of the day during the heated debates in the late 1960s.
Organized by scholars from the German department, the Draper program and the Trauma & Violence interdisciplinary program, the panel intends to honor Jean Améry’s centenary with three succinct talks of twenty-five minutes length each. The talks address key concepts of Améry’s haunting work such as trauma, Heimat, and aging.
New York City, NY; NYC