As the last semester drew to an end, I attended a lecture titled “Suqrat: The Muslim Socrates” delivered by the President of Zaytuna College, Berkeley, CA, Professor Hamza Yusuf. The theme of the lecture was the way Greek philosophy was received, revived, and absorbed by the Muslim civilization during the Golden Age of Islam. For
The Socrates Project: A Transformative Experience
“I felt welcomed, I felt that my ideas were valued. Writing was a continuation of classroom conversations. I learnt a lot about writing academic essays, and I enjoyed the critical texts we discussed with the other participants. In the past, I felt excluded from philosophy but the Socrates project fulfilled my dream of studying philosophy,
Birth of the Blue Heron
Dark, dark my light, and darker my desire. My soul, like some heat-maddened summer fly, Keeps buzzing at the sill. Which I is I? A fallen man, I climb out of my fear. The mind enters itself, and God the mind, And one is One, free in the tearing wind. “In a Dark Time” By
Random At Moments
1 The day I lost my iPhone, credit cards, a photo, a student ID, a residence permit and the purse that contained them all, I was with a friend who was visiting Berlin for fall break from Vienna. We used to sit on the bench every night, drinking enough “përlinër bilsnër” to fill up Spok’s
The Century-Long Quarrel between Politicians and Scientists
When it comes to major modern crises—climate change, anti-vaxxers, the proliferation of weaponized technology, to name a few—it becomes clear how science and politics are intimately connected to one another. In our discussion with Siarhei Biareishyk, we looked back to the infamous Lysenko affair as a relevant chapter in history in examining questions at the intersection of science and politics.
Feminist Resistance to Modern-Day Fascism: An Interview with Dr. Ewa Majewska
Dr. Ewa Majewska is a feminist philosopher of culture and activist living in Warsaw. She has taught at the University of Warsaw and the Jagiellonian University in Kraków and was also a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, ICI Berlin, and the Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen in Vienna. She is the
On Conversations with the Community
“When I was your age, when I was a student in the GDR, I got to travel to Yugoslavia to learn the language, and that’s how I began working as a translator. I translated children’s books, from German to Serbo-Croatian, and the other way round. It’s important that you see the world. It is good
Remembering in Place: Reflections on Berlin’s Memorials
I have often wondered if places hold traces of the past beyond the past’s material inscription. If the pain or joy of a family who has moved out of a house still resides there in some ineffable way. If tragedy stays somewhere in those walls. If memories float through the hallways. Or maybe, the presence