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Nobility of Spirit:
A Forgotten Ideal?
Rob
Riemen in conversation with Lewis Lapham and Andrew Delbanco.October 27 at 7 pm
Center for Jewish History
In collaboration with the Jewish Museum
and Yale University Press
Cultural
philosopher and founder of the Nexus Instituut Rob Riemen discusses the
responsibilities of intellectuals, the nature of politics, the limits
of democracy, and the power of language.
Reflecting on a tradition of free thinkers that spans from Baruch
Spinoza to Thomas Mann, Primo Levi and Leone Ginzburg, Riemen will discuss some of the salient themes of his book with two prominent American intellectuals: the longtime voice of Harper's Magazine, today editor of Lapham's Quarterly, Lewis Lapham, and Columbia scholar and Great Teacher Award recipient, Andrew Delbanco.
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WHY CULTURE?
Riemen observes that by
increasingly dismissing the lessons of history, confusing ideologies
and ideas, and devoiding language of its central role in human life,
our society is undermining its very foundation: the pursuit of
knowledge. Sharing the clarity with which Italian writer, scientist and
public advocate Primo Levi expressed very similar concerns, Riemen puts
forth the need for a clearer demarcation between the world of politics
and that of ideas, while demanding a more meaningful exchange between
the two.
BOX OFFICE
Tickets are $15 and $10 for seniors/students.
Call: 212-868-4444 or www.smarttix.com
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SPEAKERS
Rob Riemen is the founder of and propulsory force behind the Nexus Institute, a leading international center based in Holland that since 1994 has fostered an informed dialogue between decision-makers and intellectuals. Riemen has brought to his forum figures of the likes of Edward Said, Amartya Sen, Claudio Magris, Adam Zagajewski, Michael Ignatieff, Carlo Ginzburg, George Steiner, Avishai Margalit, Francis Fukuyama, Sonia Gandhi, and J�rgen Habermas, and has tackled topics as diverse as The Politics of Amnesia, Idolatry, The Classics, Art and Kitsch, Education and Identity.
Lewis Lapham was the editor of the American monthly Harper's Magazine from 1976 until 2006 when he stepped down to found the publication of history and literature Lapham's Quarterly. He has written numerous books on politics and current affairs. Mr. Lapham is the host and author of the PBS series, America's Century and of The World in Time: radio discussions with scholars and historians on Bloomberg Radio that open the doors of history behind the events in the news.
Columbia University professor Andrew Delbanco is the author of The Puritan Ordeal and Melville: His World and Work (2005), both of which won the Lionel Trilling Award. He received the 2006 Great Teacher Award and was nominated by "Time Magazine" America's Best Social Critic. In 2207 he authored the controversial article in the "New York Review of Books": Scandals of Higher Education. His latest essay in the "Lapham's Quarterly" The College Idea, is the base of an upcoming book entitled College: What It Was, Is, and Should Be.
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Centro Primo Levi - Italian Studies at the Center for Jewish History. 15 W 16 St - NY, NY 10011
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