Utopia Talks Vol. II: Zu Gast Mithu Sanyal

In the organizer's words:

ne of the key challenges we face in our efforts to make the world a fairer place in every respect is the step from analyzing the present to intervening for a fairer future. How do we actually get closer to ideals? How can we create a desirable future? Where are these ideals already a reality today - in so-called "real utopias"? The renowned author Kübra Gümüşay is addressing these questions in a new series that will be launched as part of the Lessingtage 2024. In an exchange with people who have the courage to think, write and live in resistance, the author, who became famous for her book "Language and Being", transforms the Nachtasyl into a creative lab in which concrete utopias, visions of the future and longings are presented, discussed and staged. In the second episode of our Utopia Talks, Kübra Gümüsay talks to Mithu Sanyal, cultural scientist, journalist and author of the multi-award-winning novel 'Identitti'.

"This novel is a new experience: discussing identity, finding yourself and being allowed to laugh at the same time." Alice Hasters

"What a mercilessly funny search for identity that spares nothing and no one. Anyone who keeps asking themselves who they actually are (and why) will not only be smarter after reading it - but also guaranteed to be in a better mood." Alina Bronsky

Her main topics are feminism, racism, identity politics, pop culture and post-colonialism. Sanyal has received several awards, including the Dietrich Oppenberg Media Prize and the special prize as part of the Humanities International program. She is known for her books "Vulva. The Invisible Sex" (2009), "Rape. Aspekte eines Verbrechens" (2016) and her bestselling novel "Identitti" (2021), which was nominated for the German Book Prize.

April 29, 2024, 8 p.m., Nachtasyl