The Beauty of Difference – Lecture with author Hadija Haruna-Oelker

Hadija Haruna-Oelker is convinced that we all carry within us the perspectives of others, but how to write about yourself and others? In her book Die Schönheit der Differenz—miteinander anders denken (The Beauty of Difference—think differently together), she tells her personal story and combines it with socio-political reflections about Germany as a migration society. She develops visions of how we can unlearn what we have learned. What does it mean to be critical of power in Germany and to do so in German? Based on her work, her lecture is about perceptions of difference, changing perspectives, and empowerment. Her aim is to speak and discuss how social debates are reflected in the public and in the media. This event will be held in English.

Hadija Haruna-Oelker (she/her) is a prize-winning German author, journalist, essayist, moderator and lecturer. Haruna-Oelker writes and speaks regularly in print, broadcast, and electronic media about migration, race, racism, discrimination and the intersection of human identities. Her work draws upon literary, historical, cultural, political, and sociological methodologies and she is the author of Die Schönheit der Differenz—miteinander anders denken (btb-Verlag, 2022), which was nominated for the Preis der Leipziger Buchmesse in 2022. Haruna-Oelker also works on critical receptions of the past in her journalism and the podcast Trauer und Turnschuh, co-hosted with the author Max Czollek. The monthly podcasts address those aspects of history that have been repressed and forgotten, a critical examination of the German culture of remembrance.

Lunch will be available prior to the event, and please RSVP by Friday, April 21, through Eventbrite. This event is co-sponsored by the Department of German, the BMW Center for German and European Studies, and the Heinrich Böll Stiftung.