Hegel's 250th Anniversary: Too late?
As part of the Indigo Festival in Ljubljana, the Goethe-Institut Ljubljana, the International Hegelian Association Aufhebung and the Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana are organising an international philosophy conference to commemorate the birth of the German philosopher G. W. F. Hegel. The conference shall take place between 7 and 9 September 2020 at the ZRC SAZU Atrium, the City Museum of Ljubljana and at the French Revolution Square. Guests at the conference will include renowned international and Slovenian philosophers, with its two central events included in the evening programme of the festival Indigo 2020 – Now is too late. Taking place on the first day of the festival will be a panel of the Student Philosophical Society, a presentation of a new thematic issue of Razpotja magazine, published specifically for this event, and a panel on translating Hegel. The evening will conclude with a visit to the exhibition Hegel and His Slovenian Friends at the Town Hall’s Historical Atrium, prepared by the Goethe-Institut, the German Literature Archive Marbach and the Baden-Württemberg Stiftung Foundation, with support from the City of Ljubljana. On the second and third day, an international conference will take place at which Mladen Dolar, Luca Illetterati, Ana Jovanović, Zdravko Kobe, Bara Kolenc, Christian Krijnen, Giovanna Miolli, Gregor Moder, Sebastian Rödl, Frank Ruda, Jure Simoniti, Klaus Vieweg, Sven-Olov Wallenstein, Violetta Waibel, Alenka Zupančič, and Slavoj Žižek will all present their thoughts on Hegel.
The conference highlights the theme of too-lateness:
Let us say that the 250th anniversary of Hegel´s birth marks the time of a beginning and the time of an end not because it is an anniversary, but because, with Hegel, we can think the relation between the beginning and the end that is crucial for the present time. Here, the question is not of this or that end (of history, grand narratives, ideology, art, philosophy) but rather of the radical end and our relationship to it, that is, our too-lateness. Today, as the world increasingly more obviously and unstoppably slides towards its ultimate end, and as it seems that, in relation to the pandemic speed of reality, thought is increasingly falling behind, the question arises: What now? Is it actually too late?
Hegel comes to his birthday party without a protective mask and disinfectant. Is he too late? Or are we too late? Philosophy begins when the work is done, when the working day ends. The Owl of Minerva spreads its wings only when dusk falls. Thought only arises after reality has run its course and has been completed. But is it possible that, at some point, reality finally overtakes the concept? Is too-lateness a diagnosis that cannot be rehabilitated with retroactivity? Is it possible to begin from the perspective of a total end? Or does everything actually only begin at a belated celebration or even an afterparty?
Organisational Committee: Ana Jovanović, Bara Kolenc, Urban Šrimpf, Goran Vranešević
Organisers: Goethe-Institut Ljubljana, IHA Aufhebung, Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana (as part of the Indigo Festival), City of Ljubljana
Co-organisers: Faculty of Arts Ljubljana (The Possibility of Idealism for the 21st Century project), ZRC SAZU, Azil Bookstore, Slovenian Book Agency, Student Philosophical Society, Razpotja magazine, Society for Theoretical Psychoanalysis – Analecta, Austrian Cultural Forum, Ljubljana, Založba Krtina, Cooperaive THD
Media partner: Radio Študent
Accompanying programme: Hegel and His Slovene Friends, an exhibition in the Historical Atrium of the Ljubljana Town Hall
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