Linguae futurae democratiae: Restoring Power to Civic Language in 2026

26.05.2026, 16:15, Verfügungsgebäude, VG 3.105 or online via Zoom (No registration required)

with Prof Dr. David Gramling (Hannah Arendt Visiting Senior Fellow at Department for intercultural German Studies)

Abstract: Much of the strain on truth, justice, hope, and solidarity in our cultural moment is a strain on language and languages—that is, our belief in the inherent capacity of languages to offer access to reality, fact, and effective social practice for the future. More often than not, in 2026, language and languages are seen warily as tools for manipulation, misdirection, strong-arming, elite narcissism, and grandstanding. So, if this is the case, why would anyone want to learn languages at all? Why not pivot into learning data, coding, and algorithms instead—“silence-maxxing” one’s way through everyday life otherwise? Such are the choices that young people and others face, who are learning and being in our shared institutions, communities, industries, and societies today. Drawing on insights from Hannah Arendt, Viktor Klemperer, and our own book from 2019 Linguistic Disobedience (co-written with Michelle Moyd and Yuliya Komska), this presentation opens a passionate and unapologetic call for a new public idea about language in 2026.

(This Lecture is part of the Fachkolloquium Interkulturell Germanistik)