Short History(ies) of Humankind | How do we tell of our origins?

On September 05 (7:00 p.m., admission free of charge), a discussion between Susanne Wedlich (freelance science journalist specializing in biology) and Prof. Dr. Nils Güttler (historian of science at the University of Vienna) will take place as part of the discussion series "The Power of Origin" at the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum Dresden. The event will be moderated by TUDiSC PI Dr. Solvejg Nitzke.

Grand narratives are booming. Yuval Harari's bestseller Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind is perhaps the most prominent example of this trend. The story of humanity is told as continuous progress, with people still finding solutions to their problems. Harari's success speaks to the fact that he has struck a nerve with this kind of historical narrative. It conveys: Things will go on. In view of man-made global crises, this relieves the acute pressure to act. Is science allowed to use such narrative strategies to communicate its findings to the people? Who is allowed to pass off which stories as 'scientific' facts? How much narrative can history and science tolerate? The science journalist Susanne Wedlich and the historian of science Nils Güttler work in a dialogue between the disciplines and discuss which stories from the primordial slime to the superman are contained in the "little stories of mankind". What problems arise for science and its communication? How political is popular popscience? And how can you tell if a story is plausible?

Find out more details on the event page here.

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