International Weeks Against Racism
The theme of this year’s International Weeks Against Racism is “Speak up.” TU Dresden is taking this prompt to heart and participating in the nationwide campaign by hosting various events in the weeks from March 20 to April 6, 2023.
Table of contents
Film screening: “Ali: Fear Eats the Soul” with accompanying talk
March 23, 2023 | 8 pm |Kino im Kasten (cinema in the box)
Although “Ali: Fear Eats the Soul” (orig. German title: “Angst essen Seele auf”) was released nearly 50 years ago (1973), the themes of this Rainer Werner Fassbinder drama have remained current. In a bar, the German widow Emmi meets Ali, a Moroccan man 20 years her junior. This chance encounter evolves into a love story. Ali moves in with Emmi and they get married. But the connection that the 60-year-old cleaning woman and the Gastarbeiter (guest worker) share is met with prejudice and hostility from Emmi’s friends and family. The building’s other tenants, a shopkeeper, Emmi’s co-worker and even her own children frown upon their love affair. And the young marriage is not only threatened from the outside. Slowly, an internal crisis begins to emerge.
To commence the event, Dr. Johannes Schütz, Research Associate at the Chair of Modern and Contemporary History, will hold a brief lecture about the history of immigration and racism in eastern and western Germany after 1945.
Location: Kino im Kasten (August-Bebel-Straße 20, 01219 Dresden)
Empowerment workshop for people who have experienced racism
March 24, 2023 | 11:00 am–3:00 pm | SLUB Makerspace M2
The empowerment workshop provides a safe space to people who have experienced racism to exchange experiences and needs without being challenged. Participants will receive support in contextualizing their experiences and will work together to develop strategies for dealing with racism. We will discuss various methods and offer a range of ideas as resources for overcoming everyday racism and to help us build up and strengthen our self-empowerment.
The workshop is geared toward black people, people of color and people with a (family) history of migration or seeking refuge. Everyone is very welcome to attend.
Workshop facilitator: Michelle Chávez is a youth education consultant at the educational institution Bildungsstätte Alte Schule Anspach in Hesse and also works as a freelance trainer, holding workshops in education and empowerment focused on countering discrimination and racism from an intersectional perspective.
Location: SLUB Makerspace M2 (DrePunct library, Zellescher Weg 17, 01069 Dresden)
Language: English
Registration required: via registration form
Anti-racism workshop with a focus on critical whiteness
March 29, 2023 | 1:30 pm–4:30 pm | online
Many people think that racism doesn’t have anything to do with them. Yet racism affects everyone in a society, albeit in very different ways. For white people, whiteness and belonging to the majority appear “normal” and not particularly worthy of discussion. Often, this isn’t even given a name. At the same time, white people profit from a number of advantages as a result of racism and are complicit with systemic racism – even if this is not always intentional. To effect both personal and structural change requires that white people also critically reflect on, learn about and reassess their own position and socialization. The workshop offers an introduction to introspective examination of racism and one’s own whiteness.
This workshop is aimed at people who see themselves as part of the white majority in society and is open to anyone who would like to participate.
Workshop facilitator: Patricia Oulehla (M.A. in Social and Cultural Anthropology) is a trainer who works in political education. Her particular concentration is on racism, (post-)colonialism and critical whiteness, antisemitism, hate speech and classism. She currently works in practical training at the Kreuzberger Initiative gegen Antisemitismus (“Kreuzberg Initiative Against Antisemitism”).
Location: online
Language: German
Registration required: via registration form
Film screening: “American History X” with accompanying talk
March 30, 2023 | 8 pm | Kino im Kasten (cinema in the box)
“American History X” (1999) tells a controversial story of two brothers involved in the extreme-right white supremacy movement in the United States. Derek (Edward Norton) is a staunch neo-Nazi who lives a life filled with hate and violence. After murdering three black people who he caught stealing a car, he serves three years in prison for voluntary manslaughter. His brutal crime turns him into a hero in the eyes of his peers, and he is emulated by his younger brother Danny. Upon Derek’s release from prison, Danny has become an ardent fascist and indoctrinated member of the extreme right. Refined by his experiences in prison and dissuaded of his previous convictions, the ex-con subsequently tries to open his brother’s eyes as well.
In his brief introductory lecture, Jun.-Prof. Moritz Ingwersen, Chair of North American Literature with a Focus on Future Studies, will provide a critical classification of the film, in particular in the context of current developments in the US.
Location: Kino im Kasten (August-Bebel-Straße 20, 01219 Dresden)
Film screening: “Get Out” with accompanying talk
April 5, 2023 | 8 pm | Kino im Kasten (cinema in the box)
This is not your classic horror film. It is creepy and entertaining. Beyond that, however, it is also original and politically pertinent, drawing on the threat of racism as the key source of peril. After having dated for five months, the black protagonist Chris is going to meet his white girlfriend Rose’s parents for the first time. His initial reticence subsides when his is welcomed by the family with open arms. Chris’ skin color does not seem to bother Rose’s parents. But Chris soon comes to realize that something isn’t right with his future in-laws. The domestic help – all black – seem strangely mentally absent and subservient. Odd incidents and disturbing discoveries transform the supposed relaxed visit into a full-fledged nightmare for Chris.
To open the event, Prof. Carsten Junker, Chair of American Studies with a Focus on Diversity Studies, will hold a brief lecture on the subject matter of the film.
Location: Kino im Kasten (August-Bebel-Straße 20, 01219 Dresden)