Pertencer. Geschichte und Erfahrung im Werk von Clarice Lispector (1920–1977)

Lecture with Susanne Zepp (Berlin) as part of the online lecture series »Lucha y Libertad – Jews in Twentieth-Century Latin America«

Lucha y libertad – struggle and freedom. This pair of terms is tied in with the historical events of twentieth-century Latin America, particularly in the second half of the century, like no other. It encapsulates the emblematic political developments of this era. While the concept of struggle evokes especially the revolutionary, Cuban-schooled model of movements, the demand for freedom meant above all national liberation. If the focus here is on the Jewish inhabitants of this part of the world, who as citizens of these young nations, as protagonists of political movements, or as members of Jewish institutions were deeply involved in the political, social, and cultural developments of the time, then this reading can also be expanded. On the run from the ravages in Europe, they had found refuge in Latin America in the late nineteenth century. The prospect of civic freedoms they encountered there, with which especially countries like Argentina, Brazil, and to a lesser extent Mexico canvassed for immigrants from Europe, was however repeatedly challenged in the following decades, not least of all by the host societies themselves. Against the global backdrop of the Cold War and its local repercussions in the dictatorial regimes in this part of the world, the interferences of prospective freedom and the efforts towards its realization will be placed at the center of this research colloquium. The core questions of this issue will be introduced and the potential insights they promise will be developed through the medium of current research projects from the literary, cultural, and historical sciences.