Leonidas Donskis Memorial Seminar: Social Dialogue in Times of Troubled Identities

The European Studies Council of the Yale MacMillan Center and the Baltic Studies Program present "Leonidas Donskis Memorial Seminar: Social Dialogue in Times of Troubled Identities." 

Participants: Arvydas Grišinas, Marci Shore, Timothy Snyder, Bradley Woodworth, Viktoras Bachmetjevas. 

A seminar, dedicated to commemorating Prof. Leonidas Donskis, a philosopher, publicist and politician, one of the most prominent contemporary Jewish Lithuanian intellectual figures internationally. 

One of the core concerns in Donskis’ academic and public work was promoting a culture of dialogue and civil conversation, facing the perilous historical heritage of the twentieth century. A student of postmodern crises of national, ethnic and individual identities, Donskis sought ways towards deliberative politics, where different, even conflicting identities could have an opportunity to meet others in a peaceful and constructive fashion. 

In times of raging cultural wars, and the uncertainty related to the upcoming U.S. elections, his thought remains relevant as ever. The seminar will invite an open discussion on possible applications of Donskis’s ideas in tackling the contemporary challenges and promoting a culture of dialogue.