By drawing upon multiple disciplines and weaving these threads into the broader practice of literary arts, the Turkish-British writer Elif Shafak offers an inspirational talk about our world today, the stories that bring us together, and the silences that keep us apart.
For a long time, philosophers and artists have asked the question: how can we balance vita activa (the active life) and vita contemplativa (the contemplative life)? Now an additional challenge is added to the equation: vita apathetica (life of apathy/life without passions). Too much information causes an emotional and intellectual fatigue, exacerbating this state of apathy—numbness, indifference. Literature is the antidote to this state. In this AFSEE Keynote Lecture, Elif Shafak, joined by discussant Lily Jamaludin, will reflect on what literature and art, more specifically the art of storytelling, can offer us at this moment.
Speaker
Lily Jamaludin
Lily Jamaludin is an Atlantic Fellow for Social and Economic Equity, a writer, and a Campaigns Manager for Small Axe, a London-based campaigning organisation.Previously, she was a campaigner for Amnesty International Malaysia, where with her team she designed and executed campaigns on death penalty abolition, freedom of expression, police reform, migrant and refugee rights, and more.
Speaker
Elif Shafak
Elif Shafak is an award-winning British-Turkish novelist and storyteller. She has published 21 books, 13 of which are novels and her books have been translated into 58 languages. Elif holds a PhD in political science and has taught at various universities in Turkey, the US and the UK. Elif is a Fellow and a Vice President of the Royal Society of Literature and has been chosen among BBC’s 100 most inspiring and influential women.
Chair
Professor Armine Ishkanian
Armine Ishkanian is the Executive Director of the Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity programme and Professor in the Department of Social Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her research examines the relationship between civil society, democracy, development, and social transformation.
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