Panel discussions and symposium

Goethe-Institut, Woollahra
Free

Weimar: the social and political experiment

Thursday 11 August 2011 6.30–8pm

The demise of the Second Reich (Wilhelmine Empire) at the end of the First World War paved the way for one of Europe’s most progressive and liberal constitutions and legislations. Fresh winds blew not just through Germany’s parliaments but through court rooms and theatres, through council chambers and schools. And of course, the experiment faced strong resistance – and in the end, it went from decadence to disaster.

Moderated by Prof Peter Morgan, University of Sydney

Roaring 20s?: Europe in upheaval

Thursday 8 September 2011 6.30–8pm

The call to ‘come to the cabaret’ resounded in the 1920s during a time when traditional values were being eroded and the arts flourished while economies all over Europe went into free fall. Just what was it that made the 1920s both exciting and dangerous?

Moderated by Prof Peter Morgan, University of Sydney

Lou Salomé: femme fatale

Thursday 6 October 2011 6.30-8pm
Registration required by 15 September

One of the most fascinating and almost forgotten characters of the Weimar period, Lou Andreas Salomé (1861–1937) was a true world citizen, a writer and psychoanalyst and a muse and confidant to Friedrich Nietzsche, Rainer Maria Rilke and Sigmund Freud. While leading an unconventional and progressive life, she kept her distance from Europe’s emerging women’s liberation movement. Her substantial work found critical acclaim after World War II and is being reassessed today.

Presented by Matthew Del Nevo, Sydney in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut