medico international 219d ago

International Symposium in Zurich Saturday, 06.12.2025 10:00-20:00 Programme 10:00: (KEIN) DENKEN OHNE GELÄNDER OR: THE MEDIA AND THE DISINTEGRATION OF THE POLITICAL PUBLIC SPHERE Political public discourse was a central concept in the West German understanding of democracy. Above all, the media was meant to be a forum for debate and a place for forging new agreements. Today, a large part of the population no longer trusts the media. Since the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing reporting on Gaza, they are seen as carriers of a state ideology that operates without public consent. At the sticking points of contention, the debate shifts instead to social media or smaller platforms. This raises the question: What role do mainstream media play in normalizing right-wing resentment? And why have they apparently failed to preserve and expand democratic and pluralistic spaces? With Behzad Karim Khani, Danilo Scholz, Diedrich Diederichsen, Emily Dische-Becker, Patrick Bahners, Schirin Amir-Moazami Moderation: Kerem Schamberger 12:00: ALI: FEAR EATS THE SOUL OR DANGEROUS KNOWLEDGE, STATE DISCOURSE AND DISTORTIONS OF REALITY What happens when government policy and attempts to introduce guidelines for public and academic discourse openly contradict empirical evidence, scientific codes, and legislation? With Dirk Moses, Nahed Samour, Simon Strick, Sultan Doughan, Teresa Koloma-Beck Moderation: Radwa Khaled-Ibrahim 15:00: 7000 OAKS OR PROVINCIALISM AND GLOBAL HORIZONS – DER GROSSE KANTON It wasn't just the return of economic and military wars that brought down the post-war order. The broken promises of "soft power" also played a role. This panel examines the place of German cultural institutions—such as documenta in Kassel—within a global context. With Ana Teixeira Pinto, Anselm Franke, Eyal Weizman, Kerstin Stakemeier, Milo Rau (tbc), Yassin Elhaj-Saleh 17:30: PATTERNS OF CHILDHOOD OR THE UNEASE SURROUNDING THE CULTURE OF REMEMBRANCE: NEW APPROACHES IN RESEARCH This final panel examines the tipping points and fault lines of German and Western memory culture and its institutions on the one hand, and the international state of research on the history of modern violence on the other. Which structures of a “political theology” dominate the present? With Enzo Traverso (tbc), Erhard Schüttpelz, Hannah Tzuberi, Stefanie Schüler-Springorum 19:30 WENN IN EINER WESTDEUTSCHEN FERNSEH-TALKSHOW DAS LICHT AUSGEHT. FRAG MAX/ WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT IN A WEST GERMAN TALKSHOW. ASK MAX von Eran Schaerf