Date: Tuesday 6 October
Time: 20:00 (drinks from 19:30)
Location: Arminius, Museumpark 3, Rotterdam
Admission: €12,50,- (regular), €7,- (reduced)
Language: English
Is there a right way to rebel? How do we push back at a time when extreme views are becoming commonplace and democracies are under attack? What can we do when we face a moral dilemma and are uncertain how to act?
On Tuesday, October 6, acclaimed journalist and The Atlantic staff writer Gal Beckerman joins us to discuss his new book, How to Be a Dissident. The book is an invigorating guide to fighting back—part philosophy, part history, and part manual for living with integrity in an age of authoritarian drift.
Drawing on the stories of dissidents from around the globe and across time, from Socrates to Ai Weiwei, as well as thinkers such as Hannah Arendt and Iris Murdoch, Beckerman reveals the defining characteristics these extraordinary figures share: a set of attributes and practices for anyone navigating the pressures of modern tyranny. He shows that dissidence is a human capacity we can all cultivate—a refusal to betray one’s inner voice, no matter the cost.
Participants
Gal Beckerman
Gal Beckerman is a staff writer at The Atlantic and a former editor at the New York Times Book Review. He is the author of The Quiet Before: On the Unexpected Origins of Radical Ideas, a New York Times notable book, and When They Come for Us, We’ll Be Gone: which won the Sami Rohr Prize and was named a best book of the year by The New Yorker and The Washington Post. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and many other publications. He has a PhD in media studies from Columbia University and lives in Brooklyn, New York.