Radical Diversity: Houston

A discussion series with Max Czollek and Mohamed Amjahid

Radical Diversity is presented by several Goethe-Institut locations in North America in collaboration with its pop-up branches, the Thomas Mann House, and the Institute for Social Justice & Radical Diversity under the sponsorship of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung North America.

This event takes place September 16, at 2.00 PM CDT via Zoom.
ZOOM REGISTRATION Right-wing extremism, everyday racism and racialized microaggressions, and pressure to “assimilate” – all of these constructs affecting racialized minorities result from an inability and unwillingness to respect and appreciate the radical diversity that underscores our societies. Max Czollek (“De-integrate Yourselves”) and Mohamed Amjahid (“Among Whites: What It Means to Be Privileged”) are two Millennial generation voices that have emerged from Germany in recent years. With a critical, multidimensional approach, Czollek and Amjahid will examine the challenges faced by German and North American societies, as well as various visions for progress, by discussing them with experts in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.

The discussion continues in Houston, where Max Czollek and Corinne Kaszner from the Institute for Social Justice & Radical Diversity will discuss how art and curation can be expressive modes for Radical Diversity with Houston-based curators Jeannette “Joy” Harris and Ashley DeHoyos.

© Ashley DeHoyos Ashley DeHoyos is a cultural producer and educator born and raised in Baytown, TX. They received a BFA from Sam Houston State University (2013) and MFA in Curatorial Practice from Maryland Institute College of Art (2016). As of 2018, they have served as the Curator at DiverseWorks in Houston, TX, where they have organized a full range of visual, performing, and public arts programming. Through their curatorial practice, Dehoyos is focused on creating cultural platforms with intersectional perspectives and speculative futures as they relate to history and the environment. Recent projects include the performance Jefferson Pinder: Fire & Movement; the 2019 Bayou City Be All LGBTQ+ performance festival; and the group exhibition Collective Presence. In addition to their role as curator at DiverseWorks DeHoyos also manages the Diverse Discourse.

© Jeanette “Joy” Harris Jeanette “Joy” Harris is a Houston-based artist, writer, and curator interested in performance and politics. She was a scholar in residence at the Hannah Arendt Institute at Bard College and currently serves on the American Philosophical Association’s Committee for Public Philosophy. Joy has shown creative works in the US, UK, and EU and is on the management committee for Experimental Action, Houston’s performance art biennial. Joy is pursuing a PhD in Philosophy, Art, and Critical Thought at European Graduate School.

© Corinne Kaszner Corinne Kaszner is a political scientist and sociologist, whose focus lies within the fields of political philosophy, social justice and diversity, gender theory and politics. She has been a trainer for Social Justice and Diversity since 2013, the book Praxishandbuch Social Justice und Diversity was published in 2019. Corinne is currently working as research associate in the project “Heidegger and Postmodernity” based at University of Cologne and pursuing a PhD in history of philosophy and political thought at Technical University of Darmstadt.

Moderator:

© Konstantin Boerner Dr. Max Czollek completed his doctorate studies at the Center for Research on Antisemitism at the Technical University Berlin. Since 2009, Czollek has been a member of poetry collective G13, which has published books and organized lectures. In 2018, his essay Desintegriert Euch! (Disintegrate!) was published at Carl Hanser. His second essay, Gegenwartsbewältigung (Coping with the Present), will be published in August 2020.