16. November 2023

Philosophy Salon

Since 2019, the Villa 102 is host to the Philosophy Salon, a thinking space and philosophical forum by the Culture Department of the Jewish Community in Frankfurt. The Philosophy Salon is intended as a space for philosophical thought and discussions. It tackles a range of universal and topical themes beyond the world of academic discourse and acts as a stimulus for intellectual life in Frankfurt. Leon Joskowitz welcomes guest speakers from various fields, including philosophy, literature and natural sciences, to talk about key topics of social importance, and to challenge and debate them. In this way, the Jewish history of Villa 102 - former home of the Sondheimer family - is taken into consideration. Find out more about the history of the monument here.

All information about upcoming guests and dates, as well as registration, can be found on the website of the Jewish Community Frankfurt.

16 November 2023

Our time needs philosophers
Leon Joskowitz in conversation with Helma Lutz

Guest of the seventeenth Salon is Helma Lutz, sociologist and gender researcher. As a former professor at Goethe University and director of the Cornelia Goethe Center, she is internationally engaged with the topics of gender, migration, ethnicity, and intersectionality. Central to her work are questions about social and biological gender, as well as gender as a marker and challenge in our society.

Leon Joskowitz talks with Helma Lutz about current debates around gender and diversity, sexism and sexuality. In times when questioning bisexuality is already perceived as a provocation and gendering is banned in some federal states, the topic seems unavoidable. In politics, feuilleton and social media it is impossible to imagine life without it - the supposed "gender gaga" gives the impression of being omnipresent. Successful authors and German politicians devote themselves to the topic and increasingly emphasize, in an emotionally charged way, the need to address the question of gender. What these debates entail and how they are to be classified will be explored with the help of social science findings.

All information about upcoming guests and dates can be found on the website of the Jewish Community Frankfurt.

Past Events

29 June 2023

We live in the apocalypse. Let's make the best of it!
Leon Joskowitz in conversation with Ariadne von Schirach

Guest of the 16th Salon was Ariadne von Schirach, author and philosopher. In her books she deals with fundamental questions: What do we live for? How do we face our fears? Do we have a right to happiness? Leon Joskowitz talked with Ariadne von Schirach about the good life. People, nature and societies are in upheaval. There is a need for new stories, new narratives and appropriate world views for the 21st century. What can such narratives look like? What can we connect to, which ideas already belong on the garbage heap of history? Can our psyche still be saved? And how can a good life succeed in troubled times?

21 February 2023

German Politics and Media Landscape in Transition
Deniz Yücel and Tanya Maljarchuk in conversation with Nikolai Klimeniouk

24 February 2023 marks the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which led to the start of the devastating war of aggression. From the very beginning, the war has been accompanied by numerous debates in German society. It is about humanitarian aid, sanctions, arms deliveries, a fundamental stance and finding a way to deal with a precedent that was no longer thought possible in Europe. Western values have to be renegotiated; militancy and pacifism are put to the test. In the Salon of the Jewish Community, writer Tanya Maljarchuk, journalist and founder of PEN-Berlin Deniz Yücel in conversation with Nikolai Klimeniouk, expert on the politics of Russia and Ukraine, reviewed the first year of war and considered the attitude of German politics and media in the changing events.