Reading: Lea Ypi “Free” Coming of age at the End of History

In ihrem autobiografischen Roman erzählt Lea Ypi vom Aufwachsen im poststalinistischen Albanien. She succeeds in creating a captivating portrait of a family whose history is closely interwoven with that of the country, and a trenchant reflection on a crisis of faith that follows the end of indoctrination and the social awakening to supposed freedom. When the statue of dictator Enver Hoxha topples in Tirana, the era of isolated, communist Albania as the last Stalinist outpost in Europe comes to an end. The new beginning is followed by economic crisis, unemployment and mass exodus. The promise of freedom, which plunges the Albanian population, inexperienced in capitalism, into chaos and conflict, leaves the then ten-year-old Lea wondering what freedom actually is. Image: ©Stuart Simpson, Penguin Random House

Lea Ypiist a professor for political theory at London School of Economics. In addition to her research on political philosophy and the intellectual history of the Balkans, she regularly writes socio-political articles for the Guardian. The event will be moderated by Sarah Miriam Lutzemann (kohsie Diversity Buchhandlung Halle)