This lecture is organised by the Cluster Aging, Demography and Care of the University of Graz research network Heterogeneity and Cohesion in cooperation with the research project Transforming Anxieties of Aging in Southeastern Europe: Political, Social, and Cultural Narratives of Demographic Change, funded by VolkswagenStiftung.

The speaker, Tatjana Petzer, is Professor of Slavic Literary and Cultural Studies at the Department of Slavic Studies at the University of Graz. In her talk, she will ask two main questions: Can death be overcome, should man become immortal? The findings of the natural and life sciences since modern times have created a new awareness of mortality and the prolongation of life. With cybernetics, digital and human enhancement technologies, physical immortality can no longer be scientifically dismissed. Tatjana Petzer will present literary thought experiments by three authors from the former Yugoslavia, Vladan Desnica, Borislav Pekić, and Stevan Pešić, who, against the background of contemporary developments in the experimental disciplines, vividly discussed the ambivalent way in which humans deal with their knowledge of the possible dissolution of the limits of life.

The lecture will take place on site and online.

Room 33.1.224, Department of Slavic Studies, Merangasse 70, 8010 Graz, first floor.

To receive the Zoom link, please register by 19 March 2024, 12:00, via e-mail to: natalie.klimenko@uni-graz.at

By registering, you consent to the processing of your personal data (name, institution, e-mail address) for the purpose of organising the event.