On Monday, 28 October 2024, Dr Thomas Kater (Berlin) will speak on “‚Kulturfrevel‘ oder kulturelle Teilhabe? Vereinfachter Zugang zu Literatur als kunstethisches Problem” (in German):

There is now a wide range of products on the book market that promise easier access to literature. Their potential audience is as large as it is heterogeneous and, in addition to schoolchildren, includes people with learning difficulties, functional illiterates and people with intellectual disabilities. A heated debate has developed with regard to the simplification of literary classics: One side sees simplified classics as an important step towards cultural participation. Some even intend to use AI to translate an extensive corpus of classics into simple language and thus make them accessible to people with cognitive impairments. The other side sees such simplifications as a “cultural sacrilege” in which the works would not only lose their essential characteristics, but also their literary quality. In his lecture, Dr. Thomas Kater discusses the question of which artistic and ethical problems arise in connection with simplified literature and discusses possible solutions to these problems. The focus is on the tension between cultural participation on the one hand and canon, work identity and work integrity on the other.