Prof. Michael Rothberg, professor of English and Comparative Literature, University of California, Los Angeles, in conversation with:

Dr. Sakiru Adebayo (Assistant professor of English, University of British Columbia), and Dr. Adam Levin, lecturer in literature, University of South Africa.

The conversations among the three scholars are posted in individual videos below. Drs. Adebayo and Levin’s remarks are followed by Professor Rothberg’s response to their presentations.

Sakiru Adebayo engages with Michael Rothberg’s body of work, focusing on his three books: Traumatic Realism (2000), Multidirectional Memory (2009) and The Implicated Subject (2019).

Watch the video below:

You may read the text of Adebayo’s remarks here: here

Adam Levin reflects on aspects of Michael Rothberg’s work that deal with issues of empathy and solidarity in communities to drive social change. He speaks of complex implication in relation to Jewish affinity with victimhood while also implicated in violence when viewed through the lens of apartheid memory.

Watch the video below:

In his response, Michael Rothberg underscores his main intellectual commitment in his work: comparison and relationality—thought as relation. The response unfolds into a fascinating reflection by this distinguished scholar and author of intellectually stimulating texts.

Watch the video below: