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Nobel Laureate in Literature Abdulrazak Gurnah to Hold Hermann Staudinger Lecture at the University of Freiburg

Freiburg, 10/06/2025

The writer Abdulrazak Gurnah will speak on 24 June 2025 about the significance of ‘living together’ in plural societies. He is the first winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature to speak within the context of the renowned Hermann Staudinger Lectures.

A man presenting a medal.
Abdulrazak Gurnah was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2021. Photo: Nobel Prize Outreach (c) Hugh Fox

What does it mean to live ‘together’? The Tanzanian-British writer and literary scholar Abdulrazak Gurnah will dedicate his lecture ‘Living Together’ to the question of how we can succeed to live together respectfully under conditions of cultural and social difference. In doing so, he will also focus on the role of literature and how it contributes to mutual understanding.

Gurnah received the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature. His works, including Paradise (1994) and Afterlives (2020), explore topics like migration, colonial history, and identity. He is Emeritus Professor of English and Postcolonial Literatures at the University of Kent.

Gurnah’s lecture is a special event in the rich tradition of the Hermann Staudinger Lectures, a series established in 2008 in which Nobel laureates speak at the University of Freiburg. Gurnah is the first winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature to be invited, whereas most of the previous speakers have been laureates from the natural sciences.

What: Lecture in the context of the Hermann Staudinger Lectures

When: 24 June 2025, 5 p.m.

Where: Aula, Collegiate Building I, Platz der Universität 3, 79098 Freiburg

The event is open to the public; prior registration is required: https://eveeno.com/frias-gurnah

Organizer: Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS)

Admission is free.

The event will be held in English.

Contact

FRIAS

Dr. Max Bolze
Tel.: +49 761 203 97407
E-Mail: max.bolze@frias.uni-freiburg.de