Global Humanities Junior Fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

November 2015 - February 2016

The Relation Between Suffering and Remaining Silent in the Works of Theodor W. Adorno

The thesis has to reflect on the term (philosophical) experience in the works of Adorno, particularly in the light of the horror of Auschwitz. For Adorno experience and the somatic are constantly connected. Therefore, when it comes to experience, suffering is a central notion. Suffering is inseparably linked with the subjective and objective body. According to that, the materiality of the physical suffering has to be further developed. Adorno's critical theory steadily pleads that giving voice to (the) suffering is crucial. Current studies strongly focus on the concept and medium of language in Adorno's thoughts. As opposed to this, I want to highlight the other side of this coin: being silent. What causes this deafening silence? What is preventing the suffering, the “non-identity”, from communication? How can silence, caused by suffering, be communicated, portrayed and performed? How can an aesthetic dimension handle silence, what ways are there to talk about not-talking? 

In 2012, Ramona Huber finished a B.A. in Comparative Literature and a B.A. in Political Science at the Universität Wien, where she also functioned as tutor for a year. After earning the two Bachelor degrees she decided to go to Brussels to intensify her philosophy studies at the Université libre de Bruxelles. Ramona Huber is currently completing her M.A. in Philosophy at the Freie Universität Berlin. She also worked as a student assistant in the research project “Aspects of the transnational circulation of knowledge in the works and reception of Hannah Arendt“ under guidance of Dr. Stefania Maffeis. Currently she is working as a student assistant within the framework of the Einstein Junior Fellow-Project “The Emergence of Impartiality“ under guidance of Dr. Anita Traninger.