Conference

Nexus Conference 2015 -

14 November 2015
9.45 – 16.00
National Opera & Ballet, Amsterdam

Waiting for the Barbarians

In ‘Waiting for the Barbarians’ (1898), the Greek poet Constantine Cavafy portrays a fictional city grown decadent in times of plenty within a Roman Empire, in which the emperor, senators, rhetors and citizens almost eagerly look forward to the arrival of the barbarians. Then the barbarians do not come, and the disappointment is felt deeply. Cavafy’s description of this imaginary city ends with the following haunting lines:

And now, what’s to become of us without barbarians.
Those people were a solution of some kind.
(Translated by Daniel Mendelsohn)

The arrival of the barbarians would have offered a way out of the spiritual emptiness, lethargy, boredom and laziness that the city had fallen prey to. Poetically, Cavafy has illustrated the argument put forward by Edward Gibbon in his superb historical epic The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1788): that Roman civilization primarily withered as a result of decay from within, waiting for the barbarians that eventually came. The Nexus Conference 2015 addressed this theme within our society: how powerful is our current ideal of civilization?

Brochure

In his keynote lecture, Amos Oz elaborates on the fruitfulness of going on early morning walks, on what makes good literature, and on curiosity.
 
Watch the video highlights on YouTube or watch the full videos as a member below.
 
Become a member

Full videos

Published in

Journal Nexus
2016

Nexus 71

Wachten op de barbaren

Wachten op de barbaren

Dutch publication with contributions from the speakers at the Nexus Conference 2015, such as a.o. Amos Oz, Azza El-Kholy and John Haldane

Speakers

United States, 1964

Anne Applebaum

historian and author Gulag: A History

Egypt, 1960

Azza El-Kholy

professor of American literature at Alexandria University

Tunesia, 1966

Ahmed Gâaloul

writer and political advisor for the Ennahdha party

Lebanon, 1942

Amine Gemayel

former president of Lebanon

United Kingdom, 1954

John Haldane

philosopher and insider at the Vatican

United States, 1941

Robert D. Putnam

political scientist

Egypt, 1946

Donald Sassoon

emeritus professor of comparative European history

United States, 1954

Michael Shermer

professional skeptic

Mauritania, 1961

Abderrahmane Sissako

film director

Germany, 1966

Bettina Stangneth

philosopher and historian, expert on Eichmann

Poland, 1935 - 2020

Zeev Sternhell

historian and political scientist

Poland, 1926

Marian Turski

Holocaust survivor, historian and founder POLIN Museum
Nexus_Nietzsche V Gogh-0154

USA, 1952

Leon Wieseltier

Jewish American liberal and editor of Liberties

A discussion with Amin Gemayel, Donald Sassoon, Anne Applebaum, Bettina Stangneth and Abderrahmane Sissako.

Anne Applebaum, Bettina Stangneth, Marian Turski and Donald Sassoon discuss the question ‘Does Evil Exist?’

Listen to what happened when Turski was beaten up and lost his glasses. A poor eyesight is equivalent to death in concentration camps, but Turski is still with us to share his insights.

A discussion with Zeev Sternhell, Ahmed Gâaloul, Michael Shermer and Leon Wieseltier.

A discussion with Leon Wieseltier, John Haldane, Michael Shermer, Azza El-Kholy, Robert Putnam and Zeev Sternhell.

Photos

Amsterdam, 14 november 2015. Nexus-conferentie Waiting for the Barbarians Amsterdam, 14 november 2015. Nexus-conferentie Waiting for the Barbarians Amsterdam, 14 november 2015. Nexus-conferentie Waiting for the Barbarians Amsterdam, 14 november 2015. Nexus-conferentie Waiting for the Barbarians Amsterdam, 14 november 2015. Nexus-conferentie Waiting for the Barbarians Amsterdam, 14 november 2015. Nexus-conferentie Waiting for the Barbarians Amsterdam, 14 november 2015. Nexus-conferentie Waiting for the Barbarians Amsterdam, 14 november 2015. Nexus-conferentie Waiting for the Barbarians Amsterdam, 14 november 2015. Nexus-conferentie Waiting for the Barbarians Amsterdam, 14 november 2015. Nexus-conferentie Waiting for the Barbarians Amsterdam, 14 november 2015. Nexus-conferentie Waiting for the Barbarians