Tom Kellner, translating culture
Can books from one culture bring empathy to people from very different backgrounds and experiences? Post-doctoral research Tom Kellner is researching the translatability of Israeli literature being published in Germany. In this episode we speak about the process of understanding what books sell, why they sell, and the possible reasons for which works readers read. What readers understand and if empathy increased from reading the stories from another culture is more difficult to determine. Kellner shares a different definition of empathy, one from philosopher Emmanuel Levinus, that empathy is accepting that people are different and we do not understand them. And yet we care. Join us as we explore these ideas.