Dream? Democracy! A Philosophy of Horror, Hope and Hospitality in Art and Action

Dream? Democracy! constructs a philosophy and practice of hospitality to the Other. It projects a culture and politics of welcoming the strangers, minorities, women, where art as activism plays a key part: that is why the author analyzes feminist, antifascist, and queer works, including Pussy Riot’s performance art; LGBTQ visibility campaigns and exhibitions; and initiatives of rebuilding Jewish life in Lublin, Poland (Grodzka Gate-NN Theater Center, Transeuropa Festival). This book interprets intertextually passages on hospitality and utopia from the Mahabharata; the Bible; Ernst Bloch; Hannah Arendt; Maria Janion; Hélene Cixous; Adam Michnik; Martha C. Nussbaum; José Esteban Munoz; and the younger generation of Polish activists. Here is a performative book which is profound intellectually and socially engaged – for the cause of welcoming the Stranger, against prejudices and neoliberal exploitation.