Carolin Emcke


Carolin Emcke is a German author and journalist who worked for Der Spiegel from 1998 to 2006, often writing from areas of conflicts. In 2008 she published Stumme Gewalt in memory of Alfred Herrhausen, who was murdered, probably by the Red Army Faction, in 1989. In 2013 she published her autobiography, How We Desire. She was awarded the Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels in 2016.

Early life and education

Carolin Emcke was born in Mülheim an der Ruhr, North Rhine-Westphalia, the daughter of an Argentinian mother and a German father. She received her Abitur in 1986. She studied philosophy, political science, and history in Frankfurt am Main, at the London School of Economics, and at Harvard University.

Career

Emcke received her Ph.D. at Frankfurt under the supervision of Axel Honneth with a thesis on collective identities. From 1998 to 2006 she worked for Der Spiegel, often reporting from conflict areas such as Afghanistan, Colombia, Gaza, Iraq, Lebanon, and Pakistan. In 2003/04 she was a lecturer in Political Theory at Yale University.
, a discussion with, Bernhard Pörksen, and Sonja Zekri on Mistrust and Publicity
Since 2004 Emcke has moderated a monthly discussion series titled Streitraum at the Schaubühne theatre in Berlin. In 2006 and 2007 she worked as an advisor to the Hamburg Media School. She has been a freelance writer since 2007, writing for periodicals such as Die Zeit and Süddeutsche Zeitung. Since 2014 she has served on the jury of the Bavarian Book Prize.
Emcke has held seminars and lectures on topics such as globalisation, theories of violence, and cultural identity. In 2008 she published Stumme Gewalt: Nachdenken über die RAF, a memorial to her godfather, Alfred Herrhausen, who was murdered by the Red Army Faction on 30 November 1989. The work is aimed at encouraging dialogue between groups in societies, without violence, revenge, and disrespect. Emcke received the Theodor Wolff Prize for the book.
In her 2013 autobiography, How We Desire, Emcke described the discovery of her homosexuality and the social exclusion she experienced after her coming out. In January 2014, she conducted an interview with Thomas Hitzlsperger about his coming out for Die Zeit''.
Emcke gave the opening speech at the 2016 Ruhrtriennale, on the topic of translation. She was awarded the Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels on 23 October 2016 at the Paulskirche, with a laudation by Seyla Benhabib.
After International Women's Day in 2019, The Guardian featured her together with three other feminists.

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