Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The three lectures in this year’s Berlin Family Lectures will investigate two less-discussed roles of literature: as a placeholder and as a place where discoveries happen by serendipity. During a contentious time when humanistic values often feel as though besieged, and life is increasingly driven by quests and outcomes, Li hopes to bring her eclectic reading practice and her life experience into an exploration of how to stay enchanted with a muddled and disenchanting world.
The three lectures in this year’s Berlin Family Lectures will investigate two less-discussed roles of literature: as a placeholder and as a place where discoveries happen by serendipity. During a contentious time when humanistic values often feel as though besieged, and life is increasingly driven by quests and outcomes, Li hopes to bring her eclectic reading practice and her life experience into an exploration of how to stay enchanted with a muddled and disenchanting world.
