Renate Reschke on Philosophy, Feminism, and Doubt in East Germany

In an interview with Der Freitag, philosopher Renate Reschke reflects on her career in East Germany, where she was part of a critical intellectual circle around Wolfgang Heise at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. In 1963, Humboldt-Universität became the first university worldwide to introduce a degree program in Kulturwissenschaft (cultural studies), which fostered critical thought. Reschke earned her doctorate under Heise with a dissertation on Hölderlin, and in 1993 she succeeded him as professor of the history of aesthetic thought. The discussion covers the role of cultural studies in East and West, her relationship with feminism, and the necessity of doubt. Reschke describes her approach as a "Marxism from a culturally critical perspective."