The History That Got Us Here
Michael Ignatieff, Professor in the History Department, Central European University
Moderator: Ivan Krastev, CLS
Born in Canada, educated at the University of Toronto and Harvard, Michael Ignatieff is a university professor, writer, and former politician. He is the great grandson of Russian diplomat, Count N.P. Ignatieff.
Michael Ignatieff was the Rector and President of Central European University in Budapest until July 2021, when he stepped down, to stay as a Professor in the History Department.
As a writer and historian, he has been publishing fiction and non-fiction texts, screenplays, reviews, and essays since the mid-1970’s. His books keep returning to a few recurrent themes: human rights and the fate of moral universalism in a world of clashing and competing values; liberalism as a political theory, as a practice and as a way of life; and our struggle to maintain democratic freedoms. His most recent work - On Consolation (2021) - has taken him in a new direction: to thinking about the history of our attempts to console ourselves for the timeless ordeals of life– death, loss and tragedy—and how we manage, despite everything, to live in hope.
More information on: michaelignatieff.ca