The Lucky Few

We went into the vault for today’s episode, all the way back to a lecture that Professor Robert Young gave last year at the Columbia Global Center in Amman. We chose this particular lecture because Professor Young offers a historical perspective on an issue facing today’s society: migration. Young is the Dean of Arts and Humanities at New York University. As a distinguished humanities scholar and prolific author, he specializes in the history and literature of post-colonialism. In the lecture excerpts you’re about to hear, he applies that knowledge to the tragic case of German philosopher Walter Benjamin, drawing parallels between his quest for asylum and the refugee and immigration issues facing today’s society.