Yassin al-Haj Saleh in conversation with Susan Neiman. Moderated by Eva Menasse. In English

For two generations, Syria has been ruled and destroyed by the same family. Yassin el-Haj Saleh, one of the most important intellectuals of his battered country, has been struggling for years to portray experiences in which life and death mix indistinguishably.

Americans of good will on both the left and the right are secretly asking themselves the same question: how has the conversation on race in America gone so crazy? We’re told to read books and listen to music by people of color but that wearing certain clothes is »appropriation.« We hear that being white automatically gives you privilege and that being black makes you a victim.