We have been taught the importance of originality, but can there be something original without a model that paves the way? In this talk, Nidesh Lawtoo, concludes the ERC project Homo Mimeticus , not so much by painting, but rather, telling the story of a single, marginalized, mimetic protagonist that has been relegated to the backstage of academic discussions in the past, yet deserves to be brought on the TED-stage to inspire the future.
This is the third volume of a trilogy on Homo Mimeticus, edited by Nidesh Lawtoo and Willow Verkerk. In collaboration with the French philosopher Catherine Malabou, international contributors argue that plasticity—understood in its double capacity to receive form and to give form—plays a transformative role in the many lives of homo mimeticus qua homo plasticus. BLOG available here. FULL TEXT downloadable here.
Dodo Through the Looking-Glass: A Mirror for Modern and Contemporary Culture. Inaugural Lecture by Prof. dr. Nidesh Lawtoo on the acceptance of his position as Professor Modern/Contemporary European Literature and Culture at Leiden University on Friday, 14 November 2025. Video available here. Text available here
