The Center for Interdisciplinary and Intercultural Studies (CIIS), University of Tübingen, invites doctoral students of all CIVIS-Universities to become Junior Fellows in Intercultural Studies for the academic year of 2020/21 and pursue a program collaboratively organized by the Universities of Athens, Bucharest and Tübingen. Application is open to doctoral students in philosophy, literature, cultural studies, sociology, political sciences and neighboring subjects.

The program starts October 2020 and runs through July 2021. All costs will be covered by CIVIS (except travel expenses and accommodation for participation in additional workshops organized by CIIS Senior Fellows).

Topic 2020/21: Belonging – the meaning of a fundamental structure of the human being in the 21st century.

Belonging is an increasingly questionable concept in the 21st century, when human society is becoming more and more global. Societies are becoming more diverse, national affiliations are challenged by migration and traditional ties seem to be generally dissolving. At the same time, however, a new need for belonging is emerging. It is only in belonging together with others, in the community, that the actual scope for political action is opened up to the individual. Belonging therefore not only creates security and safety, but also gives rise to responsibility and makes the individual responsible. In this sense Hannah Arendt speaks of the only human right to have rights – and to belong to a political community.

How can the phenomenon of belonging be adequately grasped? What creates belonging, how is it constituted in detail and what does it mean for the relationship between people on the one hand and for the relationship between man and the world on the other (e.g. climate crisis)? How dynamic are affiliations to communities and their convictions or values, to places, to traditions of different cultural imprint, etc.? How do different affiliations influence each other? What role does historicity, traditions and lore play? What is the relationship between the freedom of the individual and the ties to a community? What forms of coercion are there and how can they be countered?

Structure:

Up to 15 doctoral students working on related topics and/or strongly interested in the above mentioned research topic of this academic year are invited to become associated Junior Fellows at the Center for Interdisciplinary and Intercultural Studies (CIIS), University of Tübingen, for one academic year. They will have the chance to get into close intellectual exchange with Postdoctoral Senior Fellows at CIIS who do research on topics related to “Belonging – the meaning of a fundamental structure of the human being in the 21st century”.

The Fellowship consists of three modules:

• A weekly online course (during semester terms) on “ Recent Perspectives in Phenomenology”. The course is jointly organized by the Universities of Athens, Bucharest and Tübingen.
• A one-week-workshop at Tübingen University lectured by CIIS Senior Fellows and CIIS Director in July 2021 (July 26^th-30^th) at which all Junior Fellows present their work (travel expenses and accommodation will be covered by CIVIS).
• The opportunity to attend different workshops organized by CIIS Senior Fellows at Tübingen University throughout the academic year (travel expenses and accommodation will have to be covered by the participants).

Lecturers: Niels Weidtmann (Tübingen), Bogdan Mincă (Bucharest), Panagiotis Thanassas (Athens), Abbed Kanoor (CIIS Senior Fellow), Eveline Cioflec (CIIS Senior Fellow), Hora Zabarjadi Sar (CIIS Senior Fellow)

Course Outline:

The course topic is “Belonging. Recent Perspectives in Phenomenology”.

The course will be offered online (via Zoom) and consists of 24 units, 12 sessions each semester namely: October 2020 – January 2021 and March 2021 – June 2021. It is a joint course of the University of Tübingen, the University of Bucharest and the University of Athens.

The course provides general insight into recent developments and perspectives in phenomenology yet focusing on the topic of “belonging”. This topic will be discussed against the background of recent developments in phenomenology as related to social and political philosophy. Amongst others authors like Arendt, Derrida, Heidegger, Honneth, Lévinas, Rombach, Stenger and Waldenfels will be referred to.

Workshop Outline:

The workshop takes place 26^th-30^th July 2021 at the CIIS, University of Tübingen. Arrival and welcoming session on July 26^th. During morning sessions 27^th-29^th CIIS Senior Fellows will present their work while the Junior Fellows will present their research projects during afternoon sessions. Closing session and final discussion on July 30^th.

The workshop is meant for collaboration and academic networking. It gives the Junior Fellows the opportunity to present and discuss their own research with CIIS Senior Fellows as well as with Junior Fellow-Colleagues from European Universities participating in the CIVIS Program. It will also provide the opportunity to get to know the University of Tübingen as well as its research campus more closely.

Additionally, Junior Fellows are invited to attend workshops which are organized by CIIS Senior Fellows throughout the year and which deal with the topic of belonging in different perspectives. The first workshop will take place October 8^th-9^th 2020 on “Beloning – Zugehörigkeiten im Wandel”. While this first workshop will be in German, all other events will be in English.

Application procedure:

Applications are welcome from philosophy, literature, cultural studies, sociology, political sciences and neighboring subjects. Applicants should be doctoral students at one of the Universities of CIVIS (exceptionally master students may be accepted). Applicants must be willing to pursue the entire course program and attend the July-workshop with a presentation of their own research project.

Applicants should send their CV, short outline of their research project (1.000 words) and a cover letter indicating their motivation to become Junior Fellow of the CIIS to info@ciis.uni-tuebingen.de.

This course is worth 6 ECTS/semester.

The application deadline is September 30^th 2020.