GRK 2999:  Enlightenment Politics

• Subject Area: Literary Studies
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 517708215

The Research Training Group (RTG) examines the politics of the Enlightenment from the 18th to the 21st century. Its approach is twofold: firstly, it analyzes the political claims and interpretations that have been fostered by the Enlightenment or in its name, and, secondly, the political discussions and measures which determines our understanding of Enlightenment that is constantly reinterpreted according to political interests and concepts. The project thus combines the study of the historical Enlightenment—here it relates in particular to recent research which has emphasized the complexity and diversity of Enlightenment movements— with the study of its impact, appropriation, and reinterpretation up to the present day. Apparently, 'Enlightenment' is once again moving to the center of political debates on, for example, the crisis of the public sphere and the disappearance of truth. The historical expansion goes along with a spatial one, as the reassessment of the Enlightenment is no longer a European phenomenon but must be considered in a global context. This spatial widening is paid tribute to by the transnational conception of the RTG and by the inclusion of a postdoctoral position that focusses on issues of Enlightenment beyond Europe. Methodologically, these historically and geographically broad perspectives on the politics of the Enlightenment allow for the fruitful integration of different approaches such as the history of ideas and concepts, social and cultural history, political science and philosophy as well as literature and cultural studies, which is reflected in the team of applicants. The joint work is oriented towards four thematic axes, which are both central to eighteenth century politics and to current references to Enlightenment: ‘civilization’; ‘public sphere’; ‘secularity’; ‘plurality’. The doctoral students will find a lively interdisciplinary working environment, that provides them with ideal conditions for completing their work. Thanks to its location at the Interdisciplinary Centre for the Study of the European Enlightenment (IZEA) at Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), the Research Training Group will be firmly anchored in Enlightenment research. In addition, the range of applicants’ institutional affiliations link the future doctoral students with two faculties at MLU, the Research Centre Gotha at the University of Erfurt as well as the Institute of Philosophy at the University of Leipzig.

• DFG Programme: Research Training Groups
• Applicant Institution: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg
• Spokesperson: Professorin Dr. Elisabeth Décultot
• Participating Researchers: Professor Dr. Harald Bluhm; Professor Dr. Daniel Fulda; Professorin Dr. Jenny Haase, until 3/2024; Professor Dr. Theo Jung; Professorin Dr. Andrea Kern; Professor Dr. Martin Mulsow; Privatdozentin Dr. Julia Nitz; Professor Dr. Daniel Weidner