CFP: Crises of Solidarity

Call for Applications

The Research Area Cultural Encounters - Cultural Conflicts, supported by the International Relations Office of the University of Innsbruck, invites applications for three fellowships on the topic "Crises of Solidarity", which will enable doctoral candidates and post-docs to spend a one-month research period at the University of Innsbruck from September 1 to September 30, 2022. 

Fellowship Topic 

This year, the FSP invites researchers from different disciplines (especially philosophy, political science, sociology, history, literature and cultural studies, cultural and social anthropology, education) to address questions of solidarity. This is based on the observation that solidarity plays a central role in many current social crises – such as the Covid 19 pandemic and the related health crisis, the global housing crisis, and the climate crisis. From solidarity with so-called vulnerable groups in the context of Covid 19, to the problem of solidarity-based redistribution in the context of housing, to the challenge of environmental policies that take a solidary stance toward future generations, we are currently dealing with a broad social problematization of solidarity. The humanities are thus confronted with the task of reflecting anew on the phenomenon of solidarity and of exploring its potentials and limits. The research projects can be located in one of three main areas: (1) theories of solidarity (theory formation, history of ideas, and conceptual work on solidarity), (2) politics and practices of solidarity (analysis of political solidarity dispositives and solidary protest practices), and (3) aesthetics and representations of solidarity (metaphors, motifs, and imaginaries of solidarity). 

Organization 

The fellows are supervised by Michaela Bstieler and Sergej Seitz (University of Innsbruck, Institute of Philosophy). At the center of the fellowship is a workshop in which the fellows discuss their research projects with researchers based in Innsbruck (especially members of the research area). The results of the workshop will be published as a Special Collection/Special Issue in an internationally renowned journal. 

Application deadline 

April 30, 2022