Workshop and Young Scholars Forum at Herrenhausen Palace, Hanover, Germany, September 10-12, 2025
Deadline: January 19, 2025
Workshop and Young Scholars Forum at Herrenhausen Palace, Hanover, Germany | Conveners: Charles Dorn (Bowdoin College, Maine), Axel Jansen (German Historical Institute Washington), Charlotte Lerg (Amerika-Institut, LMU München), Till van Rahden (Centre canadien d’études allemandes et européennes, Université de Montréal), and Richard F. Wetzell (German Historical Institute Washington)
Call for Papers
The conference is kindly funded by the Volkswagen Foundation.
Please note: This CFP addresses two groups. We invite scholars to submit paper proposals for a General Workshop. We also invite emerging scholars (doctoral students) to submit proposals to receive feedback on their projects by senior scholars in a special Young Scholars Forum set aside for this purpose during the conference. More on this below.
As the controversies currently engulfing colleges and universities around the globe indicate, institutions of higher education remain sites of conflict and contestation among competing social, cultural, economic, and ideological forces. These conflicts have deep historical roots. During the heyday of the so-called liberal consensus after World War II, universities on both sides of the Atlantic were celebrated as symbols of enlightened liberalism, promoting a democratic ethos and social responsibility. The 1960s saw these traditions tested and reinterpreted amidst generational conflicts over the ideals and realities of participatory democracy. By the early 1980s, higher education institutions faced twin challenges: a conservative backlash and the rise of neoliberal economic ideologies.
To better understand higher education’s role in the current international political climate, the proposed conference provides an opportunity to reflect on the history of colleges and universities in North America and Europe since 1945. Characterized as “world institutions” whose dedication to scientific and humanistic endeavors seemed to align with a universalistic liberalism, colleges and universities nevertheless responded to global opportunities and pressures from their own particular perspectives and perceived societal roles.
While universities have long facilitated academic exchange, the period since World War II witnessed three important developments. First, a new and unprecedented focus on science, and technology brought universities, as research institutions, to the forefront of public attention and policy considerations. Second, a resurgent discourse on democratic structures and civic engagement compelled universities to reassess their public mission in light of emerging concerns about elitism, accessibility, and public service. Third, with the advent of mass higher education, universities engaged in a new wave of globalization through academic exchange, the proliferation of study abroad programs, and international fellowship programs.
These developments provide a framework for conference participants to examine the relationship between North American and European universities as institutions, nodes of networks, and competitors in research, education, and funding within an evolving political landscape. As universities during the second half of the twentieth century became, according to sociologists David John Frank and John W. Meyer, “the centerpiece” of a globalized knowledge society, they were simultaneously shaped by local, regional, and national settings as well as by cultural and political expectations and demands.
The conveners invite contributions that explore the history of colleges and universities in the transatlantic region as centers of education and research since 1945. Topics to be discussed include:
- How have higher education institutions defined their responsibilities and roles for various communities, such as regional, national, or global communities? How have they responded to cultural and political criticism of their work since 1945?
- How significant has the transformation of universities in North America and Europe been since 1945? How substantial are contemporary claims to innovation, such as Clark Kerr’s designation of the “multiversity”? By becoming global players, have universities evolved into new and different kinds of institutions? What, if anything, ties them to older models? What models did they seek to emulate, and what models were actually implemented?
- How have universities navigated post-colonial social, political, and economic transformations, both domestically and globally? How have justice movements influenced institutional structures, policies, and purposes?
- What role have political initiatives played in shaping higher education, particularly transnational or global initiatives (e.g., the OECD, the EU, the Bologna Process)?
- What has been the relevance and impact of transnational emulation, such as striving to meet European or “American” models?
- How have intellectual, political, and managerial agendas shaped the national and/or global roles of universities, fields of research, and education?
- What is the history of the global expansion of North American and European universities abroad? What has prompted global expansion and cooperation, and what has been the effect on research, teaching, and the public standing and role of universities?
- What has been the impact of shifts in funding sources on research and education? How have economic crises and government financial policies affected universities?
- What has been the impact of management agendas and styles in universities on research and education, and vice versa? What are the trajectories of engagement between the different levels and functions of universities?
- How have universities balanced initiatives for science diplomacy, international student mobility, their commitment to research and reflection, and their responsibilities (including legal national security mandates) to protect key technologies and knowledge? What strategies have been developed to respond to strict oversight or outright hostility towards universities in autocratic and some democratic states?
- How have institutions, along with their students, faculty, and administrations, navigated populist challenges to the role of universities in society? How have universities been affected by the reinterpretation and appropriation of some of their core ideals (from academic freedom to liberal education or democratic discourse) by counter-movements, technological development, or geopolitical challenges?
The conference will bring together scholars from diverse fields, including history (such as the history of science and the history of education), sociology, and science studies, as well as related disciplines. We will also invite university leaders and policymakers to join the conversation. The conference will feature panels, roundtable discussions, and a keynote address. We expect to invite up to 50 colleagues to participate. The conveners aim to publish contributions as a special issue in a peer-reviewed journal or as an essay collection.
As part of this conference, three distinct paper sessions will be designated as a Young Scholars Forum, providing doctoral students with an opportunity to receive feedback on their pre-circulated papers from senior scholars. These sessions will offer emerging scholars a platform to discuss their work and network during a critical phase of their careers.
The conference will be held at Herrenhausen Palace in Hanover (Germany). The deadline for proposals is January 19, 2025. Please upload a paper proposal for the General Workshop or the Young Scholars Forum via this link. A proposal consists of single PDF file containing a brief description of the research project (up to 300 words), a brief CV (1 or 2 pages), and contact information. Successful applicants will be notified in February 2025.
Accommodation will be arranged and paid for by the conference organizers. Participants will make their own travel arrangements; funding subsidies for travel may be available upon request for selected scholars, especially those who might not otherwise be able to attend the workshop, including junior scholars and scholars from universities with limited resources.
Please contact Nicola Hofstetter (hofstetter-phelps@ghi-dc.org) if you have any difficulties submitting your information online or if you have other questions related to the event.