Loading Events
  • This event has passed.
03.07.2024 | Frankfurt am Main
Lecture

What does “colonial” mean? On the significance of a historical qualification

Dan Diner (Professor Emeritus of Modern History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem) in conversation with Miloš Vec (Professor of Legal and Constitutional History at the University of Vienna)

Today, the word “colonial” is used in so many different ways that it can be described as a veritable semantic inflation. Originally used for ‘overseas’ conditions of superiority and subordination, it has expanded to include a myriad of relationships of domination – both internal and external. The attribute “colonial” thus loses its original analytical meaning and degenerates into an all-purpose buzzword. The epistemic arsenal of the “social” and “national”, which originated in the 19th century and was essentially used to interpret hierarchically structured lifeworlds, is displaced. In the process, the core of real colonial constellations, such as those associated with the “discoveries” of European expansion in the early modern period and the conquests emanating from Europe in the age of colonialism in the 19th century, are lost. The event aims to address this extremely topical subject with the intention of enlightenment. The focus is on the history, concept and political use of phenomena associated with the “colonial”. Past and present thus enter into a dialog of knowledge.

Admission 3 Euro

Further information: www.kultur-frankfurt.de

About the “Frankfurt Schoolseries
Social norms, manifested in institutions and orders, form the foundation of our social and political coexistence. In the first half of the 20th century, the so-called Frankfurt School set out to take a holistic and (ideologically) critical look at these norms and their contradictions in the sense of a comprehensive “critical theory” – an approach whose significance and international impact remain unbroken to this day. But what does the Frankfurt School, which has always combined social analysis with ideological criticism, have to say about the current state of society? What answers does the so-called “third and fourth generation” provide to global crises and conflicts?

The “Frankfurt School” series will continue on a quarterly basis in various cultural institutions in Frankfurt. Guests are personalities who – trained in “Frankfurt thinking” – take a stand on current problems.

News from the research center

News
30.06.2025

Article "Ideology and Suffering: What Is Realistic about Critical Theory?" by Amadeus Ulrich published in EJPT

The article "Ideology and Suffering: What Is Realistic about Critical Theory?" by Amadeus Ulrich has just been published open access in the European Journal of Political Theory (EJPT). Ulrich brings the perspective of radical realism into a productive dialog with Adorno's critical theory.

more information ›
News
30.06.2025

Prof. Dr. Franziska Fay awarded the Sibylle Kalkhof-Rose University Prize 2025

Prof. Dr. Franziska Fay (Junior Professor of Ethnology with a focus on Political Anthropology at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and former postdoctoral researcher at the Research Center Normative Orders at Goethe University) receives the Sibylle Kalkhof-Rose University Award 2025 in the category Humanities and Social Sciences.

more information ›
Publication
25.06.2025 | Online article

Ideology and Suffering: What Is Realistic about Critical Theory?

Ulrich, Amadeus (2025): Ideology and suffering: What is realistic about critical theory? European Journal of Political Theory, 0(0).  https://doi.org/10.1177/14748851251351782

more information ›
News
24.06.2025

New series “Vertrauensfragen” in the Frankfurter Rundschau initiated by Hendrik Simon

Democracy thrives on debate - if it serves the joint search for solutions. There is often a problem with this cooperation. The new FR series “Vertrauensfragen”, initiated by Hendrik Simon (Research Institute Social Cohesion (RISC) Frankfurt location at Goethe University's Research Centre Normative Orders ), examines why this is the case and how we can do better.

more information ›
Publication
23.06.2025 | Working Paper

Untrustworthy Authorities and Complicit Bankers: Unraveling Monetary Distrust in Argentina

Moreno, Guadalupe (2025): “Untrustworthy Authorities and Complicit Bankers: Unraveling Monetary Distrust in Argentina”. Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies Discussion Paper 25/3.

more information ›
Event
15.07.2025 | Frankfurt am Main

Klimaethik - Ein Reader

Book Presentation

Presentation of the book with Lukas Sparenborg (Research Associate at the Institute of Political Science at Goethe University) and Prof. Dr. Darrel Moellendorf (Professor of International Political Theory and Philosophy at Goethe University, Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Johannesburg, Member of the Research Centre Normative Orders)

more information ›
Event
14.07.2025 | Frankfurt

Utopie und Aufbruch der 1968er – Was von politischer Rebellion und individueller Selbstbefreiung geblieben ist

Panel Discussion

The panel discussion with Rainer Langhans, Christa Ritter, who has been a member of Langhans' self-awareness group since 1978, and the social philosopher Martin Saar is dedicated to utopian ideas that emanated from the 1968 movement and sheds light on its ideals, impulses, individual and socio-political after-effects.

more information ›
Event
10.07.2025 | Frankfurt am Main

Territorial Justice by Lea Ypi

Workshop

Workshop on the new book by Lea Ypi (LSE). With, among others: Andrea Sangiovanni and Ayelet Shachar.

more information ›