„Humanisms in Motion“ Workshop at the Center for Advanced Studies, Konstanz, 26 – 27 May 2017
For a long time, historiography struggled with the concept of humanism, which was connected to the history of ideas, although it occupied only a niche, being actually located within the literary studies. Peter Burke, David Collins and Harald Müller form part of a ‘younger’ generation of historians who intended to ground the concept and lead humanism from a ‘Culturgeschichte’ in the sense of Jacob Burckhardt to a praxeologically orientated cultural history. Through the orientation towards the practical aspects the differences have gained shape and importance (the cult of Petrarca, the dealing with language, history, etc.). At the same time, the intersections and fractures between the ideas and the ‘Lebenswelt’ became more visible. These differences, fractures and intersections in praxeological perspective shall be the focus of a workshop that will be held by Gabriela Signori together with Johannes Helmrath and his chair of the Humboldt University Berlin in honour of the current fellows of the Center for Advanced Studies Konstanz, David Collins and Albert Schirrmeister, two internationally acclaimed humanism experts, in Konstanz from 26 to 27 May 2017.
The programme is available here.
International Conference ‘Island monasteries / monastic islands. Topography and Toponymy of a Monastic Formation’, Reichenau, 27. – 28. January 2017
From the very beginning, monks in Orient and Occident settled at places which marked borders between nature and civilisation in different ways: the desert, mountains, islands. The desert, a place where the first monks retreated to, was superseded by the sea, which became the new desert of the occidental monasticism. Thus, all over Europe island monasteries, alongside mountain monasteries, form part of the monastic grounding on which later generations of monks built on.
However, the research rarely occupied itself with the special connection between monasticism and nature. The international conference held at the Island of Reichenau, funded by the Center of Excellence 16 at the University of Konstanz, the Council of Reichenau and the Archdiocese of Freiburg, seeks to analyse similarities and differences of island monasteries in an international comparison. The attention should be focused on the religious imaginarium, toponymy and symbolism of the island location as it is reflected in the foundation narratives, historiography and cartularies. Further questions concern the monastic ‘familia’ or the monastic ensemble, the single island monastery was embedded in. Finally, far reaching links between the islands and their founders and benefactors should become visible.