DAAD-Cornell University-University of Chicago Summer Seminar
Narratives of Modernity: From Lessing to Luhmann

The purpose of the seminar is to promote the interdisciplinary study of historical, political, social and cultural aspects of modern and contemporary German affairs and to advance their understanding among scholars in the US and Canada. The program is open to faculty and recent PhDs in German, social science and cultural studies fields. This year’s seminar will be led by Professor David E. Wellbery at the University of Chicago and will explore the narrative construction of modernity from the Enlightenment to the recent present.

Discussions will pivot on the juncture between new developments in the field of narratology and theories and philosophies of history. Analytical and interpretive consequences for the humanities and social sciences will be considered as the seminar probes the narrative organization of social and cultural realities in relation to the contested and sometimes contradictory construal of “modernity.” This seminar thus aims to accommodate the entire range of disciplinary interests bearing on this key concept.

Seminar Director: Professor David E. Wellbery, Department of Germanic Studies, University of Chicago

Application forms and additional information available through the DAAD website: http://www.daad.org.

Recent PhDs who do not yet hold faculty appointments will also be considered. Applicants must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States or Canada