News and Press Releases

Call for Fellowships
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© khk

Call for applications extended

The Käte Hamburger Kolleg „Einheit und Vielfalt im Recht“ (EViR, ‘Legal Unity and Pluralism‘) at the University of Münster invites applications for fellowships for a period of between 6 and 12 months for the academic year 2025/26, provided to the approval of a second funding phase by the BMBF. Applications are open to researchers from the humanities and social sciences from the postdoctoral phase onwards who are working on the research topics of the Centre. The application deadline has been extended until 5 January 2025.

Events
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A wood engraving in black and white, showing several men in armour holding long weapons. A wood engraving in black and white, showing several men in armour holding long weapons.
© Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, RB.H.bell. f. 1, Bl. 66. Foto: Gerald Raab, CC BY-SA 4.0

16 January: Public discussion on the Peasants' War of 1525

To mark 500 years of the Peasants' War, the Käte Hamburger Kolleg is hosting a public discussion with Prof. Dr. Gerd Schwerhoff on 16 January 2025. The early modern historian from the Technical University of Dresden has just published a highly acclaimed comprehensive account of the Peasants' War 1525. The event begins at 19.00 in the Stadtbücherei Münster. Admission is free, registration is not required. The event language is German.

Events
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A wood engraving in black and white, showing several men in armour holding long weapons. A wood engraving in black and white, showing several men in armour holding long weapons.
© Titelblatt „Zwölf Artikel der Bauern“ (1525) (Wikimedia Commons)

Masterclass on the Peasants' War with Lyndal Roper and Gerd Schwerhoff

On Friday, 17 January 2025, the Käte Hamburger Centre for Advanced Study in the Humanities will host a masterclass with Lyndal Roper and Gerd Schwerhoff in cooperation with the Bielefeld CRC 1288 ‘Practices of Comparison. Ordering and Changing the World‘ and the profile area “History of Pre-Modernity” at Bielefeld University, a masterclass with Lyndal Roper and Gerd Schwerhoff on the Peasants’ War will take place.

Call for Fellowships
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© khk

Fellowships at the Käte Hamburger Kolleg Münster

The Käte Hamburger Kolleg „Einheit und Vielfalt im Recht“ (EViR, ‘Legal Unity and Pluralism‘) at the University of Münster invites applications for fellowships for a period of between 6 and 12 months for the academic year 2025/26, provided to the approval of a second funding phase by the BMBF. Applications are open to researchers from the humanities and social sciences from the postdoctoral phase onwards who are working on the research topics of the Centre. Click here for the call for fellowships.

News
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New map of places of law in Münster

We invite you to dive into Münster's legal history with us. A new virtual city map (www.orte-des-rechts.de) documents almost one hundred places of law in Münster from the Middle Ages to the present day and allows for discovery tours through the city. It will be presented to the public on October 21.

Fellows
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© khk

New fellows in autumn / Welcome Day

The Käte Hamburger Kolleg at the University of Münster is starting its winter semester and welcomes a new cohort of fellows. Six scholars from the fields of history, legal history and Islamic studies will conduct research on projects in the field of legal unity and pluralism, enriching the Kolleg with their different perspectives. On 16 October everybody interested will have the opportunity to get to know the Kolleg and its fellows during Welcome Day.

Events
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© Wikimedia Commons

Workshop programme in the winter semester

In the winter semester 2024/25, four academic workshops and conferences with international participation will take place at the Käte Hamburger Kolleg. They will deal with questions of Roman inheritance law in antiquity as well as early modern canon law, rules of exception in modern European law and indigenous cultural inheritance law.

Publications
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© khk

Working paper on legal pluralism and religion published

A new volume has been published in the open access series of EViR Working Papers, in which Matthias Bähr analyses the coexistence of legal traditions in early modern Ireland in order to understand the effects of legal pluralism on religion and of religion on legal pluralism.

Publications
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© khk

Expanded Münster Glossary and paper on legal pluralism published

Two new volumes have been published in the open access series of EViR Working Papers: The “Münster Glossary on Legal Unity and Pluralism” is now available in its fourth, expanded edition. In addition, a new volume by Ralf Seinecke identifies a ‘plural turn’ in historical legal studies.

Fellows
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© khk

New fellows in July

In July, two scholars are returning to the Käte Hamburger Kolleg "Legal Unity and Pluralism" to continue their fellowships: The legal historians Ferdinando Mazzarella (Palermo) and Sebastian M. Spitra (Vienna).

News
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© Retusche: Ralitsa Kirova / Wissenschaft im Dialog, CC BY-SA 4.0

The MS Wissenschaft comes to Münster

From 18 to 22 July, the MS Wissenschaft will dock at Münster Stadthafen (near the Kunsthalle). The exhibition on the subject of freedom can then be visited daily from 10.00 to 18.30. The Kolleg is participating with an exhibit and two accompanying events.

News
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© KHK EViR

Directors on research at the Kolleg

In a new video, Prof Dr Ulrike Ludwig and Prof Dr Peter Oestmann, directors of the Käte Hamburger Kolleg, talk about the research on legal unity and legal pluralism conducted here, the potential of interdisciplinary discussions and the special appeal of the Käte Hamburger Kolleg format.

News
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© KHK EViR

Kolleg presents interactive quiz at Q.UNI Camp

The Q.UNI Camp starts on 23 June at Schlossgarten Münster. The open-air science festival introduces children and young people to scientific phenomena in a fun way. Visitors can test their knowledge of the history of freedom in an interactive quiz developed by the Käte Hamburger Kolleg.

Publications
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© khk

New Working Papers on concurrence of norms and Fraktalität

Two new volumes have been published in the EViR Working Papers series. They present the results of two “Conceptual Forums” organised by Ulrike Ludwig last year. The Kolleg invites experts from various disciplines to these events to discuss current methodological and theoretical ideas for historical-legal-historical work.

Events
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© Délmagyarország/Schmidt Andrea (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA 3.0 Deed .

Varied workshop programme in summer

In the summer semester, the Käte Hamburger Kolleg is organising three academic workshops with international participation. The programme focuses on the relationship between law and space, human rights activism in Southeast Europe and pre-modern procedures.

News
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© Retusche: Ralitsa Kirova / Wissenschaft im Dialog, CC BY-SA 4.0

Kolleg addresses history of freedom on the "MS Wissenschaft"

The Käte Hamburger Kolleg is participating in this year's exhibition on the "MS Wissenschaft" with a self-developed exhibit. The exhibition ship will drop anchor in around 30 cities in Germany and Austria from tomorrow. On board, everything revolves around freedom, the theme of the Year of Science 2024.

Events
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© KHK EViR – Michael Möller

German federalism: successful, yet in need of reform

Where does German federalism come from and has it become obsolete? Representatives from academia, politics and journalism discussed this topic on Monday (29 April) at the invitation of the Käte Hamburger Kolleg "Legal Unity and Pluralism" (EViR) at the University of Münster.

Job offer
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Job offer

The Käte Hamburger Kolleg "Legal Unity and Pluralism" at the University of Münster is seeking to fill the position of Research Associate for Science Communication (E 13 TV-L) from 1 August 2024, subject to approval by the external funding body. A part-time position (50%) will be offered until 31 May 2025 in accordance with the duration of the externally funded project. If the third-party funding body (BMBF) extends the Kolleg for a second funding phase (1 June 2025 to 31 May 2029), there may be an option to extend the position and increase it to a part-time position of 75%. (Job advertisement in German)

News
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© KHK EViR

Pupils explore the history of witch-hunts in Münster

Three pupils from the Gesamtschule Münster-Mitte have investigated the topic of witch-hunts in Münster. The results of their research project can now be seen in an impressive exhibition. The Käte Hamburger Kolleg provided (legal) historical expertise and also helped with the design of the posters.

Fellows
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© khk

New fellows in April / Welcome Day

The Käte Hamburger Kolleg warmly welcomes a new cohort of fellows in April. Seven scholars from the fields of history, law, anthropology and sociology will be researching the topic of legal unity and legal pluralism and enriching the Kolleg with their different perspectives. On "Welcome Day" (29 April), there is the opportunity to meet them.

Publications
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© khk

Two new EViR Working Papers published

The Kolleg's own series of EViR Working Papers features two new contributions dealing with the relationship between increasing social diversity and legal unity or plurality in various historical contexts.

Publications
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© khk

New annual report of the Käte Hamburger Kolleg published

The Käte Hamburger Kolleg "Legal Unity and Pluralism" has published its annual report for the year 2023. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the Kolleg's activities, fellows, research, events and publications over the past year.

News
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© khk

We are now on Instagram

The Käte Hamburger Kolleg is now on Instagram. With the launch of our official Instagram channel, we aim to expand our community and communicate even better with all those interested in historical legal research.

Interview
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© Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Interview on colonial provenance research

Handing back cultural artefacts which have a colonial provenance has long been an object of public debate. The historical anthropologist Dr João Figueiredo (KHK EViR Münster) and the legal historian Dr Sebastian M. Spitra (University of Vienna) discuss the opportunity to contribute to a better understanding of communities of origin and their pluralistic legal systems.

Call for Fellowships
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© khk

Fellowships at the Käte Hamburger Kolleg Münster

The Käte Hamburger Kolleg „Einheit und Vielfalt im Recht“ (EViR, ‘Legal Unity and Pluralism‘) at the University of Münster invites applications for Short Term Fellowships (2 months) for the period from – preferably – 1 April 2025 to 31 May 2025. It may be possible to extend the fellowships by up to ten months, provided that the Kolleg’s application for a second period of funding is approved.