111 Books on Religion and Politics
New brochure of the Cluster of Excellence presents research findings since 2009
The Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics” of the WWU presents 111 Books on Religion and Politics. A Selection, a new brochure in English providing an overview of selected research findings from 2009 until 2017. “The publications are the result of our diverse interdisciplinary collaboration within the Cluster of Excellence”, the editors, legal scholar Prof. Dr. Nils Jansen, historian Prof. Dr. Gerd Althoff and scholar of religious studies PD Dr. Astrid Reuter, explain. The topics range from antiquity to the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period up to the present, complemented by studies across epochs. “The selection of 111 monographs and anthologies from the multitude of books published by the Cluster of Excellence provides an insight into the complexity and diversity of our scientific work on the conflicting fields of religion and politics.” The commented bibliography is available for download on the research association’s website.
The 111 books which are presented in detail, with text and images, comprise publications by experienced scholars as well as members of the Graduate School and the Postdoctoral Programme of the Cluster of Excellence. “We publish our research findings in various forms: as books, articles and essays, sometimes as films, exhibitions and intensive media work”, the editors continue. “Writing books, however, is the most important part of our work. They are the format in which we are able to lay out complex thoughts from the humanities and social sciences in detail. Books are the result of years of research, be it alone in private or jointly in projects of group research.” The spectrum of research projects of the Cluster of Excellence ranges from the world of ancient gods to Judaism, Christianity and Islam in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period to the current situation in Europe, America, Asia and Africa.
Research in 20 different disciplines
Some 200 academics from more than 20 disciplines belong to the Cluster of Excellence, such as History, Law and Political Science, Sociology of Religion and Religious Studies, Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox and Islamic Theology, classic and modern Philology as well as Philosophy, Arabic Studies, Ethnology, Archaeology, Egyptology, Jewish Studies and Byzantine Studies. The members cooperate across subjects and focus on religion and politics from a wider historical perspective. They conduct fundamental research and at the same time provide reflective knowledge on the pressing questions of our time. It is nationally the largest research association of its kind and of the 43 Clusters of Excellence in Germany, it is the only one to deal with religion. The federal government and the state governments support the project within the scope of the Excellence Initiative with 40.1 million euros from 2012 until 2018. (vvm)