Current tendencies of the interdisciplinary history of concepts

Even after the major undertakings within the history of concepts have been concluded (for disciplines such as history, philosophy, or aesthetics), the interest in the history of concepts does not seem to abate. A new interest in the methodology of the history of concepts seems to have emerged within the history of science and also within those parts of cultural studies that genuinely deal with historical concepts. In the meantime, Reinhart Koselleck’s approach is discussed widely around the world, and it is often combined with the methodological program of the ›Cambridge School.‹ However, bearing in mind that the history of concepts has been predominantly influenced by a hermeneutical approach within the humanities, during the summer school we attempt to re-read its major aspects with a focus on transfer and metaphorology, discourse theory and interdisciplinarity, iconology and practices. This will be undertaken in the discussion of texts by Hans Blumenberg, Ludwik Fleck, Michel Foucault, Quentin Skinner and others.

Therefore the Center for Literary and Cultural Research Berlin, which has already researched and published a seminal handbook on Aesthetic Key Concepts, and which has researchers presently working on an Interdisciplinary History of Concepts, invites doctoral and postdoctoral students to participate in an International Summer School in order to discuss with renowned scholars the epistemological impact of the history of concepts for today’s multifaceted Cultural Studies.