Official Opening of Heidelberg Centre for Transcultural Studies

An inauguration ceremony will mark the official opening of the Heidelberg Centre for Transcultural Studies (HCTS). This central research institution at Heidelberg University is dedicated to foster a cross-disciplinary dialogue on transcultural interactions. Founded last year, the centre is based on the research and teaching structures established over recent years by the Cluster of Excellence “Asia and Europe in a Global Context”. Baden-Württemberg Minister of Science, Theresia Bauer, and future President of the Leibniz Association, Prof. Dr. Matthias Kleiner, will attend the opening ceremony on 28 April 2014. The keynote lecture will be given by Prof. Dr. Avishai Margalit of Princeton University on the topic of justice in warfare.

“The Heidelberg Centre for Transcultural Studies is a shining example of how the efforts and measures of the Excellence Initiative have permanently strengthened Heidelberg University and will continue to unfold their impact in the future, even beyond 2017,” stresses Minister Bauer. Building on the infrastructure of the Cluster of Excellence “Asia and Europe in a Global Context”, the HCTS aims to form networks with researchers of world renown to engage in an interdisciplinary dialogue on the dynamics of global transcultural processes. The centre has five permanent fellows appointed to professorships at the cluster in recent years, including the first professorship of Global Art History in Germany. The HCTS offers a master’s and doctoral programme in transcultural studies and awards temporary fellowships for senior as well as junior researchers from all fields, but in particular the humanities and the social sciences. Furthermore, the centre organises public lectures, seminars and workshops, to which the eight recently appointed visiting scholars will contribute.

The inauguration ceremony will be held on 28 April in the Great Hall of the Old University. After words of welcome from Heidelberg University Rector Prof. Dr. Bernhard Eitel, Baden-Württemberg Minister of Science, Theresia Bauer, will give a welcoming speech. Subsequently, Prof. Dr. Axel Michaels, Executive Director of the Heidelberg Centre for Transcultural Studies, will introduce the institution. The future President of the Leibniz Association, Prof. Dr. Matthias Kleiner, will then speak on “The ‘Trans’ in the Sciences”. Prof. Dr. Avishai Margalit of Princeton University (USA) will hold the keynote lecture “Proportionality: Justice in War, between Tribalism and Nationalism”. The Duo SeidenStrasse from Essen will provide musical accompaniment, blending Chinese sounds and European percussion styles. Anyone interested is welcome to attend the event, which will begin at 4pm.