Social Sciences and the Humanities in the Formation of National and Supra-national Communities in Eastern and Central Europe (19th and 20th c.)

PhD Advisor: Prof. Jerzy Axer

The humanities (and, later, social sciences as well) had a very specific history in Central and Eastern Europe. They evolved in the context of a lack of sovereignty of most of the ethnic communities in the region, imperial domination by Russia, Austria and Prussia, attempts at assimilation, failed armed uprisings and half-hearted accommodation efforts. Temporary reappearance of national states and an explosion of ethnic aspirations between the two World Wars were followed by a second phase of the formation of national and ethnic states under the communist rule. As doctoral student, you will be invited to study the role of humanities and social sciences in building national and supra-national communities in Russia and in Eastern Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. Depending on the focus of your research, you will either exclusively take part in one of the seven research programs which are currently developed at the Institute for Theoretical and Historical Studies in the Humanities in Moscow, and which pertain directly to the topic of investigation of our Project, (such as Tradition of Classics and Authority in its Social Dimension; Intellectual Culture of Romanticism; Social Sciences and the Humanities at the University; Research and Education), or you will combine your research in Russia with work on Eastern-European sources made available at Collegium Budapest.

If you choose this field of doctoral research you will complete your fellowships abroad at the following Partner Institution:

Institute for Theoretical and Historical Studies in the Humanities, IGITI, Moscow, Russia
The Institute for Theoretical and Historical Studies in the Humanities (IGITI) in Moscow has been a leading academic institution in Russia promoting intellectual innovation and interdisciplinary studies which associates the history of ideas, the history of science in general, and the history of social sciences in particular. IGITI combines these disciplines in order to study the symbolic systems elaborated by European culture throughout its evolution, with a specific stress on institutions and epistemological paradigms structuralizing the intellectual space in Europe. In parallel with this interest in intellectual history, IGITI develops media studies, alongside a strong Center of Fundamental Sociology. IGITI provides a convenient point of entry into the most innovative projects in Russia: e.g. Moscow State Lomonosov University, Faculty of History and Faculty of Philology; Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities, Russian State University for Humanities; Interdisciplinary Centre for Studies in History, Economy and Society, Moscow. You will work under the supervision of Prof. Irina Savelieva. For more information, see:
http://igiti.hse.ru/eng.html

Collegium Budapest
Collegium Budapest is one of the first institutions in post-communist Europe organized as an Institute for Advanced Studies, following the model of Princeton, Berlin Wassenaar, and Uppsala. Its specialty is the association of the humanities and life sciences, as well as the organization of very efficient interdisciplinary research teams collaborating with prestigious institutions of learning throughout the world. Collegium Budapest offers the expertise of its fellows, as well as the access to its unique library (11,000 volumes and very efficient interlibrary loan system throughout Hungary). Of special importance is the research program Gnôthi seauton! – Classics and Communism. The History of the Studies of Antiquity in the Context of the Local Classical Tradition in Socialist Countries, 1944/45 – 1989/90. You will work under the supervision of Prof. Gabor Klaniczay. For more information see:
http://www.colbud.hu