Since their proclamation in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, human rights have become a dominant language in controversies over ethics around the globe and a normative basis for concepts of a just society and ideas of the public good. This concerns a variety of issues, from slavery and warfare through fights over indigenous rights and disputes over preserving the heritage of minorities, to same sex marriage debates or current conflicts over asylum law and the status of refugees.
What is the state of human rights both within and beyond the boundaries of the nation state and how can it be considered from a multidisciplinary angle?
This conference offers perspectives from literary and cultural studies, history, political science, philosophy, sociology, and law, looking at historical controversies on human rights as well as at its current political and imagined state(s). Contributions reflect theoretical implications of interdisciplinary work on human rights agency and also take into account the significance of cultural texts in envisioning and critically reflecting the ‘state of human rights’.
The BAA’s 2018 international conference investigates the role of human rights, both in diachronic and synchronic perspectives and with an interdisciplinary research design.
Conference Program (1.104 KB)
Abstracts & Bios Booklet (373 KB)
Poster (210 KB)
13.30 Registration
14.00 Young Scholars Panel: Human Rights
Chair: Kerstin Schmidt (University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt)
15.30 Coffee Break
17.30 Coffee Break
18.00 Conference Opening
Welcome
Award Ceremony: BAA Dissertation Award
19.00 Keynote Address
Reception
09.00 Panel I: Inventing Human Rights in the Pre-Modern Era
Chair: Prof. Dr. Volker Depkat (University of Regensburg)
10.30 Coffee Break
11.00 Panel II: Democracy and the Quest for Human Rights in Troubled Times
Chair: Jürgen Gebhardt (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg)
12.30 Lunch Break
14.00 Panel III: 'Rights on Paper': Intersections between Literature and Human Rights
Chair: Kerstin Schmidt (University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt)
16.00 Coffee Break
16.30 Panel IV: The Cultural Imaginary of Human Rights after World War II in a Transatlantic Perspective
Chair: Heike Paul (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg)
18.30 BAA Members Meeting (members only)
10.00 Panel V: Civil Rights and Law
Chair: Erik E. Lehmann (University of Augsburg)
12.00 Concluding Keynote
Chair: Heike Paul (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg)
13.00 End of Conference
The 18th International Academy Conference is organized by the Bavarian American Academy (BAA) and supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the U.S. Consulate General Munich.
Since their proclamation in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, human rights have become a dominant language in controversies over ethics around the globe and a normative basis for concepts of a just society and ideas of the public good. This concerns a variety of issues, from slavery and warfare through fights over indigenous rights and disputes over preserving the heritage of minorities, to same sex marriage debates or current conflicts over asylum law and the status of refugees.
What is the state of human rights both within and beyond the boundaries of the nation state and how can it be considered from a multidisciplinary angle?
This conference offers perspectives from literary and cultural studies, history, political science, philosophy, sociology, and law, looking at historical controversies on human rights as well as at its current political and imagined state(s). Contributions reflect theoretical implications of interdisciplinary work on human rights agency and also take into account the significance of cultural texts in envisioning and critically reflecting the ‘state of human rights’.
The BAA’s 2018 international conference investigates the role of human rights, both in diachronic and synchronic perspectives and with an interdisciplinary research design.
Conference Program (1.104 KB)
Abstracts & Bios Booklet (373 KB)
Poster (210 KB)
13.30 Registration
14.00 Young Scholars Panel: Human Rights
Chair: Kerstin Schmidt (University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt)
15.30 Coffee Break
17.30 Coffee Break
18.00 Conference Opening
Welcome
Award Ceremony: BAA Dissertation Award
19.00 Keynote Address
Reception
09.00 Panel I: Inventing Human Rights in the Pre-Modern Era
Chair: Prof. Dr. Volker Depkat (University of Regensburg)
10.30 Coffee Break
11.00 Panel II: Democracy and the Quest for Human Rights in Troubled Times
Chair: Jürgen Gebhardt (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg)
12.30 Lunch Break
14.00 Panel III: 'Rights on Paper': Intersections between Literature and Human Rights
Chair: Kerstin Schmidt (University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt)
16.00 Coffee Break
16.30 Panel IV: The Cultural Imaginary of Human Rights after World War II in a Transatlantic Perspective
Chair: Heike Paul (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg)
18.30 BAA Members Meeting (members only)
10.00 Panel V: Civil Rights and Law
Chair: Erik E. Lehmann (University of Augsburg)
12.00 Concluding Keynote
Chair: Heike Paul (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg)
13.00 End of Conference
The 18th International Academy Conference is organized by the Bavarian American Academy (BAA) and supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the U.S. Consulate General Munich.