GRK 2248/2: “Global Intellectual History - Transfers, Circulation of Ideas, Actors (18th-20th Century)”

The Research Training Group "Global Intellectual History - Transfers, Circulation of Ideas, Actors (18th-20th Century)" is being continued jointly with the Free University of Berlin.
One of the central tasks of a global history of the modern world (17th-20th centuries) is still to analyse the cognitive processing of interconnectedness processes as well as the increase in transregional and transcultural shared and debated notions and ideas. The establishment of globally valid standards can be directly observed in the international system of states, in the global economy, in infrastructure and communication policy. The formation of shared ideas, concepts and norms, on the other hand, was a very complex process. How did it come about? Who were its bearers? Which ideas gained cross-border validity, and under what conditions? A global-historical approach can contribute to sounding out the complex constellations of a global history of ideas and concepts and to determining their respective relationship to processes of global integration.The GK addresses this question with the means of a global intellectual history. This approach within global history sets itself apart from approaches that often still follow diffusionist ideas at their core. The GK focuses on non-Western actors and spaces of action as well as global conditions of the circulation of ideas and in this way explores the complexity of transfer processes. Institutionally (and methodologically), the GK is based on the systematic cooperation of historical and regional studies. This cooperation is both innovative and groundbreaking for the field of intellectual history, which has so far been dominated by work centred on Europe.The goals of the GK lie on three levels. Firstly, it is about intellectual reactions to processes of interconnectedness, about the emergence of transnational claims and the universalisation of ideas, but also about counter-movements. Secondly, we want to fundamentally ask about the role of actors and their spaces of action in this context. A special feature of the proposed programme is its integration into the activities of the Global History Collaborative with regular international summer schools. These are intended to enable doctoral students not only to conduct research in global history, but also to benefit methodologically and heuristically from the dialogue with other perspectives on global history.