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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Panel discussion with Christina Morina, Till van Rahden, and Tine Stein on the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence
BAD HOMBURG. To mark the end of an interdisciplinary lecture series on the U.S. Declaration of Independence, Goethe University’s Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften (Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities) will host a panel discussion
on Thursday, July 2, at 8:00 p.m.
at Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften,
Am Wingertsberg 4,
in Bad Homburg.
The discussion will feature historians Prof. Christina Morina and Prof. Till van Rahden, as well as political scientist Prof. Tine Stein. With the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence approaching, the event will explore the state of American democracy in times of illiberal politics.
On July 4, 1776, thirteen American colonies proclaimed their independence through the Declaration of Independence. In doing so, they justified their break with the British Crown and the creation of a new republic by asserting that all people possess inalienable rights, including equality, liberty, and the right to self-determination. On July 4, 2026, this founding document of modern democracy celebrates its 250th anniversary – at a moment when liberal democracy is under increasing pressure around the world. What does it mean when a far-right party like the Alternative for Germany (AfD) claims to revive the “spirit of freedom and democracy”? What should we make of the “Make America Great Again” movement invoking the ideals of the Declaration of Independence on this anniversary? More broadly, what insights can the Declaration offer for addressing today’s political and societal challenges? And how might they help us preserve and renew democracy – not only as a form of government, but as a way of life?
The event is organized by the John McCloy Transatlantic Forum at Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften in collaboration with the Hessian State Agency for Civic Education and the Foundation for Sites of German Democratic History [Stiftung Orte der deutschen Demokratiegeschichte]. Prof. Matthias Lutz-Bachmann, director of the Forschungskolleg, will open the event and Lukas Fuhr, political affairs editor at Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, will moderate the discussion.
The Panelists
Christina Morina is a professor of Modern and Contemporary History at the University of Bielefeld. Her research focuses on German and European history from the 19th to the 21st century, the history and aftermath of World War II, the history of political ideas, as well as the history of political culture and memory. Selected publications include Tausend Aufbrüche. Die Deutschen und ihre Demokratie seit den 1980er Jahren (Siedler, 2023) [English book forthcoming as A Thousand New Beginnings: Germans and Their Democracy Since the 1980s, Cambridge University Press, 2026], which was awarded the German Nonfiction Prize in 2024, and Das amerikanische Beben. Erfahrungen und Konsequenzen für die deutsche Demokratie (Siedler, 2026) [The American Earthquake: Experiences and Consequences for German Democracy].
Till van Rahden is a professor of German and European Studies at the Université de Montréal in Canada and is currently working at the Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften as a Mercator Fellow with the DFG Research Training Group “Aesthetics of Democracy”. His research focuses on history since the Enlightenment, particularly on the tension between the promise of democratic equality and the omnipresence of cultural diversity. Selected publications include Demokratie: Eine gefährdete Lebensform (Campus, 2019) [Democracy: A Fragile Way of Life]; Vielheit: Jüdische Geschichte und die Ambivalenzen des Universalismus (Hamburger Edition, 2022) [Plurality: Jewish History and the Ambivalences of Universalism]; and, as co-editor, Horizonte der Demokratie. Offene Lebensformen nach Walt Whitman (transcript, 2024) [Horizons of Democracy: Open Ways of Life after Walt Whitman].
Tine Stein is a professor of Political Theory and History of Ideas at the University of Göttingen. Her research focuses on the normative principles of democratic constitutional states, particularly the relation between politics, law, and religion, as well as questions of democracy and ecological responsibility. Selected publications include Politische Grundbegriffe im 21. Jahrhundert, edited by Tine Stein et al. (Nomos, 2023) [Key Political Concepts in the Twenty-First Century]; Semper reformanda. Das Verhältnis von Staat und Religionsgemeinschaften auf dem Prüfstand, co-edited with Isabelle Ley and Georg Essen (Herder, 2023) [Semper Reformanda: Reassessing the Relationship between the State and Religious Communities]; and Claus Offe (1940–2025). Würdigung des wissenschaftlichen Werks und seiner Rolle als politischer Intellektueller in Leviathan (2026) [Claus Offe (1940–2025): A Tribute to His Scholarly Legacy and His Role as a Public Intellectual].
Lukas Fuhr (moderator) is a political affairs editor at Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
Registration
To help us plan more effectively, we kindly ask you to register for the event in advance at anmeldung@forschungskolleg-humanwissenschaften.de
Information:
Monika Hellstern
Science Communication
Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften Institute of Advanced Studies
Phone +49 (0)6172 13977-45
E-Mail hellstern@forschungskolleg-humanwissenschaften.de
Homepage www.forschungskolleg-humanwissenschaften.de
Bluesky / Facebook / YouTube @FKHbadhomburg
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