To do so, they receive a travel allowance and a per diem allowance for stays of up to one week. The only prerequisite: They must currently be living and conducting academic research abroad and must have completed a research stay of at least three months at the UP. Twelve researchers already took advantage of the offer in its first year.
From the St. Lawrence River to the Havel
From New Zealand, Ghana, or Brazil – alumni from disciplines such as physics, geosciences, or linguistics visited the University of Potsdam from all over the world. Among the growing number of researchers on a short visit is Iain Macdonald, Professor of Philosophy at Université de Montréal.
In the summer of 2008, the now 57-year-old spent several months as a visiting researcher at the Institute of Philosophy. At the time, he was a guest of Christoph Menke, who, as a professor specializing in ethics and aesthetics, was taking a strong interest in the theories of the Frankfurt School, in particular those of Theodor W. Adorno (1903-1969).
His former student and colleague now heads the Chair of Philosophical Anthropology and Philosophy of Mind: Prof. Dr. Thomas Khurana. “I came to Potsdam as a guest of Christoph Menke during my sabbatical and got to know Thomas Khurana,” Iain Macdonald recalls. “Now it's him who invited me to Potsdam again. It is important for future cooperation projects that such funding programs exist.”
Few Funding Options for Alumni Exchange
In contrast to international student exchange funding, grants for short stays by alumni tend to be the exception in the academic landscape. In Germany, the German Academic Exchange Service DAAD promotes the re-invitation of researchers, but primarily targets former DAAD scholarship holders.
Although the University of Montréal has more than twice as many students as the Potsdam alma mater and is one of the largest research universities in the country, fellowships for visiting professorships do exist, but there are no comparable programs for short stays by alumni researchers.
North American academia is also somewhat different in other respects. “In contrast to Germany, we have no direct equivalent to German mid-level academic staff like ‘wissenschaftliche Mitarbeitende’,” says Iain Macdonald. “There are teaching staff members and researchers, but little in between. It does make it easier for students to establish a direct connection with their professors though.”
Mobility: A Core Asset in Research and Academia
The scientific community has once again come to appreciate that this type of connection – also between chairs in different countries and universities – is invaluable, not least since the lifting of contact and travel restrictions during the pandemic years. This is also and especially true in philosophy.
“German universities have always had an enormous appeal for philosophers,” says Macdonald. “In my field of critical theory, in particular, some of the most important minds and forums can be found here.” Immanuel Kant may never have traveled beyond the borders of Königsberg, but mobility plays an important role in today's post-Kantian academic world.
Sources that have not been digitized (or are restricted for digital access) still lie dormant in archives and can only be researched on site. Letters, records, diaries – reconstructing the origins of philosophical theories sometimes requires laborious, textual-philological work.
Adorno Expert Visits German Archives
Iain Macdonald is convinced that it is well worth the effort, because Adorno and critical theory still have a lot to say to us even after more than half a century. “Adorno was very interested in how restrictions on our freedom are perpetuated on a systemic level,” says the professor. “His ideas on totalitarianism and social change are as relevant today as they were then.”
For the Canadian, the stay at the UP is an ideal opportunity to advance his research on the reception history of Hegel's philosophy, which Adorno studied intensively in his day. “I can visit the Adorno Archive in Berlin and, last but not least, have in-depth personal exchanges with other specialists for Adorno and critical theory.”
An International Network of Philosophers
After all, the UP is also home to the Center for Post-Kantian Philosophy: an international network of philosophical institutes that exchange critical perspectives on post-Kantian thought, the question of what we can actually know, and the great challenges of the present day in the context of conferences, workshops, and lectures.
A network whose members are spread across the globe from Potsdam to Chicago, from Oxford to Tel Aviv. And which – thanks to UP Reconnect – may also soon be of increasing interest in Canada. “I'm already discussing this with Thomas Khurana,” says Iain Macdonald. “A conference at home in Montréal – that would be great!”
Further information about the program: https://www.uni-potsdam.de/en/alumni/research-alumni/up-reconnect
To the Center for Post-Kantian Philosophy: https://cpkp.net/