About the Chicago Center for German Philosophy

The University of Chicago is blessed with a highly active community of faculty and graduate students whose research is either dedicated to or seriously engages with German philosophy. Members of this community are mainly, though not exclusively, based in the Philosophy Department, the Germanic Studies Department, and the Committee on Social Thought. In addition to this community at the University of Chicago, there is also a Chicago Area Consortium in German Philosophy in which faculty and students participate.

The mission of the recently founded Center for German Philosophy is to provide new opportunities for philosophical activity centered around the German philosophical tradition, as well as to serve as a unifying hub for existing academic research and collaboration. It helps fund and coordinate various events at the University of Chicago, including conferences, seminars, and graduate student workshops. In addition, it engages in close collaboration with a number of international institutions whose philosophical activities are currently funded by James Conant’s Humboldt Project. Most prominently, this includes the Forschungskolleg Analytic German Idealism (FAGI) based at the University of Leipzig. Finally, it provides funding for the University of Chicago community who wish to participate in these and other events devoted to the study of German philosophy.

We have collected information on this webpage about the wide range of philosophical activities and events that take place at the University of Chicago, as well as the Chicago area more broadly. This includes conferences, graduate workshops, special lectures, and more. We have also provided information here about a variety of events in Germany and elsewhere in Europe that are co-sponsored by the CCGP — the majority of these take place during the summer months.

About the Humboldt Project

The Humboldt Project is led by James Conant. It is conceived as a joint venture to foster international cooperation in philosophy with a primary axis of cooperation between the University of Chicago and the University of Leipzig. Accordingly, between 2017 and 2022, Conant will divide his time between these two institutions. On July 1, 2017, Conant assumed the position of Humboldt Professor at the University of Leipzig. In order to serve in this capacity, he will teach at the University of Chicago only during the Spring Quarter each year. He is co-director with Andrea Kern of the FAGI in Leipzig, as well as the director of the Center for German Philosophy at the University of Chicago. Under his leadership, these two research centers will form the main axis of an international philosophical network, spanning Germany, Greece, Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

For more information about the Humboldt Project, click here. For more information about the FAGI, click here.

To read more about German philosophy at the University of Chicago, please click here. To read more about the recent history of German philosophy at UChicago, please click here. And to read an article on the CCGP that recently appeared in UChicago Global News, please click here.