Activities
Our activities bring together scholars from around the world to explore philosophical questions in their global, historical, and linguistic dimensions. Through interviews, lectures, and research talks, we engage with the plurality of philosophical traditions and their interrelations—from African and Asian philosophies to intercultural and comparative approaches. Each event contributes to our broader aim of rethinking philosophy as a globally entangled and polylogical practice.
-
Egypt has laid the foundations of human civilization; everything originated there, including philosophy. As one of the oldest written cultures, Egypt provides the earliest evidence of philosophical thought. However, we lack a definition or introduction…
-
In a recent Research Talk at our Center for Advanced Studies, Professor Kai Kresse, in cooperation with filmmaker Najeeb Ahmad and anthropologist Kadara Swaleh, explored the rich intellectual world of Swahili poetry as a medium…
-
In his lecture on the “History of the Kenyan Philosophy Journal Thought and Practice,” Oriare Nyarwath provides an insightful overview of the inception, evolution, and impact of the journal within the African philosophical landscape. Thought…
-
Wrestling refers both to a physical activity and to the cognitive endeavour of wrestling with a problem or a difficulty. Philosophical texts in Wolof can be read from different angles. In this lecture, I take mbër, the…
-
“Philosophizing in Lusophone Africa” is a series of events which focus on doing philosophy in African countries adopting Portuguese as their official language. Language influences how people do philosophy, its themes, concerns and quests. This…
-
The following research talk with Prof. Rolf Elberfeld served as a follow-up to his previous lecture, “What is Philosophy, or, How to Philosophize?”, which was part of a double lecture on “What is Philosophy?” co-presented…
-
Abraham Olivier, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Fort Hare, delivered a critical and reflective lecture on the history, role, and controversies surrounding the South African Journal of Philosophy (SJP) and its host, the Philosophical Society of Southern Africa (PSSA).…
-
For most of the twentieth century, the debate about the production of knowledge in Africa centered on the colonial library and writings in European languages. There was little acknowledgment that a whole world of debate…
-
In this interview, conducted by Abbed Kanoor, Prof. Ernest-Marie Mbonda discusses the longstanding and evolving relationship between the Catholic Church and African philosophy, particularly in Cameroon. He explains that modern African philosophy largely emerged from…
-
The Center for Advanced Studies recently hosted a research discussion with Prof. Anke Graness as a continuation of the lecture “What is Philosophy? A Retrospective and a Perspective” co-presented with Prof. Rolf Elberfeld. The event…
-
The GloPhi Center will host a poetry reading and discussion with the Nigerian poet Logan February. The event will take place at the outdoor seminary room of the Institute of Philosophy at the Cultural Campus…
-
This collaborative lecture – between an esteemed Swahili poet and a German anthropologist/philosopher – shall introduce the audience to the ways in which philosophical reflections have long been part of the vivid dynamic lifeworlds on…
-
„Philosophie ist nicht nur in Europa zu finden“, das war ein Satz, den man im Wintersemester 2024/2025 bei der Eröffnungsveranstaltung der Kolleg-Forschungsgruppe „Philosophieren in einer globalisierten Welt – historische und systematische Perspektiven“ mehrfach hören konnte.…
-
The Center for Advanced Studies hosted a research discussion with Prof. Wilfred Lajul (University of Gulu, Uganda), following his lecture on The Relevance of Proverbs in African Philosophy. Moderated by Anke Graness, the conversation focused on…
-
In this lecture, delivered at the international workshop “Places of African Philosophies,” Romuald Fonkoua presents a comprehensive intellectual history of the influential journal and publishing house Présence Africaine, founded in 1947 by Alioune Diop. Fonkoua organizes his…
-
In many areas of philosophy today, English appears to have become the dominant language. This obscures the fact that philosophy continues to be practiced in a variety of languages around the world. This lecture argues…
-
Storytelling has played a crucial role in philosophy and the articulation of philosophical perspectives from the beginning. Philosophers have used various forms of stories to express and communicate their ideas, these include narrative models such…
-
Philosophy, as a human inclination, is as old as human beings on Mother Earth. It is thus pluriversal. As an academic discipline, it remains a contested terrain, especially since colonization by the West and the…
-
The mutual influence of language and philosophizing has been a topic of debate for centuries. Do languages determine how we think? Do certain languages suggest certain thought constellations? Is translation a universal language? To this…
-
As part of her seminar “Philosophical Debate Culture: Past and Present, Theory and Praxis,” Professor Katrin Wille (Associate Member and Professor of Philosophy) recently organized a public debate event in collaboration with students at the Center for…
-
As part of our ongoing efforts to document and reflect on key voices in African philosophy, we were pleased to host Prof. Wilfred Lajul (Gulu University, Uganda) for a wide-ranging interview during his recent visit…
-
Ivorian philosopher, poet, and novelist Tanella Boni was recently invited to the GloPhi Center for an in-depth research talk that ranged across literary form, linguistic diversity, oral traditions, publication challenges, and the broader socio-political conditions…
-
In this lecture, Professor Janz explores two strands of his longstanding research on place: the philosophical inquiry into philosophy in place, particularly within the context of African philosophy, and his broader interdisciplinary work on the conceptual…
-
Die taz widmet sich in einem aktuellen Beitrag der Arbeit der DFG geförderten Kolleg-Forschungsgruppe „Philosophieren in einer globalisierten Welt – Historische und systematische Perspektiven“, die seit Herbst 2024 am Institut für Philosophie der Universität Hildesheim angesiedelt ist. Der Artikel mit dem Titel „Wider…