Why research into Christian democracy is important
The impact and legacy of Christian-Democracy runs throughout a variety of themes in contemporary history – ranging from European integration over the Cold War to the development of the welfare state. Its relevance surpasses national and European borders, through a variety of transnational connections linking political parties and social movements in different countries and continents. Moreover, histories of Christian-Democracy have also became of interest to diverse disciplines within the humanities – ranging from political sciences to sociology and economics. Yet, many studies of Christian-Democracy have so far remained rather insular, while many researchers are confronted with many methodological and conceptual hurdles when accessing sources and archives.
To stimulate fresh interdisciplinary approaches and themes and to connect the history of Christian-Democracy to wider and comparative fields of research, CIVITAS-FARCD has started up a yearly CIVITAS-Academy. The CIVITAS-Academy welcomes young and early career researchers (max. 10 years of PhD) from different disciplines within the humanities.
The CIVITAS Academy's contribution to research into Christian democracy
The CIVITAS-Academy consists of a combination of paper presentations and lectures by keynote speakers, as well as hands-on archival and methodological sessions, in which participants are given access to relevant sources and archival material and will be able to discuss their work with senior researchers as well as archivists.
The 2024 CIVITAS-Academy will take place in Germany (near Bonn) from 9 to 12 December 2024 at Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Sankt Augustin, and Stiftung Bundeskanzler-Adenauer-Haus, Bad Honnef.
Submission of a project proposal
Proposals may deal with a variety of topics on Christian-Democracy after 1945.
Your application should include the following documents:
- a proposal (max. 500 words presenting your research)
- a CV (1 page, including institutional affiliation, past publications, etc.)
Please send the documents to Dr Michael Borchard (michael.borchard@kas.de) by 14 October 2024. Notification of acceptance will follow by 21 October 2024.
Further information on the CIVITAS Academy
The selected participants will be given a fellowship covering accommodation for five days as well as travel costs. The number of participants is limited to five. Please note that the conference will be held in English.
CIVITAS | Forum of Archives and Research on Christian Democracy, founded by Istituto Luigi Sturzo (Rome), KADOC-KU Leuven, Documentation and Research Centre on Religion, Culture and Society (Leuven) and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e. V. (Sankt Augustin), is a platform of research institutes/institutions and archives and of individual archivists and researchers, focused on the field of research and records/collections/sources of the Christian Democracy on the national level, in Europe and worldwide.
