The Erich Auerbach Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of Cologne is offering for the summer semester of 2027
- up to four senior fellowships for a period of one (up to a maximum of two) months
- up to five junior fellowships for a period of one to three months
The Auerbach Institute offers faculty members the opportunity to develop innovative research concepts in collaboration with international colleagues and to explore interdisciplinary interfaces.
Fellowships
This call for applications is directed at
- full-time professors and
- staff members with doctoral degrees
at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (host), who apply jointly with external, typically international
- outstanding, experienced researchers (Senior Fellows) or
- young, up-and-coming researchers who have recently completed their doctorates (Junior Fellows).
The call is directed at Fellows with whom a collaboration already exists or with whom more intensive collaboration is sought. The fellowship period should fall within Cologne’s lecture term from April 5 to July 16, 2027. In addition to project-related research with their host, fellows will give a lecture as part of the Auerbach Institute’s public lecture series. The fellowship offers the freedom to advance their respective projects as well as to establish and expand contacts with colleagues in the faculty. To this end, fellows are provided with their own workspace and the opportunity to organize their own workshops and conferences.
Research Focus
During the summer semester of 2027, research at the Auerbach Institute will focus on the topic of cohesion — forms and practices of connection and dissolution. In public debates, current crises are often interpreted as an expression of a loss of social cohesion. From the perspective of the humanities and cultural studies, however, social fragmentation can usually be attributed not only to a lack of cohesion, but also to the tension between competing, equally strong forms of cohesion.
This year’s thematic focus draws on the diversity of perspectives in the humanities and cultural studies to critically examine the concept of cohesion and redefine it conceptually. Rather than understanding cohesion as a universally measurable or inherently positive characteristic of social systems, it centers on its historical, cultural, and relational production. Cohesion thus appears, at first glance, as a historically situated assertion about social order. The focus is on the question of how different forms of society—from kinship-based communities to modern nation-states—articulate, establish, and negotiate cohesion. In this context, fragmentation is not necessarily to be understood as the dissolution of social bonds, but can equally indicate the emergence of alternative forms of cohesion, for example in extremist milieus or digital counter-public spheres. Forces of cohesion are therefore neither normatively desirable nor democratic per se.
In contrast to social research that is predominantly Western and focused on the present, this year’s thematic focus combines a longue durée perspective—from Ancient Egypt to the present—with transregional approaches, particularly with regard to the Global South. At the same time, it assumes that social cohesion arises not only from shared values or norms, but also from material infrastructures, artifacts, and built environments that stabilize, transform, or disrupt social formations. Approaches from media and cultural studies, infrastructure studies, and network theory are particularly well-suited to building on these considerations.
From a humanities perspective, these questions are situated within a long history of ideas, ranging from Ibn Khaldun’s concept of ʿasabiyyah to Durkheim’s theory of solidarity and on to more recent theories of assemblage, actor-network, and difference (including those of Bruno Latour, Judith Butler, and Cornelius Castoriadis, among others). In doing so, this year’s thematic focus addresses central concerns of the research initiative “In|Cohesion. Post-Anthropocentric and Transregional Perspectives on Practices, Materials, and Environments of Togetherness” at the Faculty of Philosophy. The goal is to harness the conceptual openness of cohesion as heuristic potential for exchange between fellows and hosts at the Auerbach Institute and to develop a nuanced understanding of processes of communitization and their dissolution that transcends the boundaries of primarily quantitative social research.
Selection
The selection criteria for the fellowships are academic qualifications, the originality of the proposed joint project, and the project’s contribution to the development of sustainable international relations. The selection is made by the Auerbach Institute’s Scientific Advisory Board.
Application
Applications must include the following (please combine them into a single PDF file):
- a one- to two-page cover letter (including information on the preferred duration of the stay)
- a resume of the prospective fellow
- a list of publications by the host and the prospective fellow
- a proposal for a joint research project of no more than 2,000 words
- a summary of no more than 200 words that illustrates the significance of the project even to those outside the field
The application deadline is October 31, 2026.
Please submit your applications in digital form to the Scientific Director of the Auerbach Institute, who is also available to answer any questions you may have:
Apl. Prof. Dr. Martin Roussel
martin.roussel(at)uni-koeln.de
