Lecture Series Winter 2026/27: Varieties of Science: On Cultural-Institutional Preconditions of Producing Scholarly Knowledge

We are happy to announce that the lecture series of the winter term 2026/27 will revolve around the topic of Varieties of Science: On Cultural-Institutional Preconditions of Producing Scholarly Knowledge.

Currently, a variety of intertwined trends, such as globalization, digitalization, postcolonialism, the emergence of the Anthropocene, or the emergence of a multipolar world order, give new urgency to the question of the role and form of science in a changing world. The rationale driving the idea of Varieties of Science is to understand global world ordering as a process of cosmopolitization (Ulrich Beck).

Otherness and its recognition are located at the forefront of this approach. Varieties of science can be studied as a process of epistemic cosmopolitization that makes transparent the respective cultural-institutional preconditions for producing scholarly knowledge. This is aligned with different fundamental questions. To name only two: How can a comparative analysis of cultural-institutional preconditions be conducted in a context-sensitive as well a balanced and just way? How can we develop an adequate framework to analyze hybrid configurations of policies and epistemologies as formations of Varieties of Science, without ignoring the internal heterogeneity of such formations or overemphasizing their differences? It requires a political epistemology with a high (analytical) resolution has to enable an adequate dialectic of similarity and difference.

That is why this lecture series takes various starting points to explore such heterogeneities in scholarly practice. In this way, we gather theoretical frameworks and empirical findings that enable us to make progress toward developing a research program.

The lecture series will begin on October 14, 2026, with a talk by Stefan Böschen (KHK c:o/re director) entitled “Varieties of Science – Heterogeneity of Scientific Practices Revisited”.

For an overview of the dates and speakers, please see the program.

The lecture series will take place every second Wednesday from 5 to 6:30 pm, in the lecture hall of the center and online via zoom.

If you would like to attend the lectures, please send a short email to events@khk.rwth-aachen.de.

Program