Registration for the 2nd Intercontinental Academia through the IEA-USP postponed to August 23

The enrollment phase for young researchers who wish to investigate the subject “Human Dignity” in the second Intercontinental Academia (ICA) has been postponed by the IEA-USP to August 23. Organized by the Institute for Advanced Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and by the Center for Interdisciplinary Research (Zentrum für interdisziplinäre Forschung – ZiF) at Bielefeld University, the first stage of the project will be held from March 6 through 20, 2016 in Jerusalem, Israel. The second stage will take place from August 1 through 12 in Bielefeld, Germany.

Researchers may come from areas such as Law, Political Science, Sociology, Political Theory, History, Philosophy, Computer Science, Education, Cultural Studies, Literary Studies, Biology or Biogenetics. Participants must have reached the final phase of their PhD or post-doctoral work, and be fluent in English.

Candidates must present a cover letter on how they may contribute to the project, an updated résumé, and a letter of recommendation from an institute of advanced studies of the UBIAS network. In addition, they should provide a document summarizing their interest in the subject matter and their expectations for the project. Submissions should be made by e-mail (ica_iea@usp.br) by August 23.

As the main member of the Ubias network in Latin America, the IEA-USP will be in charge of receiving the applications from the regional candidates and hold a pre-selection before sending the approved candidates to a final selection process by the host institutes.

Fifteen participants will be selected at the end of the process. Part of the costs of accommodation and travel will be reimbursed.

Human dignity

Human dignity is the object of several research studies, in various disciplines, and will involve a debate on international terrorism, torture, civil war, data protection, poverty reduction and social security, minorities, and history of human rights, among others. During the conferences in Israel and Germany, participants will attend master classes with eminent scholars from these fields. Some lectures have already been defined: “The constitutional right to human dignity,” “Dignity as the core of human rights,” “Recognizing human dignity after its denial” and “Human dignity in religion.”

Confirmed speakers include:

• Aleida Assmann, a professor of English Literature at the University of Konstanz;
• Lynn A. Hunt, a research professor and Eugen Weber endowed chair-holder in Modern European History at the University of California;
• Gertrude Lübbe-Wolff, a professor of Public Law at Bielefeld University and former justice of the German Federal Constitutional Court;
• Ralf Poscher, a professor of Constitutional Law and Legal Philosophy at the University of Freiburg;
• Mordechai Kremnitzer, the Bruce W. Wayne professor of International Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and vice-president of research at the Israel Democracy Institute;
• Aharon Barak, a professor of Law at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya;
• Bernadette Brooten, a researcher of American Religion and Kraft-Hiatt professor of Christian Studies at Brandeis University;
• Marcus Düwell, who holds a chair in Philosophy Ethics at Utrecht University;
• Moshe Halbertal, a senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute of Jerusalem, and a professor of Jewish Thinking and Philosophy at the;
• and Christine Hayes, Robert F. and Patricia Ross Weis professor of Religious Studies at Yale University and president of the Departament of Religious Studies.

The Intercontinental Academia is an initiative of the UBIAS network, an international association that connects 34 university-based institutes for advanced study from 19 countries, and aims to promote networked research and develop new leaders. The first edition of the Academia, which discussed “Time,” is being organized by the Institute of Advanced Studies of the University of São Paulo (IEA-USP) and the Institute for Advanced Research at the Nagoya University. The first part was held in São Paulo from April 17 through 29 and the second is scheduled for March 2016, in Nagoya. Read about the São Paulo conferences here. Learn more about the project at http://intercontinental-academia.ubias.net/.