220026 Contested concepts: Unravelling meanings across Europe (Blended Intensive Programme) (S) (WiSe 2026/2027)

This Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) introduces students to the dynamic field of conceptual history and related approaches to the study of how key socio-political concepts acquire changing, contested and translated meanings across time, languages and Europe’s diverse socio-political contexts.
Held in Bielefeld – one of the founding sites of modern conceptual history – the programme engages directly with the intellectual legacy of Reinhart Koselleck (1923–2006) and his colleagues. Students will explore why and how Begriffsgeschichte emerged in post-war Germany and how it transformed the interpretation of the past in the humanities and social sciences. From there, the seminar broadens its perspective to include other major traditions, such as the Cambridge School, as well as recent transnational, global and interdisciplinary developments in conceptual history.
Alongside foundational readings, students will engage with cutting-edge methodological innovations within conceptual history, including digital and distributional approaches to conceptual analysis, global and entangled conceptual histories, research on the role of emotions in conceptual change, as well as the impact of translation practices on the circulation, transformation and politicisation of concepts across borders. A distinctive feature of the programme is its strong practice-oriented component, in which students gain hands-on experience in producing visually mediated scholarly content based on their own engagement with conceptual history.

This BIP is a collaborative initiative involving Bielefeld University, the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, the University of Santiago de Compostela and the University of Tartu.