Conference: Hamann and the Tradition

20th - 21st March 2009

Hunter College (CUNY), New York, NY

Recent years have witnessed a resurgence of scholarly interest in the work of Johann Georg Hamann, an interest which is spreading among scholars of world literature, European history, philosophy, theology, and religious studies. New translations of work by and about Hamann are appearing, as are a number of books and articles on Hamann's aesthetics, theories of language and sexuality, and unique place in Enlightenment and Counter-Enlightenment thought. As such, the time has come to reexamine, in light of recent work, the legacy of Hamann's writings, which have influenced such diverse thinkers as J.G. von Herder, F.H. Jacobi, J.W. von Goethe, G.W.F. Hegel, Søren Kierkegaard, and Walter Benjamin, to name only an obvious few.

We invite papers which investigate or problematize in new ways any underappreciated aspect of Hamann's impact across the centuries, be it upon a thinker or work, a historical tradition, or even an entire branch of knowledge. Especially welcome are papers which promote dialogue among the diverse disciplines to which Hamann's work speaks. All conference papers should be delivered in English.

Keynote Speaker
Oswald Bayer, Systematic Theology, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen
Author of Vernunft ist Sprache: Hamanns Metakritik Kants; Johann Georg Hamann: Der hellste Kopf seiner Zeit; Zeitgenosse im Widerspruch: Johann Georg Hamann als Radikaler Aufklärer

Confirmed Speakers
John Betz, After Enlightenment: The Post-Secular Vision of J.G. Hamann
Gwen Griffith-Dickson, Johann Georg Hamann's Relational Metacriticism
Kenneth Haynes, Hamann: Writings on Philosophy and Language
Manfred Kuehn, Immanuel Kant: A Biography; Scottish Common Sense in Germany 1768-1800
Johannes von Lüpke, Director, Internationales Hamann-Kolloquium
Katie Terezakis, The Immanent Word: The Turn to Language in German Philosophy 1759-1801

We gratefully acknowledge the support of:
The Office of the Dean of Arts & Sciences, Hunter College (CUNY)
The Max Kade Foundation

Contact Information:

Lisa Marie Anderson, Assistant Professor
Department of German, Hunter College
lisa.anderson@hunter.cuny.edu

Conference website here.