Past Events

	Title	Date	Type	Speakers
	Statelessness in South Asia	Mon, 11.03.2019, 18:00	Lecture	Ranabir Samaddar	Statelessness in South Asia Mon, 11.03.2019, 18:00 Speakers: Ranabir Samaddar Series: Lecture The lecture examined the entanglements of citizenship policies and practices with the spread of statelessness today. It discussed the genesis of the Rohingya question in Myanmar in the broader context of citizenship registration drives in some postcolonial countries, which render massive number of “illegal immigrants” stateless. Current citizenship policies in these countries reflect the desire to achieve a perfect fit between the “right” kind of population and the “right size” of territory for a nation-state. But they must be also understood against the background of a shift in emphasis from jus soli to jus sanguinis, the existence of borderland populations and the no-where people, population flows across (post)colonial border formations and boundary delimitations and the growth of regional informal labour markets characterised by immigrant labour economies. In what ways is the production of statelessness in the postcolonial world different from the classical idea of statelessness originating from succession of states (for instance, Yugoslavia)? The talk also addressed the implications of such national citizen registers for international human rights laws and for key instruments on statelessness – the 1954 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. It showed why the international legal understanding of statelessness is inadequate to theorise the growing phenomenon of statelessness today. Read more
Statelessness in South Asia Mon, 11.03.2019, 18:00 Speakers: Ranabir Samaddar Series: Lecture The lecture examined the entanglements of citizenship policies and practices with the spread of statelessness today. It discussed the genesis of the Rohingya question in Myanmar in the broader context of citizenship registration drives in some postcolonial countries, which render massive number of “illegal immigrants” stateless. Current citizenship policies in these countries reflect the desire to achieve a perfect fit between the “right” kind of population and the “right size” of territory for a nation-state. But they must be also understood against the background of a shift in emphasis from jus soli to jus sanguinis, the existence of borderland populations and the no-where people, population flows across (post)colonial border formations and boundary delimitations and the growth of regional informal labour markets characterised by immigrant labour economies. In what ways is the production of statelessness in the postcolonial world different from the classical idea of statelessness originating from succession of states (for instance, Yugoslavia)? The talk also addressed the implications of such national citizen registers for international human rights laws and for key instruments on statelessness – the 1954 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. It showed why the international legal understanding of statelessness is inadequate to theorise the growing phenomenon of statelessness today. Read more
	Trojanow trifft: „Wie konnte das passieren?“ – Das Gespenst des Rechtsrucks in Österreich	Sun, 10.03.2019, 11:00	Panels and Discussions	Ilija TrojanowJosef Haslinger	Trojanow trifft: „Wie konnte das passieren?“ – Das Gespenst des Rechtsrucks in Österreich Sonntagsgespräche in der Roten Bar Sun, 10.03.2019, 11:00 Speakers: Ilija TrojanowJosef Haslinger Series: Panels and Discussions Ein Terrorakt im Herzen der österreichischen Hauptstadt ist der Nukleus des Romans Opernball von Josef Haslinger, zum Zeitpunkt der Veröffentlichung 1995 eine dystopische Übertreibung. Aber ganz aus der Luft gegriffen war das Szenario nicht, hatten doch rechtsextreme Anschläge und Briefbombenterror gerade das Land erschüttert. Eine Neue Rechte aus den diversesten Lagern, mit „wissenschaftlichem“, ideologischem oder religiösem Rüstzeug bewehrt, begann sich zu formieren – aus der Mitte der Gesellschaft heraus und in diese hineinwirkend. Ilija Trojanow sprach mit dem Autor und Mitbegründer der Menschenrechtsorganisation SOS Mitmensch Josef Haslinger über Fundamente des Rechtsextremismus, alte und neue Feindbilder und völkischen Katholizismus. Und wo steht Österreich heute, 25 Jahre nach der Romanfiktion? Read more
Trojanow trifft: „Wie konnte das passieren?“ – Das Gespenst des Rechtsrucks in Österreich Sonntagsgespräche in der Roten Bar Sun, 10.03.2019, 11:00 Speakers: Ilija TrojanowJosef Haslinger Series: Panels and Discussions Ein Terrorakt im Herzen der österreichischen Hauptstadt ist der Nukleus des Romans Opernball von Josef Haslinger, zum Zeitpunkt der Veröffentlichung 1995 eine dystopische Übertreibung. Aber ganz aus der Luft gegriffen war das Szenario nicht, hatten doch rechtsextreme Anschläge und Briefbombenterror gerade das Land erschüttert. Eine Neue Rechte aus den diversesten Lagern, mit „wissenschaftlichem“, ideologischem oder religiösem Rüstzeug bewehrt, begann sich zu formieren – aus der Mitte der Gesellschaft heraus und in diese hineinwirkend. Ilija Trojanow sprach mit dem Autor und Mitbegründer der Menschenrechtsorganisation SOS Mitmensch Josef Haslinger über Fundamente des Rechtsextremismus, alte und neue Feindbilder und völkischen Katholizismus. Und wo steht Österreich heute, 25 Jahre nach der Romanfiktion? Read more
	Historia i Prawda	Tue, 05.03.2019, 18:00	Panels and Discussions	Marcin Król Timothy Snyder	Historia i Prawda 29th Tischner Debate Tue, 05.03.2019, 18:00 Speakers: Marcin Król Timothy Snyder Series: Panels and Discussions Czy historia opisuje prawdę? Na jakiej prawdzie opiera się polityka historyczna? Czy uczciwy historyk może być przekonany, że mówi prawdę? Read more

	How Does Scholarship Persuade?	Mon, 04.03.2019, 16:00	Seminars and Colloquia	Ewa Atanassow Geoffrey Harpham	How Does Scholarship Persuade? Mon, 04.03.2019, 16:00 Speakers: Ewa Atanassow Geoffrey Harpham Series: Seminars and Colloquia In this talk, Geoffrey Harpham identified as one of the main sources of authority in a scholarly argument an implicit–or, in some cases, explicit–conversion narrative. This narrative, in which the scholar confronts evidence that compels him or her to a conclusion very different from the expected one, is at the core of scholarship as such, and illuminates both the intimacy and the complexity of the relations between the practice of scholarship and the concept of freedom. His primary example was the work of Bernard Lategan, a scholar who became a key figure in the history of apartheid in South Africa. Read more
How Does Scholarship Persuade? Mon, 04.03.2019, 16:00 Speakers: Ewa Atanassow Geoffrey Harpham Series: Seminars and Colloquia In this talk, Geoffrey Harpham identified as one of the main sources of authority in a scholarly argument an implicit–or, in some cases, explicit–conversion narrative. This narrative, in which the scholar confronts evidence that compels him or her to a conclusion very different from the expected one, is at the core of scholarship as such, and illuminates both the intimacy and the complexity of the relations between the practice of scholarship and the concept of freedom. His primary example was the work of Bernard Lategan, a scholar who became a key figure in the history of apartheid in South Africa. Read more
	Changing Politics and Geopolitics	Tue, 26.02.2019, 18:00	Panels and Discussions	Robert Sawers	Changing Politics and Geopolitics What does it mean for Europe? Tue, 26.02.2019, 18:00 Speakers: Robert Sawers Series: Panels and Discussions President Trump has now survived his first test as US President and, barring serious findings from the Mueller Inquiry, he will run for a second term with reasonable prospects of winning. Like him or not, he is set to be the most consequential president for fifty years. An assessment of the implications of a return to the sort of great power politics that the United States is now pursuing, away from the rules based international order that Europe (and previous US Presidents) have nurtured since WWII. A look at how China and Russia are responding, and the implications for the Middle East. Read more
Changing Politics and Geopolitics What does it mean for Europe? Tue, 26.02.2019, 18:00 Speakers: Robert Sawers Series: Panels and Discussions President Trump has now survived his first test as US President and, barring serious findings from the Mueller Inquiry, he will run for a second term with reasonable prospects of winning. Like him or not, he is set to be the most consequential president for fifty years. An assessment of the implications of a return to the sort of great power politics that the United States is now pursuing, away from the rules based international order that Europe (and previous US Presidents) have nurtured since WWII. A look at how China and Russia are responding, and the implications for the Middle East. Read more
	Democracy and Conspiracy	Mon, 25.02.2019, 16:00	Seminars and Colloquia	Tobias Haberkorn	Democracy and Conspiracy On Contemporary Paranoia Mon, 25.02.2019, 16:00 Speakers: Tobias Haberkorn Series: Seminars and Colloquia Drawing on research about conspiracy theories and their communities, this talk aimed to elucidate a set of dilemmas that democratic societies find themselves in: The democratic quest for transparency, technocratic excellence, critique, certainty and control may well have undermined the foundations of democracy itself. While it is desirable to restore confidence in democratic institutions, we also have to ask ourselves if a society could be built on sustained mistrust. Read more
Democracy and Conspiracy On Contemporary Paranoia Mon, 25.02.2019, 16:00 Speakers: Tobias Haberkorn Series: Seminars and Colloquia Drawing on research about conspiracy theories and their communities, this talk aimed to elucidate a set of dilemmas that democratic societies find themselves in: The democratic quest for transparency, technocratic excellence, critique, certainty and control may well have undermined the foundations of democracy itself. While it is desirable to restore confidence in democratic institutions, we also have to ask ourselves if a society could be built on sustained mistrust. Read more
	Real Existing Post-Socialism	Mon, 18.02.2019, 16:00	Seminars and Colloquia	Marci Shore Muriel Blaive	Real Existing Post-Socialism The Czech Politics of Totalitarianism Mon, 18.02.2019, 16:00 Speakers: Marci Shore Muriel Blaive Series: Seminars and Colloquia In the colloquium Muriel Blaive outlined her book project on memory politics in the Czech Republic. She especially pondered on the conflation between memory and commemoration, research and activism, history and politics. The talk broached five aspects: 1) the totalitarian paradigm adapted to the post-1989 Czech terrain; 2) an epistemology of the secret police file, and its instrumentalization; 3) oral history studies and the apparent paradox between an outward detestation of communism and a genuine nostalgia for communist times; 4) the relationship between legal prescriptions and academic quality, i.e. the law and context surrounding the creation of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes in 2007; and 5) a reflection on collective memory manufacturing. Read more
Real Existing Post-Socialism The Czech Politics of Totalitarianism Mon, 18.02.2019, 16:00 Speakers: Marci Shore Muriel Blaive Series: Seminars and Colloquia In the colloquium Muriel Blaive outlined her book project on memory politics in the Czech Republic. She especially pondered on the conflation between memory and commemoration, research and activism, history and politics. The talk broached five aspects: 1) the totalitarian paradigm adapted to the post-1989 Czech terrain; 2) an epistemology of the secret police file, and its instrumentalization; 3) oral history studies and the apparent paradox between an outward detestation of communism and a genuine nostalgia for communist times; 4) the relationship between legal prescriptions and academic quality, i.e. the law and context surrounding the creation of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes in 2007; and 5) a reflection on collective memory manufacturing. Read more
	Vorhang auf oder Schotten dicht? Was bleibt von 1989?	Sun, 17.02.2019, 11:00	Panels and Discussions	Basil Kerski Ludger Hagedorn Noémi KissErhard Busek, Radek Knapp, Lisa Nimmervoll	Vorhang auf oder Schotten dicht? Was bleibt von 1989? Sun, 17.02.2019, 11:00 Speakers: Basil Kerski Ludger Hagedorn Noémi KissErhard Busek, Radek Knapp, Lisa Nimmervoll Series: Panels and Discussions Im Frühsommer 1989 bekam der Eiserne Vorhang erste Risse. Im November 1989 fiel symbolträchtig die Berliner Mauer, bis Jahresende verschwanden die alten Regime in der DDR, in Polen, Ungarn, in der Tschechoslowakei, in Bulgarien und Rumänien. Es war eine historische Zäsur – politisch, wirtschaftlich, gesellschaftlich. Plötzlich schienen Freiheit und Demokratie überall möglich, und das geteilte Europa sah sich als wiedervereint. Was aber wurde aus diesem historischen Aufbruch? Was ist geblieben von 1989? Read more
Vorhang auf oder Schotten dicht? Was bleibt von 1989? Sun, 17.02.2019, 11:00 Speakers: Basil Kerski Ludger Hagedorn Noémi KissErhard Busek, Radek Knapp, Lisa Nimmervoll Series: Panels and Discussions Im Frühsommer 1989 bekam der Eiserne Vorhang erste Risse. Im November 1989 fiel symbolträchtig die Berliner Mauer, bis Jahresende verschwanden die alten Regime in der DDR, in Polen, Ungarn, in der Tschechoslowakei, in Bulgarien und Rumänien. Es war eine historische Zäsur – politisch, wirtschaftlich, gesellschaftlich. Plötzlich schienen Freiheit und Demokratie überall möglich, und das geteilte Europa sah sich als wiedervereint. Was aber wurde aus diesem historischen Aufbruch? Was ist geblieben von 1989? Read more
	Svätopluk Mikyta: Die Monochrome. Überdenken der Vergangenheit, Interpretation der Gegenwart	Tue, 12.02.2019, 19:30	Visual and Performing Arts	Nina Schedlmayer	Svätopluk Mikyta: Die Monochrome. Überdenken der Vergangenheit, Interpretation der Gegenwart Exhibition Opening Tue, 12.02.2019, 19:30 Speakers: Nina Schedlmayer Series: Visual and Performing Arts In cooperation with the Institute for Human Sciences, Knoll Galerie Wien was showing a selection of works by the Slovakian artist Svätopluk Mikyta from his series “The Monochromes” at the IWM. Svätopluk Mikyta was born in Slovakia in 1973. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava and at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart. He lives and works in Banska Stiavnica and Brno, where he heads the Graphics and Printing Department of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the Technical University in Brno. Read more
Svätopluk Mikyta: Die Monochrome. Überdenken der Vergangenheit, Interpretation der Gegenwart Exhibition Opening Tue, 12.02.2019, 19:30 Speakers: Nina Schedlmayer Series: Visual and Performing Arts In cooperation with the Institute for Human Sciences, Knoll Galerie Wien was showing a selection of works by the Slovakian artist Svätopluk Mikyta from his series “The Monochromes” at the IWM. Svätopluk Mikyta was born in Slovakia in 1973. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava and at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart. He lives and works in Banska Stiavnica and Brno, where he heads the Graphics and Printing Department of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the Technical University in Brno. Read more
	Aid in Times of Crisis, the Crisis of Aid	Tue, 12.02.2019, 18:00	Lecture	Ilija Trojanow	Aid in Times of Crisis, the Crisis of Aid Tue, 12.02.2019, 18:00 Speakers: Ilija Trojanow Series: Lecture Aid is still regarded as an important instrument for human development, nationally and internationally. Yet, the nature of aid, its structuring and implementation has changed considerably in recent years. It has been increasingly integrated into the financial and economic system, giving rise to a thriving new industry dealing in „social bonds“ and „social business“, thus in social profiteering. The focus is on resilience, efficiency, immediacy as opposed to solidarity, human rights and profound structural change. Based on research in a dozen countries on four continents, the novelist and essayist Ilija Trojanow described these wide-ranging changes as well as some sucessful examples of substantial and sustainable transformation. Read more
Aid in Times of Crisis, the Crisis of Aid Tue, 12.02.2019, 18:00 Speakers: Ilija Trojanow Series: Lecture Aid is still regarded as an important instrument for human development, nationally and internationally. Yet, the nature of aid, its structuring and implementation has changed considerably in recent years. It has been increasingly integrated into the financial and economic system, giving rise to a thriving new industry dealing in „social bonds“ and „social business“, thus in social profiteering. The focus is on resilience, efficiency, immediacy as opposed to solidarity, human rights and profound structural change. Based on research in a dozen countries on four continents, the novelist and essayist Ilija Trojanow described these wide-ranging changes as well as some sucessful examples of substantial and sustainable transformation. Read more