The KU Center for Advanced Studies “Dialogical Cultures – Critical Reflection Spaces for Cultural Studies and Social Sciences” (KU CAS) has recently been established as a research platform at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt to promote interdisciplinary research in the fields of cultural studies, social sciences, and the humanities. The Center is committed to advancing doctoral and postdoctoral studies as well as research projects conducted by experienced and well-established scholars. It aims at facilitating and enhancing dialogical scholarly exchange and critical debate beyond and across disciplinary boundaries and academic career stages.
KU CAS projects reflect its overall focus on dialogue and “dialogicity”, understood as a socio-cultural phenomenon, dynamic practice, and transformative process of cultural exchange under varying conflictual communicative preconditions and scenarios. Current main research areas include cultures of antiquity, (de)colonization, borders/ spaces, arts and literatures within broader societal fields, as well as interrelations of genres and media. Beyond these, the Center is open to all research topics of interest and theoretical approaches under its overarching framework of “dialogical cultures.”
The Center not only offers a forum to enhance and connect excellent research across the disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, but also serves as a space for critical debate, exploration, and contestation of current issues and contexts in cultural and social studies. Thus, the KU CAS “Dialogical Cultures” fosters dialogue and contributes to the transfer of knowledge within academia and towards the public at large.