Max Weiss and Jens Hanssen are the principal investigators of the international research project “Global Weimar/Global Nahda”, which results in 3 conferences on 3 continents. Our Project is carried by two Princeton Doctoral students, Peter Makhlouf and Simon Conrad. Together we investigate echoes, links, and contrasts between the German and Arabic intellectual spheres in the first half of the 20th century. Our first workshop in Berlin will serve to establish the parameters of the project, provide ample room for case studies, and relate these theoretical discussions that question assumptions about the movement of ideas in both German and Arabic Studies. The second workshop, held by Princeton University, focuses on particular themes and discursive fields, such as the study of religion, the history of architecture, and literature. We will host our third workshop at the Orient-Institut Beirut (OIB). This final workshop will allow for the themes of Global Weimar/Global Nahda to bring the Arabic public sphere into the conversation, drawing upon the robust traffic of scholars, artists and public intellectuals to whom Beirut is host. It will also prepare the grounds for one, or more, publications that bring together our findings and help set up a new global and comparative framework of study.

Principal Investigators: Max Weiss & Jens Hanssen
Project Coordinators: Peter Makhlouf & Simon Conrad