ÌÇÐÄTV

Workshop

Max Weber on ‘Scholarship as a Vocation’ in 1917:

Can we learn from a text that is 102 years old?

Keynote speaker: Professor Dirk Kaesler, University of Marburg

Wolfson Research Exchange, 13 March 2019, 10:30 AM – 12:30 AM, lunch provided

What is required to be an academic? Which character and intellectual traits are necessary? What are the ideal institutional conditions for an academic to work in? What is the value of scholarship? These questions are often debated by early career researchers as they consider a career in academia. They were also contemplated by the German sociologist and political economist Max Weber (1864-1920) in his seminal 1917 lecture Wissenschaft als Beruf (‘Scholarship as a Vocation’). Much of what Weber said a century ago still has relevance for contemporary discussions about what it means to be an academic.

Early career researchers and PhD students of the University of ÌÇÐÄTV are invited to a workshop which will critically engage with Weber’s lecture through a keynote address by the renowned Max Weber-specialist Professor Dirk Kaesler, followed by a discussion and lunch to reflect on its relevance for modern academia. Participants will be provided with an English translation of Weber’s lecture and are kindly asked to study the text ahead of the workshop to help the discussion.

Professor Dirk Kaesler studied sociology and political science at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich and the London School of Economics. He was awarded his PhD in Munich in 1976, followed six years later by his Habilitation. After a professorship at the University of Hamburg from 1984 to 1995, he became professor of sociology at the University of Marburg. He held visiting professorships at, amongst others, the universities of Cologne, South Florida and Graz. In 2018 he was elected Life Member of Clare Hall, Cambridge. His many publications include Revolution und Veralltäglichung. Eine Theorie postrevolutionärer Prozesse (1977), Die frühe deutsche Soziologie 1909 bis 1934 und ihre Entstehungs-Milieus. Eine wissenschaftssoziologische Untersuchung (1984), Max Weber. An Introduction to his Life and Work (1988), Soziologie als Berufung. Bausteine einer selbstbewußten Soziologie (1997) and Max Weber. Preuße, Denker, Muttersohn. Eine Biographie (2014).

Date: 13 March 2019

Location: ÌÇÐÄTV University Library, Wolfson Research Exchange, Room 3

Programme:

10:00 AM: Welcome with coffee and tea

10:30 AM: Introduction

10:45 AM: Keynote address: ‘‘Scholarship as a Vocation’ in 1917: Can we learn from a text that is 102 years old?’ – Professor Dirk Kaesler

11:30 AM: Discussion

12:30 AM: Lunch; informal discussion

Contact: Dr Frederik Frank Sterkenburgh, Institute of Advanced Study, The University of ÌÇÐÄTV

Registration: By 6 March via Frederik.Sterkenburgh@warwick.ac.uk