In this interview, Coptic scholar Gesa Schenke discusses her research at the Cluster of Excellence on two Egyptian manuscripts from the 4th and 10th centuries AD. Written in Coptic, the last stage of the Egyptian language, these manuscripts contain the earliest known Jewish-Christian record of the so-called Testament of Abraham. Gesa Schenke uses this narrative in the “Abraham in Everyday Life” project to explore the extent to which the thought of death and the impending Judgment of the Dead shapes religious, political and social behaviour in everyday life. Read more

Ten subjects, three terms, one certificate: for the past year, students at the University of Münster have been able to enrol in the interdisciplinary certificate programme “Religion and Politics” that the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics” offers. This allows them to study from a wide range of courses and learn about different disciplinary cultures. More than 50 students are currently enrolled in the certificate programme, with the numbers rising. “This testifies not only to the relevance of ‘religion and politics’, but also to the great interest that students have in acquiring additional disciplinary skills alongside their regular studies”, says religious studies scholar Astrid Reuter. Read more

Mit innovativen Konzepten des Politischen befasst sich die politische Philosophin Franziska Dübgen, Leiterin des Projekts „Artikulationen des ‚Politischen‘ in gegenwärtigen postkolonialen Kontexten Nord- und Subsahara-Afrikas“, in ihrer Forschung am Exzellenzcluster. Sie richtet den Blick vor allem auf Konzepte, die in der Politischen Philosophie und Politischen Theorie der vergangenen Jahrzehnte in und mit Blick auf Afrika entwickelt wurden. Im Interview spricht sie über ihr Forschungsprojekt am Exzellenzcluster, mögliche Lernpotenziale zwischen Nord und Süd im Umgang mit globalen Herausforderungen und die Debatte um Postkolonialismus.  Read more