How did forms of belonging develop in ancient Greece, and which role did Amyklaion play as a central hub in Laconia? Historian Hans Beck's project, “Belonging in/to Laconia. An archaeohistorical study on the Sanctuary of Apollo at Amyklai and its surroundings”, at the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics” explores this question. The subject of the study is the hill of Agia Kyriaki, 5 km south of Sparta, which has long been associated with the ancient cult center of Apollo Amyklaios. The project complements excavations that have been taking place on site for more than 20 years. Read more

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

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