Philosophy of interculturality: Research and teaching around the chair of foundations of intercultural philosophy, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands

Teaching and research around the chair of Foundations of Intercultural Philosophy

at the Philosophical Faculty, Erasmus University Rotterdam

Prof. Wim van Binsbergen
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Institutional Framework

The chair of Foundations of Intercultural Philosophy was founded by the Trust Fund of the Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) in 1990 when its first incumbent, Heinz Kimmerle, retired from his chair of continental philosophy and the philosophy of difference. After five years, Prof. Kimmerle retired from the Chair of Foundations of Intercultural Philosophy, to be succeeded by Wim van Binsbergen in 1998. Wim van Binsbergen held his inaugural lecture in January, 1999. Prior to this appointment, Wim van Binsbergen -- who in the 1970s-1980s established himself as a specialist on religion in Africa (historic forms, Christianity and Islam -- had been Professor of Ethnicity and Ideology in Transformation Processes in the Third World at the Free University, Amsterdam (1990-1998), as well as a long-standing senior member of the African Studies Centre, Leiden (1976- ); he had also served in professorial positions at the universities of Manchester, Leiden, Berlin and Durban-Westville. Wim van Binsbergen's appointment in the chair of the Foundations of Intercultural Philosophy is financed by the African Studies Centre, while his research, conferences, and PhD projects are largely subsidised by the Trust Fund of the EUR, with minor contributions from the Philosophical Faculty, EUR. The chair is monitored by a Curatorium consisting of Mr. R.A. Felix on behalf of the Trust Fund EUR, Dr. H. Oosterling on behalf of the Philosophical Faculty EUR, and Dr. G. Hesseling on behalf of the African Studies Centre, Leiden; the Curatorium meets once a year.

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Current research

Around the chair of Foundations of Intercultural Philosophy, a number of research projects are currently undertaken. Much of the research is embedded in the overall research programme of the Department of the Philosophy of Man and Culture, Philosophical Faculty, Erasmus University Rotterdam (programme leader: Prof. Jos de Mul). Within that overall programme, the chair on intercultural philosophy plays a major role specifically in the programme module on Intercultural Mediation. The organisation of this programme module is flexible, and of the researchers involved (de Mul, Loose, Oosterling, Tiemersma, and van Binsbergen, in alphabetical order) only van Binsbergen is directly connected with the chair on intercultural philosophy.

Here three major projects stand out:

click here for a preliminary description of recently completed and current research within the part module of intercultural mediation

1. Research programme on Intercultural conflict: Around the chair of intercultural philosophy, EUR, Rotterdam, a major research project is now in preparation, which is to bundle the activities of the various philosophical PhD projects now in progress, or soon to be initiated. In April, 2005, a first stock-taking meeting of all available PhD students will take place. This will also mark the recommencement of Wim van Binsbergen’s monthly PhD seminar on intercultural philosophy.

2. The origins and conditions of philosophical thought. Recently a new project was started that merges Wim van Binsbergen's empirical experience as a cultural anthropologist with the Ancient Near East and Africa with his philosophical work of the last decade. It consists of the exploration of the socio-historical, intercultural, and media conditions under which philosophical thought (with its very specific language patterns) has arisen. This research (now crystallizing into two volumes scheduled for publication in 2005-2006) seeks to trace, through a combination of philosophical conceptualization and historical and comparative empirical research, very early and near-universal forms of human thought, seeking to answer Max Black’s question as to the existence of universal structures of symbolism. The focus will be on the emergence, 5000 years ago in the Ancient Near East, of fundamental forms of mediation that have since – especially through their potential for what might be called ‘routinized transcendentalism’ – had a profound impact on the human world (writing, the state, organized religion, and science). A complementary line of research will be devoted to the philosophy of myth, where Cassirer, Kolakowski and Deleuze & Guattari offer major philosophical inspiration to explore the wealth of mythical material from Africa (with special emphasis on leopard-related themes) and to detect, once more, underlying general patterns of thought there that highlight both continuity and specificity of particular periods and regions. In connection with this project an international conference will be organized, to which alongside Van Binsbergen several other members of the group will contribute.

Click here for explorations of forms of knowledge that are largely independent from, and that largely pre-date, the North Atlantic culture, society and science -- in a bid to assess both the difference and the convergence of the varieties of human thought, conceptualisation, symbolism and world-making

3. Book project: The mediatic turn: Aspects of the ontology of mediation, eds Wim van Binsbergen & Jos de Mul: In the middle of 2004, at the department (‘leerstoelgroep’) of the Anthropology of Man and Culture (formerly: philosophical anthropology) of the Philosophical Faculty, Erasmus University Rotterdam, a new book project was initiated in order to provide the department with a collective focus and to lend substance to the department’s new research programme entitled ‘The ontology of mediation’. All members of the department, as well as a number of PhD students, are participating in this project, as authors of individual chapters that reflect current theoretical interests and research within the department. Aim of the book project is to signal, to explore, and to help bring about, a new paradigmatic shift in contemporary philosophy: after the linguistic turn and the semiotic turn of the second half of the 20th century, new media and globalisation are now claimed to have brought about a next, mediatic turn. The project thus continues the line of the previous departmental book project, Filosofie in cyberspace (J. de Mul ed., Kampen: Klement, 2002). Of course the project seeks not only to reflect philosophically on state-of-the-art new media and on our globalised North Atlantic world today, but also to extrapolate these insights in order to look at the past, and at other continents and cultures, in a new light. Work on the book is to be very intensive, with one-day departmental workshops in February, April, June and October, and a concluding International Seminar in November, all of 2005. It it hoped that the book will be ready to go to press early 2006.

4. In addition to these more collectively embedded projects, Wim van Binsbergen's philosophical research has recently concentrated on

Recent research projects successfully completed

In recent years, more or less comprehensive research projects were conducted and concluded by publication (in the form of books and articles) on:

interculturality,

virtuality, religion, medieval Islamic philosophy, spirituality, the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu, and the analysis of globalisation, ethnicity, commodification, consumption.

political philosophy, especially problems of legitimation, violence and statehood, the problem of truth in politics, investigating the applicability of time-honoured (Protagoras, Aristotle, Cicero) and recently revived rhetorical approaches to truth and persuasiveness; and

From 2002 onwards, a detailed and up-to-date chronological record of ongoing research, presentations and publications is provided on the webpage Topicalities which is part of the present Shikanda domain. For Wim van Binsbergen's publications see his list of publications; more detailed information is available in the various subject-based websites which make up the present Shikanda domain. The texts of most of these publications have now been included in the present Shikanda domain: core sections of Wim van Binsbergen's book Intercultural Encounters (2003) and of most of his other recent books, as well as papers on Guattari, Derrida, Kant, Mudimbe, Sandra Harding, a short book on virtuality, etc. See the internal search facility at the bottom of this page. This allows the visitor to enter specific authors, concepts and topics, and trace their ramifications through Wim van Binsbergen's recent work.

Current and imminent publication projects

The lines of research indicated above came largely together in the voluminous book Intercultural encounters: African and anthropological lessons towards a philosophy of interculturality (610 pp; Berlin & Muenster: LIT); this was published end of 2003, and forms a central reference point in Wim van Binsbergen's philosophical teaching and research.

With Peter Geschiere a collective volume was completed on Commodities and Identities: 'Social life of things' revisited, which seeks to take up the inspiration of Arjun Appadurai's work; this book has now been accepted for publication by LIT Verlag, Berlin/Muenster, and will appear in 2005.

Similarly, a long-standing publication project with Martin Doornbos, Identity and power in Africa: Continuing dialogues, is scheduled to go to the publishers in 2005.

Nearing completion is now a book on Ancient models of thought, tracing earliest recorded forms of human symbolism and conceptual thought throught remote prehistory. Since the mid-1990s, and largely as a result of his comparative long-range work on the intercontinental connections of African geomancies (a wide-spread form of divination, pervading many aspects of African life, and of pre-modern and early-modern life in Europe), a constant line of research in Wim van Binsbergen's work has sought to assess the question (highly relevant from a point of view of intercultural philosophy) as to the antecedents of European philosophy, religion and science outside Europe.

On this last point, his work has contributed to current debates on Black Athena and Afrocentricity. His successful and rapidly sold out collection Black Athena Ten Years Later, which appeared as a special issue of the journal TALANTA, is now being reprinted in expanded form as Black Athena Alive (LIT publishing house).

Extensive work on the African philosopher Valentin Mudimbe is now promising to yield the core of another book, Palavers on intercultural philosophy, and work on philosophy and spirituality yet another one (Explorations in intercultural spirituality).

Seminars and conferences

A major resource for the research around the chair of foundations of Intercultural Philosophy is the monthly PhD seminar, which after a slack period was reinstated as from April, 2005.

Moreover, Wim van Binsbergen co-ordinated the Research Group of the Dutch-Flemish Association for Intercultural Philosophy (1998-2000), in his capacity of chair. With the fiancial assistance of the Trustfund of the Erasmus University Rotterdam, a Colloquium on Intercultural Philosophy was held in May, 2000, as well as a number of significant international conferences:

The international conference Commodification: Objects and Identities: The Social Life of Things Revisited, Amsterdam, June 1999 (in collaboration with the Netherlands Foundation for Tropical Research WOTRO; convenors Wim van Binsbergen and Peter Geschiere); book submitted to Duke University Press, Durham
The international conference on Islam and Transformations in Africa, Leiden, October 1999 (in collaboration with the Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World ISIM, Leiden, and the African Studies Centre, Leiden; convenors Wim van Binsbergen, Anneke Breedveld and Jose van Santen); book now in the press with Brill, Leiden
The international conference on Globalisation and changing concepts of ownership, Leiden, April 2002 (in collaboration with the African Studies Centre, Leiden; covenors Wim van Binsbergen and Rijk van Dijk); book Situating globality (Wim van Binsbergen & Rijk van Dijk, eds.) appeared end of 2003
The international conference on Agency in Africa: An old idea, an old theme, a new issue, EUR, Rotterdam, June 2003 (in collaboration with the African Studies Centre, Leiden; convenors Wim van Binsbergen, Rijk van Dijk and Wouter van Beek); book in preparation
The international colloquium on The transcultural framework for the construction of African knowledges: Methodological, epistemological, and political considerations / Le cadre transculturel pour la construction des connaissances africaines: Considerations methodologiques, epistemologiques et politiques, Leiden, March 2004 (in collaboration with Quest: An African Journal of Philosophy / Revue Africaine de Philosophie, and the African Studies Centre Leiden; convenor Wim van Binsbergen, key note speaker Paulin Hountondji); proceedings in preparation, to be published as special issue of Quest
jointly with Jos de Mul, Wim van Binsbergen covenes, in the course of the year 2005, a series of one-day departmental research seminars in preparation of the book The mediatic turn: Aspects of the ontology of mediation (W. van Binsbergen & J. de Mul, eds) which is to go to the press early 2006, as a comprehensive reflection of the research programme 'The Ontology of Mediation' of the Department of the Philosophy of Man and Culture, Philosophical Faculty, Erasmus University Rotterdam

Papers on Intercultural Philosophy (PIP)

the Fall of 2004 saw the announcement (click here for a fuller description (PDF)) of a new series of books, reports and papers around the Erasmus University Rotterdam chair of Intercultural Philosophy. These publications will appear both in electronic form and as printed hard copy. The series will be published in conjunction with Quest: An African Journal of Philosophy/Revue Africaine de Philosophie. Editorial work on the first titles is in progress – they will appear in the course of 2005, which is also when the new PIP website will be established

Quest: An African Journal of Philosophy / Revue Africaine de Philosophie

The 2004 colloquium just mentioned marked the publication of the first volume of that journal (volume XVI) to appear under the Editorship of Wim van Binsbergen, who took over that position from founder-Editor Pieter Boele van Hensbroek -- both Editors having taught at the University of Zambia, where this journal was initiated by Bwalya and Boele van Hensbroek in the late 1980s. The Editorship entails the intellectual and organisational running of this unique journal of African philosophy and of philosophy in Africa. The Editor is greatly assisted in this task by the Editorial Team, comprising Professor Sanya Osha (Ibadan, Nigeria) and Mrs Kirsten Seifikar M.A. (Rotterdam); by the Advisory Editorial Board (comprising big names in African philosophy: Paulin Hountondji, Kwasi Wiredu, Lansana Keita, as well as the Dutch emeritus Lolle Nauta); and by a network of mainly African senior philosophers serving the journal's peer review structure as referees. The African Studies Centre, Leiden, has extended an agreement of hospitality to Quest as from 2004. Within five years, the journal is to find an institutional base in Africa, where its intellectual base has always been anyway.

Current Ph.D. projects

Current PhD projects around the chair of intercultural philosophy are the following:

Ceton, Carolien, took an MA in philosophy at the University of Amsterdam under Wim van Binsbergen's guest supervision (co-supervisor Dr Karen Vintges) in September 2004 (thesis on intercultural philosophy and identity: Mudimbe, Mbembe, de Beauvoir and Taylor) and is currently exploring possible topics for a PhD thesis under my supervision

Djunatan, Stephanus, M.A. philos. (philosophy lecturer in Indonesia), writes a PhD thesis under Wim van Binsbergen's supervision on: Principle of Difference and Affirmation: As epistemic roots for intercultural society; Mr Djunatan took a MA philosop. under my supervision at EUR, 2002

Duran-Ndaya, Mw. J., sociol. lic., (Congo-Kinshasa/Netherlands)(Christian churches in the Zairean diaspora in the Netherlands and Belgium); co-supervisor: Dr Wouter van Beek. For this Ph.D. candidate a EUR research scholarship was secured for the years 2002-2003, and a WOTRO travelling bursary for 2004; in this period all chapters of the thesis were completed in draft, and they are now being revised for the final version of the thesis

Duysens, drs B. (Netherlands) (Globalization and Afro-Venezuelan culture), thesis in progress

Maija, Mosima Pius, M.A. philos. (philosophy lecturer in Cameroon), Philosophic sagacity and intercultural philosophy: A comparative appraisal of Henry Odera Oruka and Wim van Binsbergen.

Mlisa, Lily. M. (South Africa), Female amagqirha healing among Xhosa women, South Africa: an integrated approach (co-supervisors: Dr Wouter van Beek (Leiden/Utrecht) and Prof. Isabel Phiri (University of Kwa Zulu Natal)

Seifikar, Kirsten, M.A. philos., writes a PhD thesis under Wim van Binsbergen's supervision on: Islamic modernism, with special attention to the Iranian philosopher Abdolkarim Soroush; Mrs Seifikar took a MA philosop. under Wim van Binsbergen's supervision at EUR, 2003

Swiatkowski, drs Piotrek (Netherlands/Poland), Intercultureel conflict? – onderzoek naar ontologie en epistemologie van interculturele relaties; Mr Swiatkowski wrote an excellent thesis on intercultural philosophy and economics (World Bank opoverty research in Africa) under Wim van Binsbergen's supervision, which earned the candidate a drs degree in economics, 2003; in March 2005 the candidate hopes to take the drs degree in philosophy at EUR.

Sypkens-Smit, drs M. (Netherlands) (Land, environment and development in a village community in South Senegal), thesis in progress

Touoyem, Pascal, lic. philos. (philosophy lecturer in Cameroon), writes a PhD thesis under Wim van Binsbergen's supervision: Ethnicite, mondialisation et conflictualite : Perspective africaine pour une paix globale; co-supervisors: Prof. Ndebi Biya, philosopher et Prof. Joseph Mboui, anthropologist

Woudhuizen, drs F. (Netherlands) (Ethnic dynamics in the eastern mediterranean basin, 2000-1000 BCE). For this Ph.D. candidate a EUR research scholarship was secured for the years 2002-2003, the final draft of the thesis has now been approved by the supervisor and will go to the Examination Committee in March 2005)

Intercontinental network of PhD candidates around the chair of Intercultural philosophy, Erasmus University Rotterdam, in conjunction with the African Studies Centre, Leiden: given the difficulties of funding and of creating a congenial and productive working environment for intercultural philosophical research by intercontinental PhD students in the Netherlands, a network is being created of such students working in university positions in their home countries and being supervised via modern electronic media with short annual periods of face-to-face supervision; the PhD trajectory is to be concluded with a few months’ stay in the Netherlands. A number of PhD students in Africa and Asiahave now been registered under this new scheme, and more are to follow.

click here for the special website serving the Intercontinental network of PhD candidates around the chair of Intercultural philosophy

A first supervision and lecturing tour has taken place: Cameroon, 10-26 March 2005; click here for a slow-loading page with full descriptive details and numerous high-quality photos (and click here for the fast-loading, low-quality version of that page)

Completed PhD projects

In May, 2000, Gerda Sengers defended her Ph.D. thesis on Women and demons (a study of zar and Qur'anic healing among women in Cairo, Egypt, today) as produced in the context of the chair on Intercultural philosophy. Gerda Sengers' thesis appeared as a fully-fledged commercial book on the day of the thesis defense, in Dutch; the Netherlands Research Foundation (NWO) subsequently granted a Euro €10,000 subsidy to have the text translated into English, and has subsequently (November 2002) appeared with the prominent international publishing house Brill (Leiden).

On 12 January 2001, before the University of Amsterdam, Ferdinand de Jong defended his Ph.D. thesis Modern secrets: The power of locality in Casamance, Senegal, on secrecy, globalisation and the construction of locality, with special reference to Southern Senegal today (guest principal supervisor Wim van Binsbergen; co-supervisor Bonno Thoden van Velzen).

On 6th September 2001, Thera Rasing,defended her Ph.D. thesis on female puberty initiation, Catholicism and globalisation in urban Zambia, under the title: The bush burned, the stones remain; of this thesis a commercial book edition in English was available from the very day of its defense (LIT publishing house). Present Ph.D. candidates include Julie Duran-Ndaya, with a study of the articulation of identity in the context of women's groups belonging to the Congolese movement of Le Combat spirituel (supervisors Wim van Binsbergen and Wouter van Beek); and Fred Woudhuizen, with a study of the ethnicity of the Sea Peoples in the Ancient Near East. Several new Ph.D. projects are currently being initiated, especially by PhD students from Africa and Asia, and will be formally announced here before long.

M.A. projects

Half a dozen students have written Master's or Doctorandus' theses in intercultural philosophy under Wim van Binsbergen's supervision (Louise Muller, Piotrek Swiatkowski, Stephanus Djunatan, Laura Kelly, Kirsten Seifikar, Carolien Ceton), and others are in the process of being written right now. These projects will be advertised here before long.

Scheduled teaching

In the years 1998-2003 Wim van Binsbergen has taught a post-graduate scheduled course 'Some foundations of intercultural philosophy', which until 2003 was an integral part of the English-language stream offered by the Philosophical Faculty, Erasmus University Rotterdam, and was then made an optional course. Due to major changes in the degree structure at the EUR Philosophical Faculty, from the academic year 2004-2005 Wim van Binsbergen's course is no longer offered in English but in Dutch, and no longer as a post-graduate course but as a Bachelor III course (FW-IF3002); click here for the course description.

click here for the special website serving the 2004-2005 Bachelor III course. [ add link ]

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