Political Epistemologies of Central and Eastern Europe (PECEE)

World Congress of Intellectuals in Defense of Peace, Wrocław (1948)
World Congress of Intellectuals in Defense of Peace, Wrocław (1948)

The research center Political Epistemologies of Central and Eastern Europe (PECEE) investigates modes of (self-)reflexivity in the history of the sciences and the humanities. Eastern, Central, and South-Eastern Europe have served as a starting point to gain a perspective on the interconnectedness of historical theories, practices and figures of knowledge production – “epistemologies” – within their political environments. The initiative is based on the assumption that due to the dynamic social, economic, intellectual etc. development of these areas the politics of such epistemologies can be studied at manifold examples. Thus, we aim to strengthen research in Historical Epistemology with a special focus on political implications, in order to radically situate historical theories of knowledge. This – as we believe – can help to better understand contemporary developments that hardly ever miss to connect the spheres of politics and research one way or another.

A further concern of the initiative is to integrate research of the history of the sciences and the humanities in Eastern, Central, and South-Eastern Europe. Therefore, we initiated a series of Pre- and Postdoc Workshops, the first of which took place in Erfurt in 2019. In 2022, PECEE has become an official working group of the Gesellschaft für die Geschichte der Wissenschaften, der Medizin und der Technik e. V. (GWMT). 

For additional information regarding the research centre you may also may also see the websites of the GWMT or the Vienna University.

Latest news

Conference report "Why Intelligence? published

The Poster for the Conference "Why Intelligence"

The conference report of the conference "Why Intelligence? The Political and Social Roots of a Scientific Object" has been published and is now available online.

The conference was organised from 22.02.2024 to 23.02.2024 by Alexei Lochmatov (PECEE Research Centre) at the University of Erfurt. The corresponding report is now available online at HSozKult or downloaded as PDF. The author of the report is Meike Katzek.

Further information about the conference can be found in the archive of the Chair for the History of Science

Latest publications by the Research Centre

For an overview of all publications, please click here.

2024
2023
2021
2019
Current Calls

The research centre "Political Epistemologies of Central and Eastern Europe" does currently not offer any CfPs/CfAs. As soon as new conferences, workshops or publications are in planning, you will find an annoucement here.

Meanwhile, an overview of past events can be found in the chair's central archive.

To the Archive

Members of the Research Center

Friedrich Cain University Vienna
Dietlind Huechtker University Vienna
Johanna Hügel University Erfurt
Bernhard Kleeberg University Erfurt
Alexej Lochmatow University Erfurt
Karin Reichenbach GWZO, Leipzig
Katrin Steffen University Sussex
Jan Surman Masaryk Institute and Archives of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague

Spokesperson of the Research Center

Research Associate (Professorship for History of Science)
(Faculty of Philosophy)
C18-LG4/Raum 119

Vice-Spokesperson of the Research Center

Holder of the Chair for the History of Science
(History Department)
Lehrgebäude 4 / Raum 121

Cooperating Institutions

Logo der Uni Wien
The Research Unit "Historical Transregional Studies" of the University of Vienna To their Website
Logo IH PAN
The Tadeusz Manteuffel Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences To their Website
Logo MUA
Masaryk Institute and Archives of the Czech Academy of Sciences To their Website