Exploring Contradictions beyond Contradiction

Recap of the 1st International Conference on Contradiction Studies

Post von der ECBC 2025 Konferenz

From February 11 to 14, 2025, the Research Training Group 2686—funded by the German Research Foundation—hosted the 1st International Conference on Contradiction Studies at the University of Bremen titled “Exploring Contradictions beyond Contradiction.”

The conference featured a series of engaging keynote lectures, panels, and discussions, aimed at exploring the many facets of contradiction/s across disciplines. We were delighted to have a distinguished group of scholars and researchers join us for this groundbreaking exchange. The diverse perspectives and lively debates have undoubtedly enriched our understanding of contradictions and opened new avenues for future research.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all participants, especially to our Fellows and Mercator Fellows, for their invaluable contributions that made this conference a resounding success. 

For those who were unable to attend or wish to revisit the discussions, the conference program and book of abstracts are available for download on our conference website, and video recordings of the keynote lectures can be accessed here.

We look forward to continuing this important dialogue and fostering further collaborations in the field of Contradiction Studies.

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Zwischenraum

„Der Widerspruch des Rechts bei Derrida liegt in dem Zwischenraum, der die Unmöglichkeit einer Dekonstruktion der Gerechtigkeit von der Möglichkeit der Dekonstruktion des Rechts trennt.“

Andreas Fischer-Lescano
Ideal einer widerspruchsfreien Welt

„Wissenschaft war lange beseelt von dem Ideal einer widerspruchsfreien Welt, in der sich logische Ordnungen mit Gesellschaft, Politik, Kultur und Sprache verbinden sollten. Im GRK Contradiction Studies arbeiten wir an Beschreibungsmöglichkeiten für die Vielfältigkeit und Komplexität, die Gefährdung und Schönheit der Welt, die über Konzepte der Widerspruchsfreiheit hinausgehen.“

Michi Knecht
Illusion einer Einheit

»Foucault spricht vom Widerspruch als die Illusion einer Einheit.«

Ingo H. Warnke
Afterlife of colonialism

“Contradiction comes in many different forms. None is so debilitating than when the coloniser transitions, textually not politically, to decoloniality without taking the responsibility for the afterlife of colonialism, which they continue to benefit from. Self-examination and self-interrogation of the relations of coloniality, a necessity, seem nearly impossible for the coloniser who continues to act as beneficiary, masked in the new-found language of White fragility, devoid of an ethical responsibility of the very system of White domination they claim to be against.” (Black Consciousness and the Politics of the Flesh)

Rozena Maart
Grenzen

„Widerstand ist ein demokratisches Recht, manchmal sogar eine Pflicht. Mit der Literatur können wir dafür Modelle finden und über Grenzen nachdenken.“

Gisela Febel