Exploring Contradictions beyond Contradiction

Recap of the 1st International Conference on Contradiction Studies

Poster of the ECBC 2025 conference

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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power and resistance

“Michel Foucault says: “Where there is power, there is resistance, and […] this resistance is never in a position of exteriority in relation to power” (History of Sexuality I, The Will to Knowledge, 1976, p. 95)”

Gisela Febel
coherence in thought

“The imperative of non-contradiction generally produces a coherence in thought that is often at odds with social complexities.”

Yan Suarsana
earthing

“Geography as a discipline stands for a certain worlding, if not earthing, of contradiction, in both theoretical and pracitcal respect.”

Julia Lossau
every day

“Living in contradictions is what we experience every day. Why do we know so little about it?”

Gisela Febel
prison of difference

“‘Contradiction is the prison of difference‘ writes the French philosopher Gilles Deleuze. Worlds of Contradiction asks: how can we explain and describe the world without making it more coherent and systematic than it is?”

Michi Knecht