CREDOC Seminar: Civilisation in Political Thought

23 October 2014
The concept of civilisation looms large in current debates about the constitution of Europe, the authority of religious traditions, and national as well as supra-national identity. The seminar run by the Centre for Research on the Dynamics of Civilisation (CREDOC) re-examines the place of the concept in the history of modern political thought.

The concept of civilisation looms large in current debates about the constitution of Europe, the authority of religious traditions, and national as well as supra-national identity. For a long time, it has informed definitions of enlightenment and backwardness, progress and decline, the West and its many Others.

The Centre for Research on the Dynamics of Civilisation (CREDOC) seeks to place a fresh critical focus on the concept of civilisation through a series of seminars running across the academic year. The first seminar re-examines the place of the concept in the history of modern political thought. A group of specialists will discuss its significance in the works of Rousseau and Nietzsche and consider how 'civilisation' has been appropriated and challenged beyond the West.

Speakers

• Christopher Brooke (Politics and International Studies [POLIS], Cambridge)
• Martin A. Ruehl (German Thought, Cambridge)
• Faisal Devji (Modern South Asian History, Oxford)

Co-Chairs

• Alexander Wragge-Morley (UCL, History)
• Maria Wyke (UCL, Dept. of Greek & Latin)

All are welcome. Registration is not required. Open to the public.