Ongoing Project
The development of the public consciousness - collective worldviews in the present and the past
Our times are shaped by a paradox: individualization and liberating pluralism in all areas on the one hand, and narrowing pressure for uniformization and standardization on the other hand. It has never been so easy to access a nearly infinite amount of information and ideas, but at the same time, never have the media and pressure groups acted so strongly to impose their worldview and maintain their monopoly on interpretation.
In this context and in the spirit of the Enlightenment, we study the construction and the development of the public consciousness i.e. our collective worldviews in the present and the past. The abundance of the material that is available in our two libraries, in particular the reference works and the chronicles from the Middle Ages until today, constitutes a solid basis for synchronic and diachronic investigations that will lead to a “archeology of the public consciousness”.
The internet makes it possible to connect for this project in a relatively easy way for researchers and interested people from all over the world; direct personal contacts can happen during conferences and seminars in our location and will help a university culture to develop also in the countryside.