GRK 2833:  East Asian Futures: Visions and Realizations on National, Transregional and Global Scales

• Subject Area: Social and Cultural Anthropology, Non-European Cultures, Jewish Studies and Religious Studies
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 466884909

Throughout the twentieth century, East Asian conceptions of the future have differed from those of the West. These divergences are attributable to specific conceptions of and turning points in self-awareness, sovereignty, and dynamics of economic development, which are related to the intellectual heritage of East Asia and its transformation through colonialism, the rise of nation-states, and political upheavals. Yet since the beginning of accelerated globalization in the 1980s, some trends have run parallel to changes in other world regions. The future of Germany, Europe, and the world is continuously shaped in interaction with East Asia. Research on the historical and present conceptions of the future generated in East Asia is both relevant and urgent. The participating researchers based at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum and the University of Duisburg-Essen aim to train doctoral researchers in the proposed RTG in research about conceptions of the future in East Asia. The proposed research and training programme builds directly on the established cooperation of the participating researchers in the Alliance for Research on East Asia (AREA) Ruhr. The major innovative contribution of the programme lies in the development and application of an analytical model of conceptions of future, with the aim of complementing research in the humanities (linguistics, philology, religious studies, economic, social, technical and intellectual history) with research in the social sciences (sociology, economics, political sciences). Building on seminal works by Koselleck, Hölscher, Graf and Herzog, our analytical frame comprises key dimensions of how the future is envisioned: future of expectation, future of planning, future of risk, and future of preservation. Research will focus on the period between 1850 and the present, with recourse to earlier intellectual traditions where necessary. The objects of analysis will include projections of the future by East Asian states and polities (China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan) in relation to each other, to Europe, and the world. Doctoral dissertations in this RTG will study and explain how projections and conceptions of the future emerged, on what premises they were based, and how they have been and continue to be applied to the paradigmatic fields of (1) language, religion, and ideology, (2) self and society, (3) resources and technology, and (4) sovereignty and governance. The proposed programme opens a new field of research in East Asian area studies, combining a macro-regional perspective with a focus on the modern and contemporary periods. The excellent academic networks of our group in East Asia will enable doctoral researchers to conduct research in dialogue and close cooperation with colleagues and fellow-students in the region itself. In this way, the project aims at qualifying young researchers for academic and non-academic careers in Europe, Asia and beyond.

• DFG Programme: Research Training Groups
• Applicant Institution: Ruhr-Universität Bochum
• Co-Applicant Institution: Universität Duisburg-Essen
• Spokesperson: Professorin Dr. Christine Moll-Murata
• Participating Researchers: Dr. Elisabeth De Boer; Professorin Dr. Marion Eggert; Professorin Dr. Carmen Meinert; Professor Dr. Hannes Mosler; Professorin Dr. Nele Noesselt; Professorin Dr. Katja Schmidtpott; Professor Dr. Christian Schwermann; Professorin Karen A. Shire, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Markus Taube