The Käte Hamburger Centre for Cultural Practices of Reparation (CURE) at Saarland University is an institute for advanced study, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) since 2024.
The great task facing Europe in its future is to reshape its relationship with the world – and this insight has now advanced to become a central concern in both cultural production and reflection. In the face of harms which pose existential threats and cannot be repaired, practices of cultural reparation take on a function of founding the future.
The goal of the centre is to develop a transmedial theory of practices and processes of cultural reparation from a historical and transcultural perspective, thus helping to formulate a sociopolitical understanding of cultural reparations as a field of action. Its work is intended as a contribution toward reorienting cultural studies and creating knowledge about individual and collective processes of reparation in a globalised world – as insight that is indispensable for living together in the future. Our focus will be on memory cultures and historical-political discourses; individual experiences of harm, humiliation, and loss; and cultural-ecological questions.
Call for Applications: UniGR-Fellowships in the Käte Hamburger Centre for Cultural Practices of Reparation (CURE)
Each year, up to twelve international fellows conduct research at the centre. One of these twelve fellows will be selected from the partner universities of the University of the Greater Region. These are: RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau, Université de Liège, Université de Lorraine, University of Luxembourg, University of Trier. For the centre’s second academic year (October 2025 to September 2026), we are inviting applications for junior fellowships for a period of up to twelve months.
Scholars in cultural studies and the humanities in the postdoc phase or further along in their academic careers may apply. During the period of the fellowship, fellows should be pursuing an independent research project that is also relevant to the research agenda of the centre. The project should align with at least one of the centres’ three thematic fields – ‘history’, ‘experience’, and ‘nature’ – and relate to the second of the four designated themes for the following academic years:
- 2024/2025: Theory
- 2025/2026: Society
- 2026/2027: Bodies
- 2027/2028: Things
Applications are currently being accepted only for the period from October 2025 to September 2026.
Further information on the centre’s thematic fields and yearly themes can be found on the centre's website:
www.cure.uni-saarland.de/en/
Involvement and participation
The centre will welcome up to twelve fellows a year, including one UniGR-Fellow. We expect fellows to actively participate in the centre’s events (colloquia, working groups, conferences) and to contribute to publications produced by the centre. Fellows will also have the opportunity to organise conferences or to collaborate in teaching or other academic events with our research and cultural cooperation partners.
Saarland University is distinguished by its close ties to France and its strong European focus, with programmes and partnerships such as the Cluster for European Studies (CEUS) devoted to the topic of ‘European World(s): Projections, Reflections, Transformations’, the international university network "University of the Greater Region" (UniGR), and the European university alliance Transform4Europe (T4EU).
The University of the Greater Region is an innovative university grouping comprising the RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau (D), the University of Liège (B), the University of Lorraine (F), the University of Luxembourg (LU), Saarland University (D) and Trier University (D), as well as the htw saar (D) as an associated partner. The cooperation between the seven higher education institutions in the Greater Region offers privileged conditions for study and research, focused on mobility between the partner universities and between scientific disciplines, as well as on the acquisition of language skills.
Duration and conditions
Fellowships are usually awarded for one year, always starting on 1 October. In justified cases, shorter periods can also be awarded, albeit with a minimum length of six months.
The fellowship guidelines of Saarland University provide the following funding option:
UniGR-Fellows who take unpaid leave from their home institution during the fellowship will receive financial compensation in the form of a stipend (approximately 6,100 per month).
Accommodation in modern apartments is provided free of charge, and accommodation for families can also be arranged if required. Similarly, the expenses for traveling to and from Saarbrücken for the Fellows will be reimbursed once according to the Saarland Travel Expense Act (SRKG). Fellows will be provided with a fully equipped workspace at the centre.
Insurance and all other living costs must be covered by the fellows themselves.
Fellows are expected to contribute to the work of the centre on-site during the duration of their fellowship; longer absences from the centre for extended research trips or stays are not possible.
Application requirements and procedures
Applications for the UniGR junior fellowship are only accepted from researchers who are employed at one of the UniGR partner universities (RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau, Université de Liège, Université de Lorraine, University of Luxembourg, Trier University).
Members of Saarland University are not eligible to apply for a fellowship.
Applicants must be pursuing an independent research project relevant to the centre and may apply for junior UniGR-fellowships. Applicants for junior UniGR-fellowships must hold a PhD or equivalent doctoral degree.
Fellowships will be awarded based on the criteria of scholarly excellence; alignment of the proposed research project with the college's research programme; applicant qualifications and motivation; and the consideration of diversity.
Artists with experience in collaborating with the academic community are also encouraged to apply.
CURE is expressly committed to diversity and welcomes applications regardless of gender, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion/worldview, disability, age, or sexual orientation and identity.
Please submit the following documents for your application by 2 January 2025, at the latest:
- CURE application form, including an abstract of your project
- letter outlining your motivation for applying (1 page)
- tabular curriculum vitae (maximum 2 pages)
- publication list
- summary of your project (maximum of 5 pages) explaining its relevance to the centre in terms of at least one of the centre’s four thematic fields and the second year’s designated theme
Applications may be submitted in German, English, or French.
We explicitly request that you do not submit passport photos/application photos.
The application documents should be uploaded as two separate PDF files on the centre's website:
1) a combined PDF file containing the motivation letter, CV, and publication list, and
2) a second PDF file containing the project proposal.
The abstract describing your planned project should be submitted directly on the website, with a maximum of 200 words. In case of acceptance, the abstract, including the project title, will be published on the KHK CURE and UniGR websites.
As part of your application for a fellowship at the Käte Hamburger Centre for Cultural Practices of Reparation (CURE) at Saarland University (UdS), you will be submitting personal data. Regarding our use of personal data, please see the university’s privacy policy in accordance with Art. 13 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) regarding the collection and processing of personal data. By submitting your application, you confirm that you have read the UdS policies on data privacy and protection.
UniGR-Fellow 2024
Dr. Oana Adelina Stefan is a historian of tourism and consumption during the Cold War with a particular focus on socialist Romania and Franco’s Spain. She gained a PhD in History from the University of Pittsburgh, United States. She was a Humanities Initiative Fellow at Institute for Advanced Study at Central European University in Budapest and held positions at European University Institute in Florence and The Centre for Contemporary and Digital History at University of Luxembourg. Her latest book, Vacationing in Dictatorships: International Tourism in Socialist Romania and Franco’s Spain was published with Cornell University Press in December 2024.
Research topic at the Käte Hamburger Centre: Cultural Reparations in the Cold War: Socialist Romania and the Global Circulation of Cultural Objects, 1950s-1980s.
You can find the profiles of the other 11 Fellows residing at the Centre on the CURE-Website.
Photo: ©Anna Warum, CURE
Contact
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the centre by writing to khk@uni-saarland.de, cc: info@uni-gr.eu.
