PhD project
Professorial Families in German-speaking Europe, 1860-1930
How was the Scholarly Self cultivated in professorial families of the humanities, in German-speaking Europe between 1860 and 1930?
- Duration
- 2013 - 2017
- Funding
-
NWO
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In the developing humanities disciplines of the late nineteenth century, scholarly ideals were often discussed in terms of personal character and qualities. Among German academics, for instance, to be regarded as a wissenschaftliche Persönlichkeit was the highest of praise. But what did it actually take to acquire a "scholarly self"? In the shadow of highly idealizing public debates, university professors provided a tangible role model for their students on a day-to-day basis. Their example, demands, and practices shaped their pupils' perception of what a future life as a scholar may actually entail; of the promises it held and the commitments it required. Of course, socialization was never a question of teachers simply implementing their own ideals, or pupils conforming to a given model. Eventually, even the best of intentions either way produced contingent results. Nonetheless, distinctive "family dynamics" can be observed, by tracing teacher-pupil relationships through time, and far beyond the formal university setting.
Teacher-pupil relationships provide a promising field of research into the construction of professional identities. From this perspective, my project makes a contribution to the project of The Scholarly Self: Character, Habit and Virtue in the Humanities 1860-1930. As a whole, the project examines discipline formation in terms of scholars' (self-) disciplined adherence to a professional ethos. If it is not to remain limited to normative discourses, it is essential to make the socialization into "good scholarship" a central focus of investigation. The process of (self-) disciplining needs questioning and explaining: what did it mean to be a good scholar, and what did it take to become one? From a conceptual framework of professorial families, as sites of socialization into tacit knowledge, my approach calls attention to dialogue, negotiation and appropriation.
My research explores:
- which scientific ethos a teacher wished to convey,
- which practices he deployed to stimulate or sanction (perceived) character traits and virtues in his pupils, throughout their professional training and career
- how pupils responded and developed initiative
- how teachers reacted to their pupils' agency in turn.
My investigation comprises an in-depth analysis of a sample of case studies from different disciplines and academic centers. I concentrate on figures who exerted a major influence on the development of their respective disciplines in their capacity as teachers, by supervising a large number of students and engaging actively and successfully with the further career of their academic progeny.