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News from the Center for Reconciliation Studies

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Reconciliation – A Utopia? 31.05.2026

Since a “duty to reconcile” would amount to nothing more than a paradox, a “right to irreconcilability” standing in opposition to such a “duty” would be a matter of course. Why mention it at all? But since the word “reconciliation” possesses a certain magic that lends its aura to the series title RECONCILIATION—A UTOPIA?, it would be stylistically inappropriate to speak too dryly. Yet there is a great risk of being seduced into falling back on the slick rhetoric of church conventions. Perhaps the magic of the word “reconciliation”—as mentioned earlier—might first need to be undermined in order to see more clearly. Is there such a thing as a pragmatic approach to living together without reconciliation? Or at least something like spheres of “diluted (non)reconciliation”? After all, as the Book of Job seems to teach, one has been able to make peace with God on this basis.

Report on the Berlin Field Trip, May 2026

As part of the seminar „Vergangenheitsaufarbeitung im öffentlichen Raum: Gerechtigkeit, Erinnerung und Versöhnung im internationalen Vergleich“ led by Jun.-Prof. Rosario Figari Layus, the students took part in a two-day field trip to Berlin. The focus was on various memorial sites and remembrance initiatives that primarily address Germany’s colonial history, a topic that is often overlooked.

The Center for Reconciliation Studies has moved

The center has moved and is now located in new premises at Lennéstraße 25, 53113 Bonn.

New Publication: Images of War Captivity from 1870 to the Present

We are pleased to announce the publication of the anthology "Images of War Captivity from 1870 to the Present"Edited by Esther Gardei, Marion Gymnich, Charlie Schwall und Hans-Georg Soeffner

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Events

Sunday May 31, 2026

Versöhnung – eine Utopie? KUNST UND WISSENSCHAFT IM GESPRÄCH

Theater Bonn

06:00 PM

»Recht auf Unversöhnlichkeit« – eine pure Selbstverständlichkeit? Da eine »Pflicht zur Versöhnung« auf ein bloßes Paradox hinausliefe, wäre ein solcher ...

Tuesday May 19, 2026

Versöhnung – eine Utopie? KUNST UND WISSENSCHAFT IM GESPRÄCH

Theater Bonn

07:30 PM

(Un-)Versöhnlichkeit zwischen Ost- und Westdeutschland Bonn – die vielleicht westdeutscheste Stadt der Bundesrepublik. Noch immer ist hier an vielen Ecken ...

Thursday Apr 30, 2026

Diskussion: Can forests have rights?

Global Heritage Lab / ...

04:00 PM

Die Global Heritage Lab Seminarreihe wird mit einer Podiumsdiskussion fortgesetzt, an der Matthias Kramm, Jenny García Ruales, Alejandro Mora Motta, Clément ...

Thursday Apr 16, 2026 until Apr 21, 2026

Versöhnung – eine Utopie? KUNST UND WISSENSCHAFT IM GESPRÄCH

Theater Bonn

07:30 PM

Ohne Judentum kein Islam Nicht erst seit dem 7. Oktober 2023 wird von einem angeblich importierten Antisemitismus gesprochen, besonders von denen, in deren ...

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Quo Vadis Middle East?

Working on a postwar scenario

1/1 © ICI

The forth conference

At the conference “Quo vadis Middle East?”, scientists, civil society actors, representatives of the business community, and political decision-makers from all relevant countries in the Middle East and Germany discussed possible paths to a peaceful future.

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Reconciliation—a utopia?!

Conversations between art and science

The series continues

Reconciliation is one of the most important challenges of our time. But what does reconciliation actually mean? What experiences are there with it? How does reconciliation work in theory? Is it about recognizing different points of view? Or is it all just theater in the end? Theater Bonn and the Center for Reconciliation Research at the University of Bonn are bringing these and other questions about reconciliation and its study to the stage.

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Ann-Sophie Vornholz

reconciliation@uni-bonn.de

+49228 73690-36

Scientific Manager