Dr. Inka Sauter becomes Franz Rosenzweig Visiting Professor

Inka Sauter completed her doctorate in 2019 at Leipzig University in the Faculty of History on the topic of "Philosophy of Revelation and History. On the Jewish crisis of historicism". During her doctoral studies, she conducted research at the Leibniz Institute for Jewish History and Culture - Simon Dubnow in Leipzig. Inka Sauter gained international research experience as a postdoctoral fellow at the Franz Rosenzweig Minerva Research Center at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her research focuses on the Jewish intellectual history and philosophy of modernity, German-Jewish history of the 19th and 20th centuries as well as historical semantics and the history of concepts.

"Franz Rosenzweig's work exerts an unbroken fascination"

"It is a special honor to be able to research and teach in the name of Franz Rosenzweig," explains Sauter. "His thought not only opens up new perspectives on Jewish intellectual history, but also provides important impulses for reflection on questions of Jewish affiliation and philosophy as well as for overcoming social challenges."

As part of her guest professorship, Inka Sauter will also offer two seminars entitled "Community Philosophy and Criticism in the 20th Century" and "Linguistic Images of German-Jewish Belonging" at the University of Kassel in the summer semester of 2025. These will deal with central aspects of Jewish intellectual history and philosophy. Both events are open to students from all departments.

Background

The Franz Rosenzweig Visiting Professorship was established at the University of Kassel in 1987 and is named after the Jewish philosopher of religion Franz Rosenzweig (1886-1929). With his main work "The Star of Redemption" and his collaboration with Martin Buber, Franz Rosenzweig made decisive contributions to the philosophy of dialog and to Jewish intellectual history. The aim of the professorship is to honor the work and legacy of the Kassel-born philosopher and to promote academic and cultural engagement with Jewish culture and philosophy. Since its foundation, the professorship has been awarded annually in the summer semester and contributes to preserving the culture of European Jewry, which was largely destroyed by National Socialism, and to intensifying the debate on the Jewish present.