The Individual and the Collective: Concepts, Methods and Approaches

• Max Weber Programme for Postdoctoral Studies

17th Max Weber Fellows June Conference

The interplay between the individual and the collective sits at the centre of foundational studies of Social Sciences and Humanities. Social identity, collective rights, the concept of self, and individual and collective interests are all essential topics in law, history, social and political sciences, and economics. The relationship between the individual and the collective is not only an important subject of research in its own right, but it also offers an important conceptual and methodological lens through which we can examine the past and present, and with which we can think about the future. This year, the MWP June Conference wishes to investigate these themes with international and interdisciplinary approaches, allowing scholars to reflect on their research topics and methodologies.

Can we use the same concepts when we talk about individual and collective rights or legal personhood? Is the divide between private and public law a divide between individual and collective? How can histories of individuals be used to explain wider historical processes? Can the tensions between individual and collective be seen as a force for change? How does collective action reinforce or deter individual action? How does collective identity shape individual preferences along these categories? These are among the questions that will be asked and answered during this year's conference.

This year, we are pleased to welcome Professor Jens Hainmüller (Stanford University) as Keynote Speaker.

Organising Committee MWFs: Matilde Ceron (RSC), Ipek Çineli (SPS), Anastazja Grudnicka (HEC), Liane Huttner (LAW)