Helsinki Centre for Intellectual History

Hello everyone, it’s been a while!
But we have been slightly busy and finally have some exciting news to share!

In exactly one week the third floor of the University of Helsinki Main Building will fill with about 70 participants to take part in the Helsinki Centre for Intellectual History December conference “In and Out of the Canon in Intellectual History”. We welcome pop-in listeners as well, so please feel free to check further info from the website below, and do not hesitate to join us at any point throughout the 3 days!

📯 The Call for the Concepta Summer School 2025 in the Helsinki edition is open now!

Time: 18 August–29 August 2025
Place: University of Helsinki, Central Campus
Application deadline: 15 May 2025

For more information and the application form, please follow: https://www.helsinki.fi/en/researchgroups/centre-for-intellectual-history/news/cfp-introduction-to-conceptual-history-0

Hobbes on Justice – A discussion with the author Johan Olsthoorn, April 28 at 2:30 pm at HCAS!

Join us for a roundtable discussion with Johan Olsthoorn (University of Amsterdam) about his recent monograph, Hobbes on Justice (Oxford University Press, 2024). There will be comments by Alan Cromartie (University of Reading), Adriana Luna-Fabritius (University of Helsinki), and Timothy Stanton (University of York). The event will be followed by a wine reception.

All welcome, and no registration needed!

Organized by HCAS Core Fellow Tim Stuart-Buttle and the Helsinki Centre for Intellectual History.

The Conference of the Helsinki Centre for Intellectual History will take place during 15-17 December, 2025, at the University of Helsinki.

The topic of this year’s conference is In and Out of the Canon of Intellectual History. We encourage everyone who is working on the theme to submit papers or proposals for panels, and also circulate the message to your community. The deadline for sending proposals is Thursday, 17 April, 2025.

More details about the conference can be found here:

In and Out of the Canon in Intellectual History | Centre for Intellectual History | University of Helsinki The Helsinki Centre for Intellectual History devotes its 2025 conference to exploring the question of being in and out of the canon of intellectual history. We welcome proposals for panels and individual papers that target the conference theme. The conference is during 15-17 December 2025, at the Un...

New book published!

Mikko Immanen, Adorno's Gamble: Harnessing German Ideology (Cornell University Press, 2025)

https://www.helsinki.fi/en/researchgroups/centre-for-intellectual-history/news/new-book-adornos-gamble

You are all warmly welcome to our next event in our running seminar series.

The Helsinki Centre for Intellectual History's February Seminar is titled "Back to the Drawing Board: New Readings of Classics in Intellectual History" and takes place on Friday, February 21 at 15:15!

We will have two presentations and ample time for discussion.

The event takes place at Fabianinkatu 33, University Main Building, Lecture room F3006.


Program

Prof. Adrian Blau, Quentin Skinner's “Meaning and Understanding”: the Unexplored Early Draft, and Lessons for Today

Dr. Jani Marjanen & Dr. Antti Kanner, What are concepts in conceptual history? Revisiting Koselleck through theories of semantic relations

Concluding discussion

Last minute shout-out, but EuroStorie has one of their final lectures of the year today at 3 pm with Professor Pedro Cardim from Nova University Lissabon, possible to join in person or via Zoom!

Final lecture in this year’s "Identities and Legal Histories" series | Centre for Intellectual History | University of Helsinki Join today's EuroStorie's lecture at 3 pm in person or via Zoom with Pedro Cardim from Nova University Lisbon!

We are happy to announce that the Helsinki Yearbook of Intellectual History just had two more volumes published!

1. “Political Violence: Historical, Philosophical and Theological Perspectives” and
2. “History of Mind: Studies in the Philosophy of Simo Knuuttila”

Check them out amongst the other volumes from our news below!

https://www.helsinki.fi/en/researchgroups/centre-for-intellectual-history/news/new-volumes-of-helsinki-yearbook-of-intellectual-history

Have you ever thought about the concepts of optimism and pessimism in intellectual history? If yes, then the next History of Philosophy seminar on 5.12 is for you, but everybody is welcome regardless!

Seminar about optimism and pessimism in the history of philosophy | Centre for Intellectual History | University of Helsinki Join the next History of Philosophy Research Seminar on December 5 with Panu-Matti Pöykkö (UH) and Sami Pihlström (UH).

Another hybrid seminar announcement for 29.11, check out EuroStorie's seminar with Dr Piret Peiker (Institute of Advanced Studies Köszeg):

Conflicting Modernities: Counter-Narratives of Europe | Centre for Intellectual History | University of Helsinki Join the upcoming EuroStorie hybrid research seminar with Dr Piret Peiker (Institute of Advanced Studies Köszeg)!

Don't miss out on this one! Helsinki Society for Historical Lexicography has forwarded to us info about their hybrid seminar on 29th of November, further info from the link down below.

Seminar: "The Dictionary Craze in Enlightenment Europe, 1665–1789" | Centre for Intellectual History | University of Helsinki Join the hybrid seminar of Helsinki Society for Historical Lexicography on 29th of November in person or via Zoom!

Our affiliated institution EuroStorie has their annual conference coming up at 26th and 27th of November, find more info about the event and registration from the link down below!

Global Europe on Trial | Centre for Intellectual History | University of Helsinki On the 26th and 27th November is the annual conference of the Centre of Excellence in Law, Identity and the European Narratives (EuroStorie) which you are welcome to join!