The winds of scholars’ and society’s favour toward the Enlightenment have shifted. The uplifting narrative of progress attributed to the Enlightenment has long underpinned liberal societies, particularly in the West, but in recent years it has come under fierce criticism from postcolonial perspectives, political fringes, and some eighteenth?century specialists. The conference will reflect the contemporary context in which Enlightenment research is conducted. Its aim is to move beyond a simplistic for?or?against positioning on the Enlightenment and to emphasise the complexity of both the Enlightenment as a historical phenomenon and its legacy for the present and the future.

Organised by: 欧洲杯投注地址_明升体育-竞彩足球比分推荐 Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies / Société internationale d’étude du dix?huitième siècle (ISECS)

June 10–12, 2026, Paris
Venue: German Historical Institute, Sorbonne University, Collège de France, Bibliothèque Polonaise de Paris

Link to?programExternal link

Co-organisers, alongside ISECS (represented by its President Prof. Daniel Fulda, Halle): German Historical Institute Paris (Dr. Christine Zabel); Chaire d’Histoire des Lumières, XVIIIe–XXIe siècle, Collège de France (Prof. Dr. Antoine Lilti); Prof. Christophe Martin (Sorbonne Université / Société Fran?aise d’?tude du Dix?huitième Siècle); Prof. Dr. Maciej Forycki (Bibliothèque Polonaise de Paris); Prof. Florence Magnot-Ogilvy (Sorbonne Nouvelle); Prof. Dr. Chunjie Zhang (University of California, Davis)