From left to right: Irina du Bois, Dominic Eggel, Elisabeth Prügl
Today (Friday) Dominic Eggel, PhD in International History and Politics from the Graduate Institute, was awarded the 2011 Latsis prize by the University of Geneva on behalf of the Geneva based Latsis Foundation. Mr Eggel received the prize for his PhD thesis entitled "The Idea of Europe in Classic Weimar: The Case of Goethe, Schiller, Herder and Wieland". During the graduation ceremony on September 16th, he was also awarded the 2011 Pierre du Bois Foundation for Current History prize.
Dominic Eggel’s work analyses the ideas of Europe of the four authors who led the Weimar Classicism movement: Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Johann Gottfried Herder, Friedrich Schiller and Christoph Martin Wieland. “The idea of Europe in Classical Weimar” underlines the importance of the concept of Europe in its geographic, historical, cultural, legal, economic as well as political dimensions during the period from 1750 to 1850. This period was fundamental for the transition of Europe toward modernity and was referred to as the “Sattelziet” by the imminent German historian Reinhart Koselleck.
At the end of the eighteenth century after the international instability provoked by the French Revolution, the age of “Old Europe” based on dynasties, elite culture and balance of power politics was profoundly shaken and an intense debate on the redefinition of the continent was underway. Goethe, Schiller, Herder and Wieland each participated prominently in this debate with shared as well as differing points of view.
Dr Eggel’s thesis situates Weimar Classicism in the socio-political and spatial settings of its time and shows that it made important contributions both to Enlightenment discourses about Europe before the French Revolution and to the debates about the continent taking place in the context of uncertainty and ideological confrontation of the French Revolution and its aftermath. The author establishes that the concept of Europe underwent a series of processes at the end of the eighteenth century (democratisation, ideologisation, temporalisation and politicisation) that were, according to Koselleck, fundamental for understanding the continent’s transition towards modernity. The thesis also examines similarities between the “Sattlezeit” and the postmodern era and proposes that the ideas of Europe put forth in the Weimar Classics yield valuable insights for current reflections on the continent.
Dominic Eggel’s thesis was directed by Professor of International History, Andre Liebich.
Dominic Eggel, a Swiss national, holds a Diploma in International Relations, a Master in International History and Politics and PhD in International History from the Graduate Institute. He was also an Institute scholarship holder and teaching assistant while completing his studies.
The Latsis foundation was created in 1975 and supports the work of young researchers who provide substantial contributions to the fields of science and technology in Switzerland and in Europe. It awards one prize each year for works by researchers at the Universities of Geneva and St Gallen as well as the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology of Lausanne as Zurich. It also awards a Swiss National and a European Prize.
The Pierre du Bois foundation promotes research in the area of Current History. It organises public conferences and awards the annual Pierre du Bois Prize for an outstanding work in the field of current history by a PhD student at the Graduate Institute. It was founded in 2007 by Irina du Bois in honour of the late Pierre du Bois, Professor of International History and Politics at the Institute and expert of European integration and contemporary international relations.