Max Weber Center for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies

Max Weber Center for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies

Max-Weber-Kolleg for kultur- und sozialwissenschaftliche Studien
Logo of University of Erfurt
Type	Public Institute
Established	1998
Director	Hartmut Rosa (Director) & Jörg Rüpke (Vice-Director)
Location	Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany
Campus	Urban
Website	Max Weber Center (English)
Data as of July 2015[update]

The Max Weber Center for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies (Max-Weber-Kolleg für kultur- und sozialwissenschaftliche Studien) is an international and interdisciplinary "high-ranking research centre which forms an avant-garde institution of the University of Erfurt," according to the European Commission's CORDIS. The Center's focal areas include "religion, science, and law as powers of interpretation and governance; interactions among cultures; social orderings and mentalities in radical change; and normative—in particular, ethical—issues."

With its distinctive organizational structure, this semi-autonomous, faculty-like research institute combines an Institute for Advanced Study and a Graduate School or "Research Training Group" (Graduiertenkolleg). Prominent scientists from several different disciplines (i.e., sociology, history, philosophy, theology, religious studies, law, and economics) are appointed as temporary fellows. During their stay at the Max Weber Center, they not only conduct their own research but also supervise and guide doctoral and post-doctoral researchers (Kollegiaten)—a collaboration of established and aspiring scholars that fosters a "highly competitive and intellectually vibrant research environment."

Following Wolfgang Schluchter, who had been the Center's dean since its founding, in 1998, the renowned sociologist Hans Joas became Max-Weber-Professor and hence the new dean of the Center in 2002. In early 2011, Joas was appointed Permanent Fellow at the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS) but remained an associated member of the Max Weber Center and spokesman of the Center's research group "Religiöse Individualisierung in historischer Perspektive" ("Religious individualization in historical perspective"). In May 2011, ancient historian and religious scholar Wolfgang Spickermann was appointed Interim Dean of the Max Weber Center. In October 2013, the sociologist and political scientist Hartmut Rosa then became the Center's new director (Direktor).

From 1997 until 2012, Erfurt's Kunstgewerbeschule ("School of Arts and Crafts") housed the Max Weber Center in the old city, at Am Hügel 1, before the University proceeded to move the Center closer to its main campus, into Haus 27 - Gelände Helios Klinikum. Beginning in 2010, debate has ensued concerning the Center's future, especially its degree of autonomy from the university—a discussion that has found widespread coverage in local and even national media.