The multi-epochal research of the Dubnow Institute is divided into three research units, namely »Politics«, »Law«, and »Knowledge.« They all share an interest in the tensions that have shaped European Jewish history since the era of emancipation: individuality and collectivity, particularity and universality, homogeneity and heterogeneity, participation and exclusion, tradition and profanation.
The Dubnow Institute conducts fundamental research in the humanities and seeks to strengthen the public’s ability to differentiate and reflect through the dissemination of its findings. It places its research at the disposal of the public through events and seminars, as well as its varied and multilingual publication program. The institute houses a library that is open to students and guests alike.
The Dubnow Institute’s publications include essentially academic formats, such as the bilingual Jahrbuch des Dubnow-Instituts/Dubnow Institute Yearbook and the Studies of the Dubnow Institute. The essay series toldot and the magazine Jewish History & Culture, on the other hand, address a more general audience interested in Jewish issues. Hybrid publications are available for the series hefez and the Digital Catalogues: they are published in print and open access. Last but not least, the Mimeo blog is used by the institute’s PhD candidates to offer insights into their current research projects.
Special emphasis is placed on cooperative research at national and international levels. The institute maintains close contacts with academic institutions in Israel, the USA, Europe, and Germany. In particular, it cooperates closely with Leipzig University, the Saxon Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Leipzig, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem as well as institutes of the Leibniz Association. The annual open call for the Dubnow Institute Fellowship Program serves to integrate German research into the international field of Jewish history and culture and encourages an interdisciplinary dialogue beyond national borders and across academic cultures.
