Research
My PhD-project with the working title „Animals in pedagogical anthropocentrism. Analysis of animal positions in the emergence and development of pedagogical thinking in a German speaking Pedagogy“ is based at the Chair of the History Education Division and analyses the state of science in pedagogy and history as a discipline.
Therefore I pose the question how animal related terms emerged during time of Enlightenment. What positions do animals take within the pedagogical concepts that have manifested themselves during this specific period? In addition, I will investigate whether terms commonly used - such as "animalic", "bestialic", "monstrous" - provide information on the positions of animals and also how these terms can be interpreted in regards to the human-animal relationship. In the Age of Enlightenment, are humans really declared the only rational being in contrast to animals? In this project I will reflect I will reflect on the role and relevance of the positions of animals within the process of education. Furthermore, I also want to examine to what extent educational science perspectives must be expanded to include animal positions.
My methodical approach consists of qualitative and theoretical analytic aspects. On the one hand, classical pedagogical writings, for example by Friedrich Schleiermacher or Immanuel Kant, are hermeneutically examined and then reinterpreted. The focus of this approach lies on the perspectives on animal positions within these texts and on the question of which relevant "natural" or animal references have so far been ignored from an anthropocentric perspective. On the other hand, a corpus of journals made available in digital form by the department for the History of Education of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin will be examined according to the animal terms and designations on the basis of a content analysis and so-called close reading. This corpus contains educational journals from the years 1750 to 1850 and enables a digital full-text search for the terms mentioned above. With the help of close reading, a method for text interpretation, such formulations of animal positions can be examined and analysed in greater detail. Using this approach, I work on individual terms in the journals in order to then grasp the context of the overall context more precisely. References to animal roles and a possible animal "participation" in pedagogical concepts and theories are specifically examined. This methodical approach allows interpretations of educational theories to be made and reflected upon in detail. In this way, meanings of the role and relevance of animals can be determined.