International Max Planck Research School Knowledge and Its Resources Historical Reciprocities

Overview:

The International Max Planck Research School "Knowledge and Its Resources: Historical Reciprocities" (IMPRS-KIR) is an international PhD program focusing on the history and philosophy of science, technology, and medicine. It is a collaborative effort between the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG) in Berlin and three Berlin universities: Freie Universität Berlin (FU), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU), and Technische Universität Berlin (TU). The program is rooted in the Berlin Center for the History of Knowledge, a network established in 2011.

Services Offered:

Funding:

Doctoral students receive 3.5 years of funding to complete their dissertation, plus six additional funded months for defense preparation and career development.

Research Infrastructure:

Access to the MPIWG's excellent research infrastructure, including its library resources.

Mentorship:

Close mentorship from a Dissertation Advisory Committee consisting of a PTF supervisor, a co-supervisor, and a mentor.

International Collaboration:

Opportunities to spend a term at partner universities in Philadelphia (University of Pennsylvania) or Singapore (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore University of Technology and Design).

Student Life and Campus Experience:

Shared Location:

Students and the IMPRS Office team work together in an annex of the MPIWG main building, fostering a close-knit community.

Intellectual Community:

Students benefit from the lively intellectual environment created by the PTF, ETF, IMPRS guest scholars, and all members of the MPIWG's departments and research groups.

Campus Curriculum:

Access to the MPIWG's campus curriculum, including Methods Intensive Master Classes, Digital Humanities tutorials, and workshops with eminent guest scholars.

Key Reasons to Study There:

Interdisciplinary Approach:

The program emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach to research, drawing on diverse fields like history of science, technology, and medicine, media studies, Science & Technology Studies, anthropology, and art history.

Global and Long-Term Perspective:

The program focuses on unraveling the political entanglements between knowledge and resources from a global and long-term perspective.

Unique Research Agenda:

The program explores the evolution of resource regimes, the role of knowledge as a resource, and long-term developments in resource economics.

Strong Faculty:

The program is led by a Principal Teaching Faculty (PTF) consisting of ten professors from all four partner institutions.

Academic Programs:

PhD Program:

The program offers a PhD degree in the history and philosophy of science, technology, and medicine.

Curriculum:

The curriculum includes two core courses, a monthly jour fixe for work-in-progress discussions, and a campus curriculum with master classes, tutorials, and workshops.