GloPhi - Philosophizing in a Globalized World

12/10/2026

Two Years of GloPhi – Two Years of Philosophizing Together

On 1 October 2026, our Center for Advanced Studies "Philosophizing in a Globalized World" turned two. Since October 2024, more than sixty fellows from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe have spent time with us in Hildesheim, four lecture series have brought more than fifty lectures to the city and, via live stream, to audiences around the world, and some twenty workshops, conferences and summer schools have taken place, most of them organized together with our fellows.

For our anniversary, current and former fellows sent us their greetings. "I didn't know that GloPhi has only been in existence for two years," writes Simphiwe Sesanti. "It does things so beautifully as if it were ten times its age." If that is so, it is thanks to the people who have shaped the center from its first semester: in the lecture series on philosophies in Africa and in African languages, in the language foci on isiZulu, Sesotho, Yorùbá, Igbo and Portuguese, in summer schools on storytelling, healing and practices of epoché, and in the sources they are collecting for the Hildesheim Encyclopedia of Philosophical Sources (HePS).

In our anniversary post, we look back on these two years with our fellows and share our plans for the future. On 29 October, the discussion series "Collaborative Philosophizing in a Globalized World" opens with a conversation with representatives of the Kogi people; Wolof and Arabic will become language foci of their own; and in 2027 and 2028, our research focus turns to Latin American and Caribbean philosophy.

Our thanks go to the German Research Foundation (DFG), which makes our work possible, and to all fellows, guests, students, partners and colleagues who make this community what it is.

An anniversary is also a good moment to listen to your feedback. What has gone well? What could we do better? What would you like to see from us next? We look forward to your comments and messages!

09/10/2026

Four days of lively discussion, shared learning, and new connections: The "Korean Philosophy Week" at GloPhi was a great success!

From 5–8 October 2026, two international events at the University of Hildesheim highlighted the breadth and diversity of Korean philosophy and its significance for philosophical dialogue across traditions.

The 11th Annual Conference of the North American Korean Philosophy Association (NAKPA, 5–6 October), featured three continuous parallel panels alongside a keynote by Marion Eggert, a plenary discussion of Jin Y. Park’s new book "Marginality" and plenary discussions. Contributions ranged from Confucian and Buddhist thought to political philosophy, the arts, ecology, and AI ethics. With more than 50 presentations over two days, the conference offered an extensive programme of 15 thematic sessions, highlighting the breadth and vitality of research on Korean philosophy and its intercultural connections.

The international workshop “Modern Korean Thinkers: Late 19th Century to 1945” (7–8 October) continued these conversations through shared readings of primary texts in English translation. It explored how modern Korean thought invites us to rethink established histories of philosophy, while advancing work towards new translations and publications.

Together, these events made the week a rewarding opportunity to deepen scholarly exchange and strengthen the presence of Korean thought in global philosophical conversations.

Our heartfelt thanks go to all speakers, chairs, and participants for their thoughtful contributions, stimulating questions, and generosity in discussion. Special thanks to Sool Park, workshop co-organisers Dobin Choi and Hyojin Lee Fromell, the entire GloPhi team, and our student helpers for their excellent organisation, dedication, and warm hospitality.

We look forward to continuing the conversations begun in Hildesheim!

07/10/2026

How can Yorùbá oral traditions reshape the ways we understand and practice philosophy?

In The Oral Philosophy of Orunmila: A Decolonial Interpretation, Saheed Adesumbo Bello draws on Ifá and the thought of Ọ̀rúnmìlà to examine questions of knowledge, morality, spirituality, and power.

Working across philosophy, history, and religious studies, Bello challenges colonial and neocolonial interpretations of Yorùbá intellectual traditions. The book explores orality as a philosophical resource, the relationship between deception and doubt, and the significance of Ifá for decolonization.

📖 Saheed Adesumbo Bello
The Oral Philosophy of Orunmila: A Decolonial Interpretation
Bloomsbury Academic, 2026

🔗 https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/oral-philosophy-of-orunmila-9798216374695/

05/10/2026

Going live in a few minutes:

Lecture by Prof. Marion Eggert (Ruhr Universität Bochum)Conference...

01/10/2026

What can an outsider’s perspective reveal about Korean philosophy? Join us for a livestreamed keynote by Prof. Marion Eggert (Ruhr-Universität Bochum):

“An Outsider’s View: On and In Korean (Confucian) Philosophy”

Drawing on the writings of Pak Chiwŏn, Eggert explores how thinking across cultural and intellectual boundaries can help us reconsider tradition, identity, and the possibilities of comparative philosophy.

📅 Monday, 5 October 2026
🕙 10:00–10:45 CEST (UTC+2)
📺 Watch live on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlgiXGrs6NY

The keynote is part of “Korean Philosophy: From a Comparative and Intercultural Perspective,” the 11th Annual Conference of the North American Korean Philosophy Association (NAKPA), hosted by GloPhi at the University of Hildesheim next week on 5–6 October. Together with our workshop "Modern Korean Thinkers: Late 19th Century to 1945" it is part of the Korean Philosophy Week at GloPhi.

Read the full announcement: https://glophi.com/2026/10/01/keynote-marion-eggert/

29/09/2026

A warm farewell, with a little taste of Hildesheim. 🌹

At GloPhi, we gathered to say farewell to three valued fellows who will return to their home institutions in the coming days.

Our short-term fellow Souleymane Bachir Diagne, Professor Emeritus at Columbia University, explores connections between African, Islamic, and European philosophical traditions. His work on translation and dialogue speaks directly to our efforts to philosophize across languages and traditions.

Our short-term fellow Bado Ndoye, from Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, brings perspectives on African philosophy, phenomenology, and the history of science—important resources for reconsidering philosophy’s histories and the ways we understand knowledge.

Our long-term fellow Dorothy Oluwagbemi-Jacob, from the University of Calabar, combines research in political, decolonial, and intercultural philosophy. Her coordination of our “Philosophizing in Igbo” language focus has opened conversations about philosophical thinking through Igbo concepts, stories, and communal practices.

Following a discussion of Bado’s upcoming book project, we presented each fellow with “Hildesheimer Rosenzauber” pralinés. These local treats recall the thousand-year-old rose at Hildesheim Cathedral – a sweet reminder of their time here.

Thank you, Souleymane, Bado, and Dorothy, for your generosity, ideas, and warmth. We wish you safe travels and look forward to continuing our conversations!

More information:
Souleymane Bachir Diagne: https://glophi.com/fellows/souleymane-bachir-diagne/
Bado Ndoye: https://glophi.com/fellows/bado-ndoye/
Dorothy Oluwagbemi-Jacob: https://glophi.com/fellows/dorothy-oluwagbemi-jacob/

28/09/2026

How might a novel develop a philosophical account of the good life? A new Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry by Dismas A. Masolo takes up this question through the Kiswahili writing of Tanzanian poet and novelist Shaaban Robert.

Published on September 24, 2026, “Shaaban Robert’s Virtue Ethics” reconstructs a moral philosophy through works including Adili na Nduguze, Kusadikika, and Utubora Mkulima.

Central to this reading is utu, humanity or personhood. Masolo distinguishes it from utu bora, ideal personhood, an ethical aspiration cultivated in everyday life. This distinction holds together the worth shared by all human beings and the work of developing moral character. Reason, community, and practice shape that development.

Adili and haki, glossed here as righteousness and justice, guide virtues such as moderation, courage, kindness, peace, learning, and love. In Masolo’s interpretation, a virtuous life requires reflection on why an action is right, as well as the sustained practice of acting well.

The entry explores Robert’s Islamic ethical formation and his insistence that outward piety alone cannot establish moral worth. It places this reading in the setting of colonial East Africa and considers the relationship between personal conduct and public life.

Read the full article: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/shaaban-robert-ethics/

25/09/2026

We are delighted to announce the publication of a new article by our fellow Lorena Grigoletto, “Rievocare Antigone: spazio, luoghi, porosità” (“Recalling Antigone: Space, Places, Porosity”), in a collective volume exploring women’s voices from classical antiquity to the age of artificial intelligence.

The article examines how theatrical space shapes contemporary reinterpretations of Sophocles’ Antigone, with particular attention to the Spanish philosopher María Zambrano’s La tumba de Antígona (The Tomb of Antigone). Reading Zambrano alongside Jean Anouilh and Bertolt Brecht, Grigoletto explores the philosophical significance of relocating the tragedy from the palace of Thebes, associated with law and political authority, to the enclosed space of the tomb.

In Zambrano’s rewriting, the tomb becomes a place of self-understanding and renewal. Antigone is granted the time to confront her history, recover the possibilities of a life left unlived, and move beyond the roles imposed upon her. Drawing on the figure of Orpheus and the descent into the underworld, Grigoletto shows how this encounter with darkness opens a path towards the emergence of the person.

Central to the argument is the concept of porosity. Although Antigone remains confined, the tomb’s walls allow other figures to enter, speak, and participate in her transformation. Becoming a person thus unfolds through relationships: Antigone’s renewal is inseparable from that of those who visit her, a process the article describes as “co-birth.”

Connecting this spatial reading with Zambrano’s conception of poetic reason, the article explores a form of thinking that welcomes dimensions of experience excluded by rigid definitions and structures of domination. Theatre, poetry, and philosophy meet in a space where women’s voices can challenge inherited roles and open possibilities for personal and collective transformation.

We warmly congratulate Lorena on this publication.

More information: https://glophi.com/2026/09/25/rievocare-antigone/

24/09/2026

Modern Korean Thinkers: Late 19th Century to 1945

International Workshop
Organized by Sool Park, Dobin Choi, and Hyojin Lee Fromell

7–8 October 2026
University of Hildesheim
Room HC.G.2.07

The workshop brings together scholars working on modern Korean thinkers from the late nineteenth century to 1945 — a period in which Korean thought responded to colonial rule, religious reform movements and the encounter with European philosophy.

Each contribution presents one representative thinker on the basis of a key primary text in English translation, so that the texts themselves can be read and discussed together.
The guiding question is the concept of “philosophy” itself: how far can the framework of a Western-centred history of philosophy be applied to modern Korean thought, and what has to change when it is?

The workshop is the second event of the Hildesheim “Korean Philosophy Week”, following directly after the 11th Annual Conference of the North American Korean Philosophy Association (5–6 October 2026) at the same university. It is open to conference participants and to colleagues and students from Hildesheim.

More information: https://glophi.com/2026/09/24/modern-korean-thinkers/

23/09/2026

📸 Impressions from the second and final day of “Haunted by Language” at GloPhi!

Following yesterday’s focus on translation, today’s sessions explored how languages shape philosophical thinking—and how philosophical practice transforms language in turn.

Rolf Elberfeld examined how grammatical forms influence philosophical thinking. Grammar, vocabulary, and writing systems suggest particular paths of thought, even as languages continually change and accommodate different worldviews. Learning other languages can make these often unnoticed assumptions visible and open up alternative ways of thinking.

Yoav Meyrav presented a contribution coauthored with Hanna Gentili on Hebrew as a philosophical language in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The presentation traced how translations from Arabic and Latin, new uses of biblical and rabbinic vocabulary, and the creation of philosophical terminology shaped Hebrew philosophy. It highlighted how linguistic choices reflect different historical circumstances, translation traditions, and individual practices.

Monika Rohmer explored how philosophical activity reshapes language, drawing on the re-creation of Wolof in university philosophy and Islamic poetry. These contexts bring different understandings of knowledge and philosophical language into view, from the pursuit of precise terminology to the limits of discursive understanding. The presentation invited reflection on the ideas of philosophy that guide our own work across languages.

Abbed Kanoor examined philosophizing in Persian through the interplay of everyday language and classical poetry, Arabic philosophical terminology, translations of European philosophy, and ancient Persian mythological traditions. These overlapping symbolic spaces make the speaker a meeting place for multiple voices, with philosophical thought emerging through their resonances and tensions.

Osiris González Romero investigated ontological metaphors in Nahuatl, particularly those connected with sacred landscapes. Drawing on cognitive semantics, the presentation explored how bodily concepts such as the face and heart articulate relationships between human beings and their surroundings. Metaphor and related forms of expression emerged as ways of understanding Nahua ontology and the relations between people, nature, and place.

The day’s contributions deepened our exploration of linguistic plurality as a condition of philosophizing, showing how inherited grammatical patterns, vocabularies, and metaphors participate in the formation of thought.

Warm thanks to all our speakers and participants, and especially to organizers Sool Park and Monika Rohmer, for two days of thoughtful presentations and lively exchange!

Explore the full workshop program: https://www.uni-hildesheim.de/glophi/2026/08/07/haunted-by-language/