The Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists welcomed the participants and lecturers of the Libori Summer School 2017 in Paderborn.

The First International Libori Summer School started on Sunday evening, July 23rd, in the lovely premises of the Deelenhaus. A half-timbered facade, the gallery overlooking the so-called “small stage” and a program tailormade by Prof. Ruth Hagengruber and Julia Lerius were ready to greet the international students, visiting from all over the world.

Reception at the Deelenhaus. (Photo by Melis Yilmaz)

Not even the Libori-Fair week, which usually makes public transportation an adventure of its own, could stop the students and faculty on their final stage of travels from Canada, Russia or Greece – only to name a few – to find their way to the Deelenhaus. Grabbing the registration package and a glass of wine, the students quickly settled into the setting they were going to have as their surrounding for the week to follow.
“I love German architecture – and now we are in a house like this, I could not be happier” said a student from Russia in good spirits, even after the flying company lost track of his luggage at the airport.

Prof. Dr. Ruth Hagengruber giving the welcome addresses. (Photo by Jessica Harmening)

Prof. Hagengruber, the director of the project, introduced both the Center and welcomed the students visiting Paderborn and Paderborn University. The short round of introduction both by members of the Summer School faculty and its participants quickly revealed the importance an event like this has. “There are so many women philosophers whose names I have not even heard at my University,” one student from the UK said. Another followed saying “I never thought there would be a class on women phenomenologists. It was very important for me to be able to attend this.”

Prof. Dr. Ronny Miron, delivering her talk “Shakespeare’s Sisters”. (Photo by Melis Yilmaz)

After these opening remarks and a short introduction of how the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and its first International Summer School originated, Prof. Ronny Miron from the Bar-Ilan University, Tel-Aviv, presented the opening lecture on “Shakespeare’s Sisters”. The expression was taken from Virginia Woolf’s “A Room of One’s Own” to illustrate the difficulties of women with the same skills and talents as their male counterparts to participate in the intellectual network of their respective epoch. Prof. Miron used this to illustrate her own story of how she discovered Hedwig Conrad-Martius and other famous male phenomenologists in the shadow of Edmund Husserl. The presentation was a very welcome teaser to the class on women phenomenologists offered by Prof. Miron, Prof. Calcagno and Dr. Parker.
The event turned into a comfortable get-to-know each other with wine and a wonderful dinner catered by the restaurant Indian Palace. Both students and faculty stayed at the Deelenhaus for longer than seemed officially necessary and thus experienced a nice beginning of a week full of content and networking.
(Niklas Corall)