The purpose of this project is to shed new light on the lives and work of the women who took part in the early phenomenological movement, with particular focus on Edith Stein, Hedwig Conrad-Martius, and Gerda Walther.
“German Fraulein is a Clever Thinker,” The San Francisco Examiner, 22.IX.1912
The recent resurgence of interest in the history of the phenomenological movement has shown that these women were not marginal figures, but important contributors to the development of phenomenology. Researchers have also unearthed the names of other female students of Husserl, Th. Lipps, and Pfänder, whose relations to phenomenology deserve further consideration. A number of these women stand out, such as Erika Gothe and Margarete Ortmann (who studied in Göttingen), Margarete Calinich and Else Voigtländer (Munich), and Erica Sehl and Amelie Jaegerschmid (Freiburg).
Current research at the Center HWPS focuses on the unpublished writings of Hedwig Conrad-Martius and Gerda Walther. Our aim is to publish new, critical editions of some of their key texts, which will include relevant supplementary materials from their literary estates. We are also attempting to map the early phenomenological movement, looking at the place of women in this intellectual and social network.
Researchers interested in the activities of the CHWPS are encouraged to contact Daniel Neumann to arrange a visit to the Center.
Introduction video to the digital archive.
Materials availabe at the Center.
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Project Overview
Transcription and Translation
- Researchers at the Center HWPS are currently transcribing unpublished manuscripts from the literary estates of Hedwig Conrad-Martius and Gerda Walther (see the Manuscript Index below). Manuscripts, correspondence, and other archival materials that are identified as having scientific or historical value are being prepared for publication in appropriate venues. Researchers interested in these transcriptions are encouraged to contact Daniel Neumann to arrange a visit to the Center.
- We are also translating selected writings by women phenomenologists from German into English. The publication of these translations will make their thought available to a wider philosophical audience, and promote their inclusion in contemporary phenomenological literature.
Book Projects
- There are numerous book projects currently in preparation by researchers and affiliated members of the Center HWPS. These include collected volumes dealing with the thought of the women in early phenomenology, as well as critical editions of previously published works by Hedwig Conrad-Martius and Gerda Walther that will contain relevant supplementary materials from the Nachlässe.
Digital Archive and Library
- With the support of the Bavarian State Library and the heirs of the literary estates of Hedwig Conrad-Martius and Gerda Walther, the Center HWPS is creating a Digital Archive of material of the works of these women.
- Our researchers are also creating comprehensive bibliographies for all the women associated with the phenomenological movement. So far, our Digital Library contains over 400 books and articles, many of which are fully searchable.
- For more biographical and bibliographical information, please visit our timeline.
- We are always on the lookout for relevant material to add to our archive. If you have additional material (letters, photographs, etc.) that you would like to donate to our archive, please contact us!
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The Literary Estates
Nachlass Hedwig Conrad-Martius (Conrad-Martiusiana)
The Nachlass (ˈnaːxlas; literary estate) of Hedwig Conrad-Martius is held by the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (BSB) in Munich, and catalogued under the signature Conrad-Martiusiana. It is comprised of 47 large and 8 smaller boxes of manuscripts, lecture notes, photographs, correspondence, etc., as well as her personal philosophical library.
A complete description (in German) of Hedwig Conrad-Martius’ literary estate can be found in Eberhard Avé-Lallemant’s Die Nachlässe der Münchener Phänomenologen in der Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek (1975), which you can access online here.
Nachlass Gerda Walther
The Nachlass of Gerda Walther is divided between the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (BSB) in Munich (signature Ana 317) and the Institut für Grenzgebiete der Psychologie und Psychohygiene (IGPP) in Freiburg. Ana 317 is comprised of 130 large boxes and 20 additional folders. The collection at the IGPP contains a small portion of Walther’s personal correspondence.
Nachlass Edith Stein
The Nachlass of Edith Stein is kept at the Edith-Stein-Archiv, Karmel Maria vom Frieden, in Cologne (ESAK). Between 2005 and 2007, the manuscripts of Stein (approximately 25,000 pages) were digitized, stored on microfilms, and catalogued in an electronic database. Some of the scans can be viewed here.
Further information about the archive materials at the Center can be found on the profile pages of Hedwig Conrad-Martius, Edith Stein and Gerda Walther.
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Current and Past Events at the Center
September 22, 2022 Workshop “The Phenomenon of Reality”
May 20-21, 2021 Conference “Stein’s and Husserl’s Intertwined Itineraries 1916-25”
July 31 2018 Lecture by Antonio Calcagno – “Self and Subjectivity in Edith Stein”
October 10 2017 Colloquium “Women in Early Phenomenology”
July 23-28, 2017 Summer School “Women Phenomenologists of the Early 20th Century”
July 11 2017 Colloquium “Anthropology and Metaphysics in the Munich and Freiburg Circles”
February 11-12 2016 Conference “Women Phenomenologists on Social Ontology”
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Research Literature in Cooperation with the Center
Springer Book Series “Women in the History of Philosophy and Sciences”
- Antonio Calcagno, Ronny Miron (Eds.) – Hedwig Conrad-Martius and Edith Stein: Philosophical Encounters and Divides
- Ronny Miron – Hedwig Conrad-Martius. The Phenomenological Gateway to Reality
- Michael F. Andrews, Antonio Calcagno (Eds.) – Ethics and Metaphysics in the Philosophy of Edith Stein. Applications and Implications
- James G. Hart – Hedwig Conrad-Martius’ Ontological Phenomenology
- Antonio Calcagno (Ed.) – Gerda Walther’s Phenomenology of Sociality, Psychology, and Religion
- Sebastian Luft, Ruth Hagengruber (Eds.) – Women Phenomenologists on Social Ontology. We-Experiences, Communal Life, and Joint Action
DeGruyter Book Series “Women Philosophers Heritage Collection” (forthcoming)
- Affiliated Researchers
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Public Archive
Opening hours of our Phenomenology Archive at the Center:
Tuesdays 10 am -12 am
Thursdays 10 am -12 amand by appointment.
Further information about the archive materials at the Center can be found on the profile pages of Hedwig Conrad-Martius, Edith Stein and Gerda Walther.
All interested parties are welcome.
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Media
Talks given at the Conference “Stein’s and Husserl’s Intertwined Itineraries 1916-25” (2021):
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- Kathleen Haney – “The Other and the Possibility of Transcendental Intersubjectivity”
- Angela Ales Bello – “Rethinking Philosophical Anthropology and Metaphysics”
- George Heffernan – “Stein on the Significance of Husserl’s Way of Looking at the World”
- Julia Jansen – “Stein and Husserl on Valuing”
- Mette Lebech – “Transcendental Intersubjectivity” and Philosophical Anthropology
- Mariéle Wulf – “Stein’s Philosophical Anthropology as a completion of Husserl’s project?”
Conversations with Diotima:
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- “Hedwig Conrad-Martius (1888-1966). Conversations with Diotima. Rodney Parker and Ronny Miron (2018)“
- “Edith Stein (1891-1942). Conversations with Diotima. Ruth E. Hagengruber and Mette Lebech (2017)”
- “Edith Stein (1891-1942) Women in Phenomenology. Conversations with Diotima. Hagengruber and Calcagno”
- “Else Voigtländer (1882-1946). Conversations with Diotima. Rodney Parker and Íngrid Vendrell Ferran”
Philosophy goes MOOC:
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- “Gerda Walther (1897-1977): Immersion” by Julia Mühl (2017)
- “Gerda Walther (1879-1977): Introduction” by Rodney Parker (2017)
Video Series: “Einführung in die phänomenologische Bewegung” by Julia Mühl-Sawatzi (in German) – Part 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
“Edith Stein (1891-1942)”. Online Teaching. Antonio Calcagno (2018) -