Is there a European public sphere? A closer look reveals that the media through which we talk about Europe are still predominantly organized along national lines.

What does it mean for Europe if Europeans know too little about one another?

Four guests from academia and journalism discuss the conditions, fault lines, and opportunities for a public sphere that truly deserves the name.

The event will be held in German.

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Once again this year, the Leibniz Institute of European History (IEG) will have its own stand at the Mainz Book Fair. On 24 and 25 October 2026, the Institute will present recent publications arising from its research and invite visitors to learn more about the IEG, its work, and its publications.

Alongside the IEG’s presence at the fair, two live book discussions for the IEG podcast “Epochal” will take place on Saturday, 24 October.

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“Friendship, Reconciliation and Solidarity”.

The IEG welcomes alumni from all over the world for its alumni meeting.

Newest publication: Sammeln, Messen, Vergleichen: Schädel, ›Rasse‹ und die Ordnung der Welt in der deutschen, US-amerikanischen und französischen Anthropologie (1780-1880)

In her newly published global microstudy, historian Malin Wilckens examines the question of which practices led to the anthropological “race” theories of comparative anatomy in Europe and the United States during the transition from the 18th to the 19th century.

For further information see: Neuerscheinung: Sammeln, Messen, Vergleichen.

Latest newsshow all

08.10.2026

IEG Researcher Dr Malin Wilckens Featured on the Podcast “Sone & Solche”

IEG researcher Malin Wilckens joined ethnologist Matthias Krings from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz as a guest on “Sone & Solche”, the podcast of the Collaborative Research Centre 1482“Humandifferenzierung” at Johannes...
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01.10.2026

Welcome Xosé Manoel Núñez Seixas!

We warmly welcome Professor Xosé Manoel Núñez Seixas from the University of Santiago de Compostela to the IEG. During his stay, he will conduct research on his project “Transnational History...
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28.09.2026

New on the IEG-Blog – Andrea Wulf: Georg Forster was “a man far ahead of his time”

German-British bestselling author of historical non-fiction Andrea Wulf will give a lecture in German on the naturalist Georg Forster at the Natural History Museum Mainz next Wednesday, 30 September. An...
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Events show all

DigitalityOnlineTalk

Lecture by Professor Henry Keazor: “What Is Wrong with Forgery?”

27.10.2026
18:00 Uhr
Henry Keazor, Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art History at Heidelberg University, will give a lecture as part of the IEG Research Colloquium on 27 October 2026 entitled: “What Is...
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AlumniAlumni Event

IEG Alumni Meeting

12.11.2026
On November 12 and 13, the IEG welcomes alumni from all over the world for its alumni meeting.
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NFDI4Memory Community Forum

25.11.2026
The fourth NFDI4Memory Community Forum will take place on 25 November 2026 at the Deutsches Museum in Munich, in conjunction with the conference “Das Digitale Objekt”.
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Research Agenda

“Society”, “religion” together with “digitality” – and, in perspective, “environment” – form the principal foci of the IEG’s research. The connection between these areas is maintained above all by the Europe Forum.
Research group "Society"
Research group "Religion"
Research group "Digitality"
Europe forum

Fellowship and Guest ProgrammeFellowship and Guest Programme

The Leibniz Institute of European History (IEG) awards fellowships to doctoral students and postdocs from Germany and abroad for research projects on European religious, political, social, and cultural history, as well as in the field of digital humanities.

IEG Fellowship Programme

The Senior Research Fellowship Programme invites distinguished international scholars to the IEG. The Institute also welcomes externally-funded or self-funded researchers at all career levels.

Guest Programme

AnnouncementsHome

The Leibniz Institute of European History (IEG) in Mainz is an independent research institute within the Leibniz Association.

It conducts and supports research on European history from the early modern period to the contemporary era and is actively involved in the advancement of the digital humanities.

The Institute is committed to promoting gender equality in the workplace, to diversity, and to facilitating the reconciliation of professional and family life.

08.10.2026
Stellenausschreibung

Research Associate (m, f, x) – European Religious History (16th-20th centuries)

Application deadline: 10.11.2026
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Publications of the IEGalle anzeigen

Ruth Nientiedt
ReligionSociety

Europe in Practice

Intra-European Relations among the Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht, 1945–1989
Veröffentlichungen des Instituts für Europäische Geschichte, Mainz, 276
Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht,2026
ISBN: 978-3-525-31180-6

How did relations among the Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht develop in Europe after the Second World War? This study draws on church sources as a means of exploring European integration at the level of civil society, while at the same time demonstrating the value of interdisciplinary perspectives for the study of church history.

The study focuses in particular on contacts with Czechoslovakia and on international women’s and youth activities. European networking took place at every level of church life. The topics and concerns addressed in these exchanges ranged from ecumenical issues, the self-understanding of the Union of Utrecht, and the role of women in pastoral ministry to skiing in the Alps and sailing on the IJsselmeer.

Underlying these diverse forms of exchange was the conviction that the churches were called to cooperate and that such cooperation could contribute to peace in Europe and throughout the world.

The study has been published as a German-language monograph.

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Society

Baťas Menschen

Rationalisierung, social engineering und Differenzierung in der tschechoslowakischen Unternehmensstadt Zlín, 1918–1948
Veröffentlichungen des Instituts für Europäische Geschichte, Mainz, 275
Gregor Feindt
Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht,2026
ISBN: 978-3-525-37109-1
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Religion

Religious Transformations in Europe

Individual Life Paths between Secularism and (New) Religiosity in the 19th Century
Veröffentlichungen des Instituts für Europäische Geschichte, Mainz: Beihefte, 144
Cristiana Facchini (ed.)Alessandro Grazi (ed.)
Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht,2025
ISBN: 978-3-525-57148-4
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Society

Revolutionäre Familien

Die transatlantischen Leben der "Achtundvierziger / Forty-Eighters", 1848/49–1914
Veröffentlichungen des Instituts für Europäische Geschichte, Mainz, 274
Sarah Panter
Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht,2025
ISBN: 978-3-525-31166-0
Awarded the Wolf-Erich-Kellner-Prize 2025
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Zwischen Heimatfront und Schlachtfeld

"Kriegsbilder" in protestantischen Predigten und Andachtsschriften des Ersten Weltkriegs
Veröffentlichungen des Instituts für Europäische Geschichte, Mainz, 273
Andrea Hofmann
Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht,2025
ISBN: 978-3-525-31162-2
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IEG blog "Writing European History"

The blog "Writing European History" presents the historical research conducted at the Leibniz Institute of European History (IEG) in Mainz. The researchers and guests of the Institute present their research topics and results in various sections, including interviews, reports, new publications, commentaries, and the "Research in Focus" series, which presents current research at the IEG.
The editorial team hopes you enjoy exploring the various topics!

Visit the blog