Call for Applications: HIAS Summer School 2026 to be held from 5-11 July 2026 in Hamburg on “State, Religion, and Family Law in Comparative Perspective”

📢 Call for Applications: HIAS Summer School 2026

Theme: State, Religion, and Family Law in Comparative Perspective
Dates: 5–11 July 2026
Location: Hamburg, Germany
Organised by: Hamburg Institute for Advanced Studies (HIAS)
Application Deadline: 31 January 2026

🔍 About the Summer School

The Hamburg Institute for Advanced Studies (HIAS) invites applications for its Summer School 2026, a week-long intensive research retreat dedicated to exploring the intersections of state, religion, and family law from a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective.

The programme is designed to foster cross-disciplinary dialogue and methodological exchange among early-career scholars working on family-related legal and socio-political questions involving religion and the state.

🎓 Academic Focus

The Summer School will explore comparative questions at three levels:

Conceptual level:
How are key concepts such as “state” and “religion” understood across disciplines?
Substantive level:
What precisely is being compared in different research traditions?
Methodological level:
How do different disciplines approach and conduct comparison?

Participants will present and lead discussions on their individual research projects, with a strong emphasis on peer feedback and collaborative learning.

👩‍🏫 Workshop Leadership

The Summer School will be led by:

Prof. Nadjma Yassari
Director, Swiss Institute for Comparative Law (Lausanne)
Professor of Law, University of Hamburg
Prof. Nathan J. Brown
Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, George Washington University
HIAS Alumnus

Additional experts from multiple disciplines will join selected sessions to provide targeted feedback.

🎯 Eligibility

Applications are invited from early-career researchers actively engaged in relevant academic research, including:

Doctoral candidates
Postdoctoral researchers
Scholars within five years of completing their PhD

Relevant disciplines include (but are not limited to):

Law
Political Science
Anthropology
Sociology
Religious Studies

💶 Funding & Support

HIAS will provide:

Substantial travel subsidies (to and from Hamburg)
Per diem support for accommodation and meals

📝 Application Requirements

Applicants must submit the following by 31 January 2026:

Research Statement (max. 500 words)
– Description of the project to be discussed at the Summer School
Academic Curriculum Vitae
Letter of Support
– From dissertation supervisor or scholarly mentor

📩 Applications should be emailed to:
nbrown@gwu.edu