10 Years of the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists! In 2026, we celebrate the Center’s tenth anniversary and a decade of significant contributions to the history of philosophy. Since the Center was founded in 2016, research on women philosophers has taken a major step forward: forgotten thinkers have been rediscovered, new sources have been made accessible, and women philosophers have become increasin…
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10 Years of the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists! In 2026, we celebrate the Center’s tenth anniversary and a decade of significant contributions to the history of philosophy. Since the Center was founded in 2016, research on women philosophers has taken a major step forward: forgotten thinkers have been rediscovered, new sources have been made accessible, and women philosophers have become increasingly visible as an integral part of the history of philosophy In 2026, we celebrate the Center’s tenth anniversary, and its significant contributions to the field of philosophy since its opening. The history of women philosophers has taken a major step forward, and we are proud to say that many have followed in our footsteps. The Center was founded ten years ago with the support of Svenja Schulze, the former Minister for Science and Innovation of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and Simone Probst, the Vice-president of Paderborn University. During its ten years of operation the Center has established itself as the world’s first center dedicated to researching women philosophers and Scientists in Germany and around the globe. It has made history in the field of philosophy and together with our friends, colleagues and fellows it has an impact around the world. The Center’s history is also – as we dare to think - a testament to the forward-thinking policy achievements made at the time of its creation. From the beginning on, it was conceptualized as a digital humanities project, given the expertise we found at Paderborn University. I am deeply grateful to Gudrun Oevel, the former director of the Paderborn University Media Center, for her support, and thanks to Henning Vreyborg, Niklas Olmes and Peter Stadler who supported us in establishing the world’s first digitized institute to save the ideas of women philosophers throughout history. Right from the outset, we succeeded in purchasing the rights to digitise the Saint Petersburg manuscript. Now, ten years later, we have also digitised the more than thousand-page Paris Manuscript 12265 of Émilie du Châtelet’s Institutions de physique by the support of the German Research Foundation. The Center is home to the world's first and award-winning Encyclopaedia of Concise Concepts by female philosophers. It hosts a unique archive of the writings of early female phenomenologists Gerda Walter and Hedwig Conrad Martius transcribed and supervised by Rodney Parker. With our manuscript edition we have created an Emilie du Châtelet philosophy hub. Together with our friends and fellows, Kataryna Karpenko and Tess Payongayong, our research focus on women in economics and technology has expanded. The Center offers the world’s most comprehensive Directory of Women Philosophers, a Timeline and above all, the largest online collection of YouTube lectures on the history of women philosophers. This collection is a unique resource for anyone wanting to learn about the subject. Our social media network has been continuously developed by Sophie Unger, Violeta Milicevic, and many student assistants, all of whom have supported us with their enthusiasm and inspiration over the last ten years. We would also like to thank Roland Mikosch, who designed the media representation at the beginning of this project. I am deeply grateful to Prof. Dr. Ulrike Detmers for her annual donation of the Ulrike Detmers Elisabeth of Bohemia Prize, which has been awarded since 2018. Another pillar of the Center is the scholarly publication series, the International Springer series Women in the History of Philosophy and Science was founded following a German one from 2014, in 2018. It presents scholarly studies on women philosophers, mathematicians, phenomenologists and sociologists from around the world. The series has long since surpassed 100,000 downloads. Alongside this successful publication, we also originated the world’s first international Brill journal, Women in the History of Philosophy and Science. The fourteenth issue is now in preparation. In collaboration with the prestigious publisher De Gruyter and colleagues from Latin America, Canada, India, Japan, and the US, we publish the Women Philosophers Heritage Collection. It presents writings of women thinkers from around the globe in their original languages alongside modern English translations. A new series on economics and technology, EcoTechGender, is also underway. The Libori Summer Schools in 2017, 2018 and 2019 moved researchers around the world to visit us in Paderborn. After the break caused by the pandemic, and years when the Center took the summer school abroad, its tradition has been successfully re-installed in 2026 thanks to the efforts of Dr Jil Muller, Felix Grewe and the team at the Center at Paderborn University. Our friends, supporters, colleagues and fellows played a key role in bringing this new historical approach to life. They undertook the necessary research to present these writings through numerous analyses. They shared their lectures with us. The results of their work are available in our YouTube Archive History of Women Philosophers and Scientists and in our publication series. This new history of ideas has attracted researchers from some of the world's leading universities, including those in the US, Canada, India, Japan, Australia and Africa. The Centre has co-organised events with some of the world’s most prestigious universities, including Tokyo University in Japan, Banaras Hindu University in India, King's College in Canada, and the History of Philosophy programme at Harvard University, as well as universities in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro. We have hosted guests from Duke University and McGill University, and our network spans Chile, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, Morocco, Lebanon, Israel, the Philippines and Japan, as well as almost every European country. In light of the current political situation, the world is looking to Europe. The same applies to the question of the place of women’s ideas in the history of philosophy. Regressive gender policies demonstrate that authoritarianism goes hand in hand with violence — a fact that has been documented and denounced by women throughout history. However, it would also be a huge loss for worlds wisdom. If the world were to lose women's ideas, it would crumble. The world is in a terrible state, so we need more contributions from female philosophers. This makes it all the more important that this institute, which has shaped the world of women philosophers around the globe, continues its work. It is no coincidence that, at our 10th anniversary celebrations, we will sign two memoranda of understanding with key future partners: universities from India and the Philippines. I would like to express my gratitude to all our supporters, including those who have backed this bold yet promising endeavour for a long time. Following my appointment as president of the German Society for Philosophy, the significance of the research we completed at the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists will only grow. Welcome to the Center! Prof. Dr. Ruth Edith HagengruberProfessor of Philosophy, University of Paderborn, Germany, Director Center for the History of Women Philosophers and ScientistsPresident of the German Society for Philosophy