Hans Kilian Award 2019
The Hans Kilian Prize 2019 went to Prof. em. Dr. Ashis Nandy, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in Delhi, Indien
By awarding the Hans-Kilian-Prize 2019 to Ashis Nandy, the internationally renowned psychologist, psychoanalyst, sociologist and co-founder of postcolonial studies, the Köhler Foundation’s award committee honoured an academic lifetime achievement which bridges diverse fields of social and cultural scientific research creatively and interdisciplinarily. Particular attention is paid to Ashis Nandy’s efforts to adapt genuinely Western traditions of thought, such as psychoanalysis, to a non-Western context in such a way that fruitful analyses of a non-Western society and its colonial as well as postcolonial experiences become possible. In addition, the Köhler Foundation acknowledges the work of Ashis Nandy as a public and sometimes contentious intellectual who is heard all over the world and who is able to stimulate sustainable political debates with his scientific work and criticism -- in the spirit of Hans Kilian, after whom the prize is named.
Ashis Nandy’s academic career is closely linked to the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) in New Delhi, of which he was Director from 1992 to 1997 and is still a Senior Honorary Fellow today. The international scope of his work can be seen in his fellowships at various universities in the USA, Great Britain, and Germany, his call to the first UNESCO Chair at the Centre for European Studies at the University of Trier in 1994, the Japanese Fukuoka Prize for Services to Asian Culture in 2007, and his inclusion in the Foreign Affairs magazine as one of the world’s 100 most important public intellectuals in 2008.
Award Ceremony
The fifth festive Hans Kilian Award ceremony took place on 9 May 2019 in the event centre of the Ruhr University Bochum
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Preisverleihung 2019