The Nuts and Bolts of Comparison: From Interdisciplinary Insights to Educational Research and Back
Is there such a thing as incomparability? What do we do when we compare? Can we compare without a tertium comparationis? There are certain elements that we can isolate in every comparison and that arguably even decide to some degree the possible outcomes of a comparison. In this address, Prof. Weber will give you some nuts and bolts of comparison that should inform any methodology claiming to be “comparative.” Presenting insights from different disciplines on the comparative method, he will engage with the literature on comparison in educational research and attempt a synthesis combined with a general plea for a post-comparative approach.
About Ralph Weber
Ralph Weber, Dr.rer.pol., is Professor for European Global Studies at the University of Basel, Switzerland. In his research, he focuses on methodological and conceptual aspects of cross-linguistic and cross-cultural research, global intellectual discourses, and comparative philosophy. His habilitation in philosophy was on developing a philosophy of comparison against the background of comparative philosophy. In his later works, he applies his expertise in comparative phlosophy to Chinese politics and modern Confucianism. He is a Research Councilor at the Swiss National Science Foundation.
EERSS 2026 Dates
Applications
10 November 2025 - 15 January 2026
Information on acceptance
1 March 2026
Registration/Payment
2 - 31 March 2026
Summer School
15 - 19 June 2026
Contact
Academic questions:
Prof. Dr. Volker Bank
TU Chemnitz
volker.bank(at)phil.tu-chemnitz.de
Organisational questions:
Doretta Dow
EERA Office
dow(at)eera.eu