Volkswagen Stiftung | NEXT – "Dual Use" of Ideas and Concepts from the Humanities and Social Sciences
Concepts from the humanities and social sciences often have an impact far beyond academia. But what happens when theories and conceptual frameworks are decontextualised and used for purposes other than those originally intended? Through this call for proposals, the Foundation supports research on such 'dual use' effects and explores how the transfer of ideas from academia into political and ideological contexts takes place.
Target group
- Researchers in humanities and cultural studies, social sciences, science studies
- Research teams involving two or three investigators at German universitites and research institutes; intl. collaborations are possible
- Cooperation projects; funding of a teaching substitute / own positions for postdoctoral researchers
Duration and amount of funding
- up to 2 years
- up to 450,00 or 650,000 euros
What is funded
While the term "dual use" traditionally refers to the dual applicability of research findings or technologies for civilian and military purposes, in the humanities and social sciences, "dual use" is understood here to mean unintended effects of research in these fields. These effects can take many forms. This call for proposals focuses on ideologically motivated anti-liberal, anti-scientific, and anti-democratic forms of such appropriations.
For example, the scientific insight that "knowledge is socially constructed" can be reduced to the claim that all truth is merely opinion—a claim used to delegitimize science or the media. Postcolonialist approaches are also sometimes reinterpreted in political discourse, for instance to defend a supposed "right to difference."
Submission
The deadline for submissions is 6 October 2026, 14 h.
All information on the call is available on the website of the Volkswagen Stiftung.
Info events online
- 11. August 2026, 10–11:30 h (in German): No registration required. The access data will be published closer to the event.
- 8 September 2026 (in English)