Eighteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

Why shall we think about university at the intersection of the world and home? The main aim of this study is to describe and interpret problems of autonomy, location, and connection with regions. The author refers to Plato, Aristotle, Herder, Humboldt, Dilthey, Nietzsche, Ortega y Gasset, Heidegger, Merton, Lyotard, Derrida, and Esposito. The explanation of the idea of wonder leads to the consideration of an important role of university as an independent and autonomous place in our common space. Thinking about university as an independent entity is an act of retreating from the conception of university as a centre of innovation, yielding unified and standardized thought, yet deprived of roots. University is not a realm of “the same.” If we take care of “the difference,” in particular, if we think about the Derridean term “différance”, we should affirm “the difference” in the daily practice of our universities. University is obliged to strengthen independent thinking and engaged practice, to encourage dealing with inconvenient themes and producing unprecedented narratives. We thus need to affirm our right to independence.