Roland Benedikter

Roland Benedikter, (b. 1965), Dott. Dr. Dr. Dr., is a Contract Professor for Cultural and Socio-Educational Sciences at the University of Vienna and University of Innsbruck, both Austria, and at the Free University of Bolzano, Italy. He is a Board Member of the the Institute for Interdisciplinarity, Bolzano-Innsbruck. He is co-author of Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker’s "Report to the Club of Rome" 2003, author of two books and more than 120 essays in specialist journals and books. He is editor and co-author of 14 books.

Due to his multidisciplinary qualification and research focus, he has been referred to as “a fairly exceptional figure in the academic world” (Prof. Dr. Manfred Markus, Head of the Department of English Studies, University of Innsbruck, Austria).

Research, Teaching and Professional Affiliations

From 1996 to the present, Benedikter has been a Visiting Professor, Affiliated Fellow and Research Scholar for Cultural and Socio-Educational Sciences at Universities, Academies and Think-tanks in the USA, UK, Australia, Peru, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Bulgaria and Turkey. He is, among other affiliations, Full Permanent Member of the International Council for Sustainability in Practice Based Educational Research ICSPBR, Zürich, Switzerland, and External Examiner of the European Master Programs of both the Schools of Social and Educational Sciences of the University of Plymouth, UK. Previously, he worked as a Researcher at the Institute for English Studies of the University of Innsbruck, Austria (1991-1993).

Institution Building and European Cultural Politics

Benedikter contributed to build up a European Academy for Applied Scientific Research and a trilingual University in the Autonomous Province of South Tyrol, Northern Italy, from the bottom up (1993-1996). He was active for more than 8 years in Applied European Cultural, Educational and Minority Politics (1995-2003). In the same period, he was the speaker of many initiatives of the International Civil Society, with focus on cultural, scientific and educational issues.

Publications

As well as of several books and of more than 120 essays in specialist journals and books, Benedikter is author of more than a dozen articles in 3 international encyclopedias, and of more than 40 essays for newspapers in Russia, Turkey, Germany, Austria and Italy. His writings have been translated in many languages, a.o. in English, Russian, Chinese, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Slowenian, Turkish and Spanish, and re-published repeatedly, also in the Internet. He has written extensively in German about post-materialistic philosophy, inclusive thinking, and related socio-educational themes. His main research and teaching focuses are on Global Change and its relation with the History of Ideas, the transdisciplinary innovation of the European University, particularly of the European Human Sciences, and the macro- and meso-diagnostics of the contemporary state of the world from the viewpoint of cultural and educational politics.

Benedikter is the author and editor of the book series "Postmaterialism – The Second Generation" (7 vol., 2001-2005, Vienna), the series "Italian Philosophy for the 21st Century" (3 vol., since 2002, Stuttgart) and of the series “Transdisciplinary Studies of Contemporary Change” (since 2005, Vienna). He has also written on late postmodernist philosophy and the future of transcultural inclusive politics. Regarding the "global Renaissance of Religion" as an emerging cultural and political factor and its fight against the secular thought of the West, Benedikter argues that both the liberal West and orthodox Islam have to transcend their one-dimensional views of religion and culture.

Benedikter is associate editor of the peer reviewed journal Integral Review, Bethel, OH, and member of the advisory board of the peer reviewed journal "Spirituality and Health International" New York, as well as referee of incoming articles for the Austrian Journal of Sociology, Vienna (with specialization in Cultural Anthropology and Educational Sociology) and for the Journal Mind and Matter. An International Interdisciplinary Journal for Mind-Matter Research, Exeter (with specialization in the History of Ideas, the post-industrial "Politics of the Mind" and Interdisciplinarity).

Awards

For his publications, Benedikter has been awarded the “Dr. Otto Seibert Price for Scientific Publications” of the University of Innsbruck 2005. He has been elected Permanent Fellow in Cultural and Social Sciences of Georgetown University Washington DC in 2008, and awarded 8 International Visiting Professorships, Scholarships and Fellowships as well as 7 Major international Research and Teaching Grants.

Bibliography

* "Zeitgeist-Symptome. 1. Der Sport / 2. Die Aufmerksamkeitsökonomie" (Cultural Symptoms of Our Times. 1. Sport as a Cultural Phaenomenon / 2. The Attention Economy). With a Preface by Dr. Jens Heisterkamp. Frankfurt am Main 2000
* "Nachhaltige Demokratisierung des Irak? Sozio-kulturelle und demokratiepolitische Perspektiven. Eine Fallstudie zur inklusiven Entwicklung gesellschaftlicher Paradigmen am Beginn des 21. Jahrhunderts" (Sustainable Democracy for Iraq? Socio-Cultural Perspectives. A Case Study On The Inclusive Transformation of Societal Paradigms At the Beginning Of The 21st Century). With Prefaces by Prof. Dr. Ferhad Ibrahim, Dr. Karl-Martin Dietz, Fritz Edlinger and Francesco Marchioro. Vienna 2005
* "Absolute Secret" And "Productive Void". Approaches Towards A "Rational Spirituality" As An Alternative To The Global "Renaissance Of Religions" In The Late Works Of Some Leading Postmodern Thinkers: Jacques Derrida, Jean-Francois Lyotard, Paul Feyerabend and others". With Prefaces by Prof. Dr. Dr. Harald Walach, Prof. Dr. Bernhard Rathmayr, Prof. Dr. K. Helmut Reich, Dr. Jennifer Gidley, Dr. Wendelin Kuepers, and Dr. Salvatore Lavecchia. Forthcoming as an official publication of the International Civil Society Initiative for the UN-Decade “Education for sustainable development 2005-2014”, Section Austria
* "Globale Systemverschiebung. Indizien für eine Paradigmenveränderung im Spannungsfeld zwischen den vier Systemsphären Kultur, Religion, Politik und Wirtschaft auf Weltebene. Ein heuristischer Diskussionsbeitrag zu Chancen, Grenzen und Perspektiven des "Jahrhunderts der Demokratisierung" (Global Systemic Shift. Indications For A Paradigm Change In The Interplay Between The Four System Spheres Culture, Religion, Politics And Economics. A Contribution To The Debate On The Chances, Limits and Perspectives of the “Century Of Democratization”). With a Preface by Prof. Dr. Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker. Forthcoming.
* Co-Author of Ernst Ulrich von Weizsaecker’s Report to the Club of Rome 2003 "Limits to Privatization. How To Avoid Too Much Of A Good Thing" (English edition 2005, German Edition 2006, Chinese edition 2007)

References

* "Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21st Century" 2007 ff., The International Biographical Centre Cambridge
* "Marquis Who Is Who in The World, Who Is Who In Science And Engineering", 10th anniversary Edition London 2008-09 ff.
* "Cambridge Dictionary of International Biography", 34th edition ff.
* "2000 Outstanding Scientists", The International Biographical Centre Cambridge 2008-09 ff.

External links

* [http://www.passagen.at/cms/index.php?id=80&autor=688&L=0 Homepage] at Vienna’s Passagen Verlag with independent international voices about his works
* [http://www.atasp.de/downloads/limits-to-privatization-content.pdf A Report to the Club of Rome]
* [http://www.fhi.ox.ac.uk/events/Roland%20Benedikter%20Abstract.pdf Global Systemic Shift]
* [http://jekyll.comm.sissa.it/articoli/art08_02_eng.htm A Short Psychoanalysis of Science]
* [http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/routledg/rjhs/2004/00000010/00000004/art00005 Privatization of Italian Cultural Heritage]
* [http://www.inthenationalinterest.com/Articles/Vol3Issue6/Vol3Issue6Benedikter.html Overcoming Ethnic Division in Iraq: A Practical Model From Europe]