Dr. Katrin Becker is a Research Scientist in “Law and Culture” at the Institute for German Language, Literature, and Interculturality at the University of Luxembourg. She is Associate Member at the Centre Georg Simmel of the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris where she is currently finalizing her habilitation under the supervision of Rainer Maria Kiesow.
In 2015, she completed her PhD at the Université Paris-Sorbonne (Gérard Raulet) and the University of Luxembourg (Georg Mein) on the relationship between law and literature from the perspective of Pierre Legendre’s work.
She was a research fellow at the Institut d’Études Avancées in Nantes (2018-2019) and a senior research fellow at the Weizenbaum Institute in Berlin (2022).
Based on a background in law, legal philosophy, and German and French studies, her research focuses on the dialectical dynamics between symbolic and imaginary foundations and technological progress, with a particular focus on blockchain technology. In her work, she relies on a combination of philosophy, legal, media, and cultural theory.
In addition to her research work, she is dedicated to translating French philosophers such as Pierre Legendre and Pierre Musso into German.
Research Focus Areas
- Blockchain Technology and Digitisation in Law and Culture
- Presence and Representation
- Cultural, Media, and Legal Theory
- Law and Literature
- Pierre Legendre’s Dogmatic Anthropology
Ongoing Research Projects
- Subjectivity, Culture, and Law in Times of Decentralisation, Habilitation under the supervision of Rainer Maria Kiesow (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris)
- Since 09/2023: Workshop series at the Inter-University Centre Dubrovnik on « Public Opinion » in collaboration with Prof. Gérard Raulet (University Paris-Sorbonne) and Prof. Christian Bermes (University of Landau).
- Since 02/2022: Founder and lead of the transdisciplinary and interfaculty research group: « Blockchain BRIDGES » at Uni.Lu. Discussion of blockchain-related topics with colleagues from the Computer Science, Philosophy, Economy, Law Department at University of Luxembourg
- Since 01/2022: Lead of research group: « Justice en ligne » with Prof. Jean Lassègue (CNRS). Bi-monthly discussions with colleagues from the Centre Georg Simmel Paris and members of Kleros, a blockchain startup for decentralised justice
- Since 11/2019: Lead of research group: « Technique – symbolique – pouvoir » with Prof. Pierre Musso (Télécom ParisTech/University of Rennes). quarterly discussions with former fellows of the IEA and invited guests.
Publications (selection)
- Katrin Becker, Pierre Musso (Eds.), Introduction à l’Oeuvre de Pierre Legendre, with contributions from Peter Goodrich, Osamu Nishitani, Livio Boni, Paolo Héritier, Georg Mein, Andreas Rahmatian, Pierre Musso, Katrin Becker, Paris: Manucius 2023.
- « Göttliche Protokolle, Bitcoin-Jünger und schattenhafte Herrscher: Über die religiösen Anwandlungen und ideologischen Verstrickungen der Blockchain-Technologie », Jahrbuch für Technikphilosophie. Kunst und Werk, Nomos-Verlag 2022, p. 177-194.
- « Corona und die krisenhafte Wiederkehr des Verdrängten », Zeitschrift für Kulturphilosophie, ZKph 2020/2, p.111-122.
Memberships
- 01-09/2022: Active member of the editorial board of the Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art 2022, curated by Kader Attia
- Since 12/2019: Associate member at the Centre Georg Simmel, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris
- Since 04/2018: Associate member at the Research Focus „KulturNorm“, University of Landau
- Since 04/2017: Internal Fellow at the Robert Schuman Institute of European Affairs, University of Luxembourg, interdisciplinary center, funded by the EU Commission as a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence
- Since 08/2012: Active member of the Research group on Weimar culture, Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, Paris, France
