Wim Weymans
SSH/ESPO Faculty of Economic, Social and Political Sciences and Communication (ESPO)
SSH/ESPO/EURO Ecole interfacultaire en études européennes (EURO)
SSH/INCA Institut des civilisations, arts et lettres (INCAL)
SSH/IRIS Institut de recherche interdisciplinaire Saint-Louis (IRIS-L)
Wim Weymans is a political theorist & intellectual historian. Since 2018 he holds the Chair in European Values at UCLouvain and he is also a research fellow at ‘Leuven International and European Studies’ (LINES) at KU Leuven.
As the holder of the Chair in European Values (UCLouvain) he focuses on values and emotions, refugees, and on the history of 'European values' and currently teaches an interdisciplinary seminar 'Rethinking Europe' and a class on the history of European integration (with Jan-Willem Brouwer). Before, he taught history and theory of human rights (in New York), philosophy (in Leuven and Kortrijk) and philosophy of law and human rights theories (in Antwerp). Apart from essays on European values, he also published on democracy, political representation, (French) social and political theory (esp. Lefort and his circle), university policy and theory of history.
He studied philosophy and history, with a special focus on political philosophy and intellectual history, in Belgium (Leuven and Antwerp) and the UK (Cambridge) and did research abroad in the US (in the Centers for European Studies at Berkeley and Harvard), in France (Sciences Po) and in Germany (Köln and Mainz).
See also: Google scholar profile Detailed list of publications and papers Academia profile ResearchGate profile Orcid
I. EUROPEAN POLITICAL THEORY AND INTELLECTUAL HISTORY
Wim Weymans, ‘Young and Ambivalent. A New Look at the Recent Rise of European Values, Their History, Precursors and Critics', in: Marie Göbel and Andreas Niederberger (eds.), Cosmopolitan Norms and European Values. Ethical Perspectives on Europe’s Refugee Policy (New York: Routledge 2024) 61-87. Online (open access)
Wim Weymans, ‘A critical history of the use of “European values”’, in: Regina Polak and Patrick Rohs (eds.), Values – Politics – Religion: The European Values Study. In-depth Analysis – Interdisciplinary Perspectives – Future Prospects (Cham: Springer 2023) 95-123. Online (open access)
Wim Weymans, ‘Deepening democracy through contestation? Lefort and Gauchet on May 1968 and its legacy’, The Tocqueville Review/La revue Tocqueville, 41, 1 (2020) 121-139. Online
Wim Weymans, ‘From Marianne to Louise. Three ways to represent the (European) people in democratic societies’, in: Anna Schober (ed.), Popularization and Populism in the Visual Arts: Attraction Images (London – New York: Routledge 2020) 31-45. Online
Wim Weymans, ‘On the critical potential of Rosanvallon’s wide definition of democracy’, in: Oliver Flügel, Steven Sawyer a.o. (eds.), Pierre Rosanvallon's Political Thought. Interdisciplinary Approaches (Bielefeld University Press 2019) 99-118. Also appeared in German as ‘Demokratie als Gesellschaftsform: Pierre Rosanvallon und die vielfältige Stimmen des Volkes’ In Oliver Flügel and Franziska Martinsen (eds.), Aktuelle Staatskritik und Demokratietheorie aus Frankreich (Stuttgart: Steiner-Verlag 2015a) 167-185. Online (open access)
Wim Weymans, ‘Religion, human rights and democracy in post-1940 France in theory and practice: from Maritain’s Thomism to Vignaux’s secular realism’. In Rajesh Heyninckx and Stéphane Symons (eds.), What's so new about scholasticism? How Neo-Thomism helped shape the Twentieth Century (Berlin – Boston: Walter de Gruyter 2018) 39-57.Online
Wim Weymans, ‘Radical democracy’s past and future: histories of the symbolic’, Modern Intellectual History, 13(2016) 3, 841-851. Online
Wim Weymans, 'Identität durch Spaltung: Marcel Gauchet über die verbliebene Transzendenz demokratischer Gesellschaften' in: Oliver Flügel-Martinsen and Franziska Martinsen (eds.), Aktuelle Staatskritik und Demokratietheorie aus Frankreich (Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2015) 147-165. Link to book
Wim Weymans, 'Defending democracy’s symbolic dimension: a Lefortian critique of Arendt’s Marxist assumptions', Constellations: An International Journal of Critical and Democratic Theory, 19 (2012) 1, 63-80. Online. (Also appeared in German: Link to book)
Wim Weymans and Andreas Hetzel, 'From substantive to negative universalism. Lefort and Habermas on legitimacy in democratic societies', Thesis Eleven. Critical Theory and Historical Sociology, Number 108 (2012) 26-43. Online
Wim Weymans, 'Revising Foucault’s model of modernity and exclusion: Gauchet and Swain on madness and democracy', Thesis Eleven. Critical Theory and Historical Sociology, Number 98 (2009) 33-51. Online
Wim Weymans, 'Understanding the present through the past? Quentin Skinner and Pierre Rosanvallon on the crisis of political representation', Redescriptions. Yearbook of Political Thought and Conceptual History (2007) 45-60. Online (open access)
Wim Weymans, 'Freedom through political representation? Lefort, Gauchet and Rosanvallon on the relationship between state and society', European Journal of Political Theory, 4 (2005) 3, 263-282. (Also appeared in German). Online
Wim Weymans, 'Über den Nutzen der Ideengeschichte: Quentin Skinner's Verteidigung der republikanischen Freiheit gegen den modernen Staat', Leviathan. Berliner Zeitschrift für Sozialwissenschaft, 33 (2005) 3, 384-390. (Also appeared in Dutch). Online
Wim Weymans, 'Pierre Rosanvallon und das Problem der politischen Repräsentation'; In Oliver Flügel, Reinhard Heil, Andreas Hetzel (eds.), Die Rückkehr des Politischen: Demokratietheorien heute (Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 2004) 87-112. Link to book (Also appeared in Dutch: Online (open access)
Wim Weymans, 'Michel de Certeau and the Limits of Historical Representation', History and Theory. Studies in the Philosophy of History, 43 (2004) 2, 161-178. (Also appeared in Spanish, German and Dutch). Online (JSTOR)
II. EUROPEAN HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY
Wim Weymans, 'Reconnecting the humanities with the public: on how (not) to publish at European universities'; In Maarten Simons, Mathias Decuypere, Joris Vlieghe and Jan Masschelein (eds.), Curating the European university. Exposition and public debate (Leuven: Leuven University Press, 2011) 113-120. download here link google books (incomplete) [Abridged and contextualized version (in Dutch): Online (open access)]
Wim Weymans, 'Democracy, knowledge and critique: rethinking European universities beyond tradition and the market', London Review of Education, 8 (2010) 2, 117-126. Online
Wim Weymans, 'Review article: The merits and limits of using Foucault to criticize lifelong learning', Studies in Philosophy and Education, 28 (2009) 6, 589-596. Link
Wim Weymans, 'From coherence to differentiation: understanding (changes in) the European area for higher education and research'; In Robert Cowen and Andreas Kazamias (eds.), International Handbook of Comparative Education(Dordrecht: Springer, 2009) 561-576. (Also appeared in Portuguese) Online [A shorter version appeared in the New York Consortium for European Studies Newsletter, April 2007]
III. INTERNATIONALISM IN PRACTICE AND EXPAT LIFE; MIGRATION STUDIES
Wim Weymans, ‘At home abroad? International House New York and the Cité Universitaire in Paris: cosmopolitan versus diasporic internationalism’; In: Klaus Stierstorfer and Florian Kläger (eds.), Diasporic Constructions of Home and Belonging (Berlin - Boston: De Gruyter, 2015) 279-295. Link
UCLouvain (Université catholique de Louvain), Chair in European Values, 2018 – present
University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Research Fellow, Leuven International and European Studies (LINES), 2014 – present
University of Antwerp, Faculty of Law, Guest Professor (part-time), 2013 – 2016
University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Postdoctoral Researcher, 2013 – 2014
Marie Curie Actions, Career Integration Grant, European Commission, 2012 – 2014
The Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO), Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2010 – 2013
Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies (CES), Harvard University, Visiting Scholar , Autumn 2012, Spring 2013
Sciences Po, Paris, Cevipof, Chercheur Invité, 2011 – 2012
Columbia University, New York, Visiting Scholar, Fall 2008, Spring 2010, Autumn 2010
Columbia University, New York, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Spring 2008, Spring 2009, Autumn 2009
Belgian-American Educational Foundation (BAEF), postdoctoral grant, Columbia University, New York, 2008
New York University (NYU), Remarque Institute, New York, Invited Visiting Scholar, Spring 2007
University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), Fulbright postdoctoral scholarship, Fall 2006
DAAD (German Foreign Exchange Service) postdoctoral scholarship, 3 months, research at Technische Universität Darmstadt (TU Darmstadt) and Institut für Europäische Geschichte (IEG), Mainz, Summer 2006
Research Fund University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, 2006
European Commission, Directorate General for Research, Directorate “Social sciences and humanities; foresight”, Internship ('Blue Book Intern'), Brussels, March 2005 – July 2005
Gates Scholarship, University of Cambridge, 2001 – 2002
DAAD (German Foreign Exchange Service), visiting student scholarship, Universität zu Köln (Cologne University), Summer 2001
The Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO), Research Assistant, 2000 – 2004
IN ENGLISH:
Interdisciplinary seminar, Rethinking Europe, graduate seminar, UCLouvain, Spring 2019 - Spring 2025
History of European integration, Graduate lecture course, UCLouvain, Autumn 2018 - Autumn 2024 (taught together with Jan Willem Brouwer)
Theories of human rights, Undergraduate seminar, Columbia University, Spring 2008 - Autumn 2009
History and human rights, Undergraduate lecture course, Columbia University, Spring 2009
IN FRENCH:
Pluralisme et diversité culturelle en Europe, Undergraduate lecture course, UCLouvain, Spring 2019 (taught together with Anne-Sophie Gijs)
IN DUTCH:
Rechtsfilosofie: Recht anders bekeken, rechtsfilosofische perspectieven, Undergraduate lecture course, University of Antwerp, Autumn 2013 - Autumn 2015
Rechtsfilosofie, Graduate seminar, University of Antwerp, Autumn 2013 - Autumn 2015
Ethiek en maatschappij, werkcollege, Undergraduate seminar, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Autumn 2013
Anders kijken. Inleidingen tot de wijsbegeerte [Looking differently. Introductions to philosophy], Undergraduate lecture course, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Kortrijk College ('Kulak'), Spring 2011
Dutch: native
English: fluent (spoken and written)
German: fluent (spoken), conversational (written)
French: fluent (spoken), conversational (written)
Harvard University, Center for European Studies, Cambridge, MA, 2012–2013
Sciences Po, CEVIPOF, Paris, ‘Chercheur invité’, October 2011–June 2012
Columbia University, History Department, New York, January 2008–December 2010
New York University (NYU), Remarque Institute, New York, Spring 2007
University of California, Berkeley, Fulbright Post-Doc, History, August 2006–January 2007
Institut für Europäische Geschichte (IEG) (Mainz) and TU Darmstadt, June–August 2006
EHESS, Centre Raymond Aron, Research stay, Paris, March–April 2006
University of Cambridge, Faculty of History, September 2001–August 2002
- University of Cologne (Köln), Faculty of History, DAAD, April–August 2001
Ph.D. Philosophy, University of Leuven, 2005
M.Phil., Political Thought and Intellectual History, University of Cambridge, 2002
M.A. Philosophy, University of Leuven, 2000
- M.A. History, University of Leuven, 1998
Weymans, Wim. A critical history of the use of “European values”. In: Regina Polak and Patrick Rohs, Values – Politics – Religion: The European Values Study. In-depth Analysis – Interdisciplinary Perspectives – Future Prospects (Philosophy and Politics - Critical Explorations; 26), 2023, p. 95-123. 978-3-031-31363-9. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-31364-6_3.
Weymans, Wim. Young and Ambivalent. A New Look at the Recent Rise of European Values, Their History, Precursors and Critics. In: Marie Göbel and Andreas Niederberger, Cosmopolitan Norms and European Values. Ethical Perspectives on Europe’s Refugee Policy (Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy), 2023, p. 61-87. 9781003245278. doi:10.4324/9781003245278-6.
Weymans, Wim. A critical history of the use of “European values”. Workshop "Values - Politics - Religion: The European Values Study"; Universität Wien (Online, 10/02/2021).
Weymans, Wim. European values at the heart of contradictory emotions. Interdisciplinary perspectives. (), 2021. 28 p.
Weymans, Wim. L’Europe et ses valeurs au cœur d’émotions contradictoires. Perspectives interdisciplinaires. (), 2021. 28 p.
Weymans, Wim. Deepening democracy through contestation? Lefort and Gauchet on May 1968 and its legacy. In: Tocqueville Review, (2020). doi:10.3138/ttr.41.1.121.
Weymans, Wim. From Marianne to Louise: Three ways of Representing the (European) People in Democratic Societies. In: Schober, Anna (ed.), Popularisation and Populism in the Visual Arts: Attraction Images, 2020. 9781138605886. doi:10.4324/9780429467882-3.
Weymans, Wim. Introduction. L’Europe et ses valeurs au cœur d’émotions contradictoires (Bruxelles, 05/03/2020).
Weymans, Wim. On the critical potential of Rosanvallon’s wide definition of democracy. In: Oliver Flügel-Martinsen, Franziska Martinsen, Stephen W. Sawyer et Daniel Schulz, Pierre Rosanvallon's Political Thought. Interdisciplinary Approaches, 2019. 978-3-8376-4652-8. doi:10.14361/9783839446522-007.
Weymans, Wim. Habiter notre monde européen. Journée d’études INCAL Habiter le monde (Louvain-la-Neuve, 28/03/2019).
Weymans, Wim ; D'hulst, Lieven ; Fevry, Sébastien ; Gonne, Maud ; Mitterbauer, Helga. table ronde Transferts culturels. Les transferts culturels : paradoxes et malentendus (Louvain-la-Neuve, du 22/05/2019 au 24/05/2019).
Weymans, Wim. De symbolische dimensie van de democratie: Lefort versus Arendt en Marx. In: Filosofie-Tijdschrift, Vol. 28, no.4, p. 16-23 (2018).
Weymans, Wim. Religion, human rights and democracy in post-1940 France in theory and practice: from Maritain’s Thomism to Vignaux’s secular realism. In: Heynickx, Rajesh ; Symons, Stéphane (eds.), So What's New About Scholasticism? How Neo-Thomism Helped Shape the Twentieth Century, 2018. doi:10.1515/9783110588255-004.
Weymans, Wim. Mensenrechten, jong en al versleten?. Vorming Plus (Kortrijk, 23/10/2018).
Weymans, Wim. The legacy of May 68 and the question of democratic agency: Lefort versus Gauchet. Conference on the legacy of May 68, 9 June 2018 (Paris) (American University in Paris (AUP), 09/06/2018).
Weymans, Wim. Vluchtelingen: geweld, gevoel en recht. In: Filosofie van geweld, 2017. 978-94-6310-229-2.
Weymans, Wim. Radical democracy’s past and future: histories of the symbolic. In: Modern Intellectual History, Vol. 13, no. 3, p. 841-851 (2016). doi:10.1017/s1479244315000141.
Weymans, Wim. At Home Abroad? International House New York and the Cité Universitaire in Paris: Cosmopolitan versus Diasporic Internationalism. In: Florian Kläger, Diasporic Constructions of Home and Belonging, 2015. 9783110408614. doi:10.1515/9783110408614-017.
Weymans, Wim. Defending Democracy's Symbolic Dimension: A Lefortian Critique of Arendt's Marxist Assumptions. In: Constellations, Vol. 19, no.1, p. 63-80 (2012). doi:10.1111/j.1467-8675.2012.00673.x.
Weymans, Wim ; Hetzel, Andreas. From substantive to negative universalism : Lefort and Habermas on legitimacy in democratic societies. In: Thesis Eleven, Vol. 108, no.1, p. 26-43 (2012). doi:10.1177/0725513611421480.
Weymans, Wim. Cultuurwetenschappen onder druk. In: De Witte Raaf, Vol. 26, no. 151, p. 17 (2011).
Weymans, Wim. Democracy, knowledge and critique: rethinking European universities beyond tradition and the market. In: London Review of Education, Vol. 8, no.2, p. 117-126 (2010). doi:10.1080/14748460.2010.487329.
Weymans, Wim. Review Article: The Merits and Limits of Using Foucault to Criticize Lifelong Learning. In: Studies in Philosophy and Education, Vol. 28, no.6, p. 589-596 (2009). doi:10.1007/s11217-009-9149-z.
Weymans, Wim. Revising Foucault's Model of Modernity and Exclusion: Gauchet and Swain On Madness and Democracy. In: Thesis Eleven, Vol. 98, no.1, p. 33-51 (2009). doi:10.1177/0725513609105482.
Weymans, Wim. From Coherence to Differentiation: Understanding (Changes In) the European Area for Higher Education and Research. In: Cowen Robert (ed.), International Handbook of Comparative Education, 2009, p. 569-585. 9781402064029. doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-6403-6_36.
Weymans, Wim. Understanding the Present through the Past? Quentin Skinner and Pierre Rosanvallon on the Crisis of Political Representation. In: Redescriptions: Political Thought, Conceptual History and Feminist Theory, Vol. 11, no.1, p. 45-60 (2007). doi:10.7227/r.11.1.4.
Weymans, Wim. Freedom through Political Representation : Lefort, Gauchet and Rosanvallon on the Relationship between State and Society. In: European Journal of Political Theory, Vol. 4, no.3, p. 263-282 (2005). doi:10.1177/1474885105052705.
Weymans, Wim. Über den Nutzen der Ideengeschichte: Quentin Skinners Verteidigung der republikanischen Freiheit gegen den modernen Staat. In: Leviathan, Vol. 33, no.3, p. 384-390 (2005). doi:10.1007/s11578-005-0048-6.
Weymans, Wim. Michel de Certeau and the Limits of Historical Representation. In: History and Theory, Vol. 43, no. 2, p. 161-178 (2004). doi:10.1111/j.1468-2303.2004.00273.x.
Weymans, Wim. Pierre Rosanvallon und das Problem der politischen Repräsentation. In: Oliver Flügel ; Reinhard Heil ; Andreas Hetzel (eds.), Die Rückkehr des Politischen: Demokratietheorien heute, 2004, p. 87-112. 3-534-17435-6.