Alanus University at Harvard University's Rudolf Steiner Conference

Professors presented their research on education, medicine, and religious education in an international academic exchange.

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Rudolf Steiner’s death, the international “100 Years Rudolf Steiner Conference” took place at Harvard University (Cambridge, USA) on 15 and 16 December 2025. The congress was hosted by Harvard Divinity School – one of the world’s most renowned institutions for the study of religion and the humanities. The fact that Steiner’s work was discussed there in an academic setting is regarded as a significant signal of the growing scholarly relevance of anthroposophical research.

Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences was also prominently represented with several contributions. Professors from the university contributed their research perspectives to panels on education, meditation, medicine, and religious education: Marcelo da Veiga spoke on “Epistemology and Meditation,” Martyn Rawson on the anthroposophical foundations of Waldorf education, Jost Schieren on the philosophical implications of Waldorf education, Peter Selg on the role of anthroposophical physicians during the Nazi era, and Carlo Willmann on religious education in Steiner’s thought.

With more than 200 participants on site and several hundred guests joining remotely, the conference provided a broad forum for a scholarly grounded, critical, and interdisciplinary engagement with Steiner’s work. Across a total of sixteen panels and more than 70 contributions, topics ranging from medicine and agriculture to philosophy and theology, as well as questions of esotericism, art, and historical controversies, were discussed.

The conference made it clear that anthroposophy is increasingly present in academic discourse as well – not as an inward-looking ideological perspective, but as a field of research that is approached in a differentiated and reflective manner. This attitude also corresponds to Alanus University’s self-conception of situating anthroposophical impulses within a scholarly and social context.

“The fact that Rudolf Steiner is being discussed at an institution like Harvard at this level shows just how much research on anthroposophy has opened up internationally and is meeting with a corresponding response,” emphasizes Professor Jost Schieren. “Conferences like these are important places for rethinking Steiner’s work in a contemporary, critical, and academically connected way.”

Contact for press inquiries:
+49 (0)2222 9321-1944
presse@alanus.edu

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