鶹Ƶ

Skip to main content
  • Home
  • 鶹Ƶ
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • 鶹ƵUniversity Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • 鶹ƵUniversity Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Home
  • 鶹Ƶ
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture

Philosopher Awarded German Order of Merit

Tuesday, December 1, 2015, By Amy Mertz
Share
AwardsCollege of Arts and Sciences

, professor of philosophy in the , has been awarded one of Germany’s highest civilian honors.

Frederick Charles Besier and Brita Wagener

Frederick Charles Besier and Brita Wagener

Last month, he was presented the (Bundesverdienstkreuz) by German Consul General Brita Wagener at a special ceremony in New York City. The award was given to him in recognition of his lifelong dedication to engaging American students in the study of German philosophy. 

Among those in attendance were Beiser’s wife and daughter; Karin Ruhlandt, dean of A&S and Distinguished Professor of Chemistry; and Zachary Braiterman, professor of religion and director of the Jewish Studies Program.

“Professor Beiser is one of the generation’s leading scholars of the history of modern philosophy,” says Ruhlandt, citing his expertise in German idealism and romanticism, as well as the writings of philosopher Immanuel Kant. “His teaching, research and service have led to a deeper understanding of and respect for German history and culture on both sides of the Atlantic.”

An Arts and Sciences faculty member since 2001, Beiser is also interested in Early Modern and 19th-century philosophy, including the Enlightenment. Prior to Syracuse, he spent more than a decade on the faculty at Indiana University Bloomington, and served brief stints at other institutions, including Harvard, Yale and the University of Pennsylvania.

A common thread throughout Beiser’s career has been the desire to promote German philosophy to English-speaking students. A tireless proponent of study abroad, he says it is important for American students to see, first hand, how Germans approach their own philosophers.

“My aim has been not only to make the field more intelligible, but also to expand it—covering figures whom have been forgotten or neglected,” says Beiser, the author of more than a dozen books, including “The Genesis of Neo-Kantianism, 1797-1880” (Oxford University Press, 2014). “These so-called ‘minor figures’ often have very interesting things to say, although they are overshadowed by major ones.”

Beiser says that receiving the Order of Merit marks the culmination of work that began more than 40 years ago at Oxford, where he earned multiple degrees, including a B.A. and D.Phil. Since then, Beiser has received many accolades, including Harvard Press’ prestigious Thomas J. Wilson Memorial Prize and various teaching awards from IU and the University of Colorado Boulder. He also has been awarded research fellowships from the Guggenheim, Humboldt and Thyssen foundations, as well as the National Endowment for the Humanities.

His current research involves the rise of German anti-Semitism and the ensuing controversy over Jewish emancipation at the end of the 19th century.

  • Author

Amy Mertz

  • Recent
  • 鶹ƵStage Hosts Inaugural Julie Lutz New Play Festival
    Wednesday, May 28, 2025, By News Staff
  • Timur Hammond’s ‘Placing Islam’ Receives Journal’s Honorable Mention
    Tuesday, May 27, 2025, By News Staff
  • Expert Available to Discuss DOD Acceptance of Qatari Jet
    Thursday, May 22, 2025, By Vanessa Marquette
  • 鶹ƵUniversity 2025-26 Budget to Include Significant Expansion of Student Financial Aid
    Wednesday, May 21, 2025, By News Staff
  • Light Work Opens New Exhibitions
    Wednesday, May 21, 2025, By News Staff

More In Arts & Culture

鶹ƵStage Hosts Inaugural Julie Lutz New Play Festival

鶹ƵStage is pleased to announce that the inaugural Julie Lutz New Play Festival will be held at the theatre this June. Formerly known as the Cold Read Festival of New Plays, the festival will feature a work-in-progress reading and…

Light Work Opens New Exhibitions

Light Work has two new exhibitions, “The Archive as Liberation” and “2025 Light Work Grants in Photography, that will run through Aug. 29. “The Archive as Liberation” The exhibition is on display in the Kathleen O. Ellis Gallery at Light…

Spelman College Glee Club to Perform at Return to Community: A Sunday Gospel Jazz Service June 29

As the grand finale of the 2025 鶹ƵInternational Jazz Fest, the Spelman College Glee Club of Atlanta will perform at Hendricks Chapel on Sunday, June 29. The Spelman College Glee Club, now in its historic 100th year, is the…

Alumnus, Visiting Scholar Mosab Abu Toha G’23 Wins Pulitzer Prize for New Yorker Essays

Mosab Abu Toha G’23, a graduate of the M.F.A. program in creative writing in the College of Arts and Sciences and a current visiting scholar at 鶹ƵUniversity, has been awarded the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for a series of essays…

School of Architecture Faculty Pablo Sequero Named Winner of 2025 Architectural League Prize

School of Architecture faculty member Pablo Sequero’s firm, salazarsequeromedina, has been named to the newest cohort of winners in the biennial Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers, one of North America’s most prestigious awards for young practitioners. “An…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

For the Media

Find an Expert
© 2025 鶹ƵUniversity News. All Rights Reserved.