The Turn

Hamid R. Yousefi, born in 1967 in Tehran, Iran, is a German-Iranian scholar who perceives himself as both an insider and outsider of German-Iranian culture. His thinking is shaped by a critical stance towards ideologies. He views the systemic dialogue between cultures—understood as open systems of meaning and orientation—within the framework of transcultural thinking and intercultural action. Yousefi began his studies in philosophy, pedagogy, and psychology in Bonn, Mainz, and later Trier, where he completed his education. He earned his Master’s degree in philosophy and pedagogy in 2000 and received his PhD in philosophy in 2004, supported by a scholarship for gifted students at the University of Trier. He later qualified as a professor in cultural studies at the University of Koblenz with his work titled “Perspectives for a Global Philosophy.” He holds permanent teaching positions at various universities, including Potsdam, Kaiserslautern, and Saarbrücken. Yousefi sees the renewal of the historiography of disciplines as a systemic opportunity to foster a deeper dialogue between different positions and factions. In the neutral work of Peter Gerdsen, Yousefi finds the foundation for a systemic merging of scientific cultures, where representatives of these cultures argue from their own standpoint without neglecting their identity. Yousefi is a licensed psychotherapist, a certified systemic therapist, and a systemic psycho-oncologist. His systemic training ranges from addiction behavior therapy to somatoform disorders, as well as couple, group, and individual therapy. Yousefi has received several awards for his scientific achievements, including the prestigious Omnis religio prize, an honorary doctorate in the field of psychology, and a Master’s degree in NLP. He is the author and editor of numerous scientific works and the initiator of many publication projects. He has authored more than 100 scholarly articles in the fields of cultural studies and has published educational materials with some of Europe’s leading publishers, such as UTB, WBG, Springer, LIT, Lau, and Bautz. He is the founder and editor of the 140-volume series “Intercultural Library,” which he initiated in 2000.