Gießener Zentrum Östliches Europa (GiZo) - Master Interdisciplinary Studies on Eastern Europe (English Option)

The interdisciplinary seminar will explore the regularities, which can be observed in different historical and linguistic settings when speakers of different languages come into contact, deliberately or forced. The historical scenarios, we will study, can be chosen according to the interests of the participants, as long as a Slavic language within Eastern Europe is included. Examples for such historical settings include 1. educational and/ or culturally authoritative languages of elites in relation to vernacular languages in the Middle Ages resp. Early Modern times (Latin, Greek) resp. Modern times (French, 17/18th. c.), 2. interlingual and intercultural adventures of travelling merchants in Early Modern times to Czech, Poland, or Russia (since the 15th c.), 3. language identity and societal diversity: the case of Polish and German in Poland (since 16th c.), 4. language contact and religious confessions in the borderland: Polish and Ruthenian (= Middle Ukrainian, 17th c.), 5. language and political power: the conflict between Ukrainian and Russian (19th + 20th c.). In our first session (Oct 22th, 2026) participants will be asked which historical topic they suggest for inclusion into the seminar plan; we also will decide then on the main working language of the seminar (German, English or bilingual sessions).

Zum Weiterlesen

Bömelburg, Hans-Jürgen/ Kersken, Norbert (ed.): Mehrsprachigkeit in Ostmitteleuropa (1400-1700). Kommunikative Praktiken und Verfahren in gemischtsprachigen Städten und Verbänden (= Tagungen zur Ostmitteleuropa-Forschung; 37), Marburg 2020.

Dubisz, Stanisław/ Stąpor, Izabela (2008) (ed.): Wielojęzyczność. Kontakty językowe w rozwoju kultur słowiánskich. Pułtusz: Akademia humanistyczna im. Aleksandra Gieysztora.

Dursteler, Eric R. (2012): Speaking in Tongues: Language and Communication in the Early Modern Mediterranean. // Past & Present 217, 47-77.

Häberlein, Mark/ Flurschütz da Cruz, Andreas (ed.): Die Sprachen der Frühen Neuzeit Europäische und globale Perspektiven. Köln 2024.

Makartsev, Maxim/ Wahlström, Max (2016) (ed.): In Search of the Center and Periphery: Linguistic Attitudes, Minorities, and Landscapes in the Central Balkans. Helsinki: Univ. (= Slavica Helsingiensia 49)

Paulston, Christina Bratt/ Peckham, Donald (ed.) (1998): Linguistic Minorities in Central and Eastern Europe.

Clevedon, Philadelphia, Toronto, Sydney, Johannesburg: Multilingual Matters. (= Multilingual Matters 109)

Salverda, Reinier (2018): Empires and their Languages: Reflections on the History and the Linguistics of Lingua Franca and Lingua Sacra. // Braarvig, Jens/ Geller, Markham J. (ed.): Multilingualism, Lingua Franca and Lingua Sacra. Berlin: Pro Business Printing, 13-78. (= Max Planck Research Library for the History and Development of Knowledge Studies 10)

Seals, Corinne A. (2020): Choosing a Mother Tongue. The Politics of Language and Identity in Ukraine. Bristol: Multiligual Matters. (= Multilingual Matters 169)

V tomto kurzu pracujeme s učebnicí "Čeština pro život 2", úroveň B1-B2.

Ziele der Veranstaltung: Vertiefung der bereits erworbenen grammatischen Kenntnisse, Aneignung
von Wissen zu diversen Themen des aktuellen Lebens in der Ukraine sowie Kenntnis von literarischen Schlüsseltexten aus dem 20. und 21. Jahrhundert.

V tomto kurzu se podíváme na filmy jednoho z nejúspěšnějších českých scenaristů a herců, Zdeňka Svěráka. Tři z jeho filmů se dostaly mezi nejužší kandidáty na Oscara - jeden (Kolja) Oscara i získal.

Ziel der Veranstaltung ist die Fähigkeit, den Inhalt von ukrainischen literarischen Texten wiederzugeben, deren Themen zu diskutieren, historisch einzuordnen und den eigenen Standpunkt dazu zu erläutern. Bei der Auswahl Texte handelt es sich um Schlüsselwerke aus dem 20. und 21. Jahrhundert.

V tomto kurzu pracujeme s učebnicí "Čeština pro život 2", úroveň B1-B2.

Ziele der Veranstaltung: Vertiefung der bereits erworbenen grammatischen Kenntnisse, Aneignung
von Wissen zu diversen Themen des aktuellen Lebens in der Ukraine sowie Kenntnis von literarischen Schlüsseltexten aus dem 20. und 21. Jahrhundert.

V tomto kurzu se podíváme na filmy jednoho z nejúspěšnějších českých scenaristů a herců, Zdeňka Svěráka. Tři z jeho filmů se dostaly mezi nejužší kandidáty na Oscara - jeden (Kolja) Oscara i získal.

Ziel der Veranstaltung ist die Fähigkeit, den Inhalt von ukrainischen literarischen Texten wiederzugeben, deren Themen zu diskutieren, historisch einzuordnen und den eigenen Standpunkt dazu zu erläutern. Bei der Auswahl Texte handelt es sich um Schlüsselwerke aus dem 20. und 21. Jahrhundert.

The interdisciplinary seminar will explore the regularities, which can be observed in different historical and linguistic settings when speakers of different languages come into contact, deliberately or forced. The historical scenarios, we will study, can be chosen according to the interests of the participants, as long as a Slavic language within Eastern Europe is included. Examples for such historical settings include 1. educational and/ or culturally authoritative languages of elites in relation to vernacular languages in the Middle Ages resp. Early Modern times (Latin, Greek) resp. Modern times (French, 17/18th. c.), 2. interlingual and intercultural adventures of travelling merchants in Early Modern times to Czech, Poland, or Russia (since the 15th c.), 3. language identity and societal diversity: the case of Polish and German in Poland (since 16th c.), 4. language contact and religious confessions in the borderland: Polish and Ruthenian (= Middle Ukrainian, 17th c.), 5. language and political power: the conflict between Ukrainian and Russian (19th + 20th c.). In our first session (Oct 22th, 2026) participants will be asked which historical topic they suggest for inclusion into the seminar plan; we also will decide then on the main working language of the seminar (German, English or bilingual sessions).

Zum Weiterlesen

Bömelburg, Hans-Jürgen/ Kersken, Norbert (ed.): Mehrsprachigkeit in Ostmitteleuropa (1400-1700). Kommunikative Praktiken und Verfahren in gemischtsprachigen Städten und Verbänden (= Tagungen zur Ostmitteleuropa-Forschung; 37), Marburg 2020.

Dubisz, Stanisław/ Stąpor, Izabela (2008) (ed.): Wielojęzyczność. Kontakty językowe w rozwoju kultur słowiánskich. Pułtusz: Akademia humanistyczna im. Aleksandra Gieysztora.

Dursteler, Eric R. (2012): Speaking in Tongues: Language and Communication in the Early Modern Mediterranean. // Past & Present 217, 47-77.

Häberlein, Mark/ Flurschütz da Cruz, Andreas (ed.): Die Sprachen der Frühen Neuzeit Europäische und globale Perspektiven. Köln 2024.

Makartsev, Maxim/ Wahlström, Max (2016) (ed.): In Search of the Center and Periphery: Linguistic Attitudes, Minorities, and Landscapes in the Central Balkans. Helsinki: Univ. (= Slavica Helsingiensia 49)

Paulston, Christina Bratt/ Peckham, Donald (ed.) (1998): Linguistic Minorities in Central and Eastern Europe.

Clevedon, Philadelphia, Toronto, Sydney, Johannesburg: Multilingual Matters. (= Multilingual Matters 109)

Salverda, Reinier (2018): Empires and their Languages: Reflections on the History and the Linguistics of Lingua Franca and Lingua Sacra. // Braarvig, Jens/ Geller, Markham J. (ed.): Multilingualism, Lingua Franca and Lingua Sacra. Berlin: Pro Business Printing, 13-78. (= Max Planck Research Library for the History and Development of Knowledge Studies 10)

Seals, Corinne A. (2020): Choosing a Mother Tongue. The Politics of Language and Identity in Ukraine. Bristol: Multiligual Matters. (= Multilingual Matters 169)

The interdisciplinary seminar will explore the regularities, which can be observed in different historical and linguistic settings when speakers of different languages come into contact, deliberately or forced. The historical scenarios, we will study, can be chosen according to the interests of the participants, as long as a Slavic language within Eastern Europe is included. Examples for such historical settings include 1. educational and/ or culturally authoritative languages of elites in relation to vernacular languages in the Middle Ages resp. Early Modern times (Latin, Greek) resp. Modern times (French, 17/18th. c.), 2. interlingual and intercultural adventures of travelling merchants in Early Modern times to Czech, Poland, or Russia (since the 15th c.), 3. language identity and societal diversity: the case of Polish and German in Poland (since 16th c.), 4. language contact and religious confessions in the borderland: Polish and Ruthenian (= Middle Ukrainian, 17th c.), 5. language and political power: the conflict between Ukrainian and Russian (19th + 20th c.). In our first session (Oct 22th, 2026) participants will be asked which historical topic they suggest for inclusion into the seminar plan; we also will decide then on the main working language of the seminar (German, English or bilingual sessions).

Zum Weiterlesen

Bömelburg, Hans-Jürgen/ Kersken, Norbert (ed.): Mehrsprachigkeit in Ostmitteleuropa (1400-1700). Kommunikative Praktiken und Verfahren in gemischtsprachigen Städten und Verbänden (= Tagungen zur Ostmitteleuropa-Forschung; 37), Marburg 2020.

Dubisz, Stanisław/ Stąpor, Izabela (2008) (ed.): Wielojęzyczność. Kontakty językowe w rozwoju kultur słowiánskich. Pułtusz: Akademia humanistyczna im. Aleksandra Gieysztora.

Dursteler, Eric R. (2012): Speaking in Tongues: Language and Communication in the Early Modern Mediterranean. // Past & Present 217, 47-77.

Häberlein, Mark/ Flurschütz da Cruz, Andreas (ed.): Die Sprachen der Frühen Neuzeit Europäische und globale Perspektiven. Köln 2024.

Makartsev, Maxim/ Wahlström, Max (2016) (ed.): In Search of the Center and Periphery: Linguistic Attitudes, Minorities, and Landscapes in the Central Balkans. Helsinki: Univ. (= Slavica Helsingiensia 49)

Paulston, Christina Bratt/ Peckham, Donald (ed.) (1998): Linguistic Minorities in Central and Eastern Europe.

Clevedon, Philadelphia, Toronto, Sydney, Johannesburg: Multilingual Matters. (= Multilingual Matters 109)

Salverda, Reinier (2018): Empires and their Languages: Reflections on the History and the Linguistics of Lingua Franca and Lingua Sacra. // Braarvig, Jens/ Geller, Markham J. (ed.): Multilingualism, Lingua Franca and Lingua Sacra. Berlin: Pro Business Printing, 13-78. (= Max Planck Research Library for the History and Development of Knowledge Studies 10)

Seals, Corinne A. (2020): Choosing a Mother Tongue. The Politics of Language and Identity in Ukraine. Bristol: Multiligual Matters. (= Multilingual Matters 169)

The seminar aims to provide an overview of the development of nationalism theory and to deepen this perspective using the example of Central and Eastern Europe in a historical context. It is an interdisciplinary seminar, taking into account not only history but also linguistics, literary and cultural studies, and sociology. The first few sessions will introduce students to the conceptual history of nationalism theory through classic works on the theoretical debate about the nation (such as Miroslav Hroch, Benedict Anderson, and Ernest Gellner). This knowledge will then be deepened on the basis of concrete examples from Eastern Europe since the 16th century. Particular emphasis will be placed on interdisciplinary and trans-epochal perspectives. The regional focus will be on Poland, Lithuania, the Bohemian lands, historical Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, and Ukraine. The seminar will be held in English. Students will work on a topic independently and can choose between an empirical or a theoretical contribution.

Introductory literature:
Anderson, Benedict: Imagined Communities. Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, London 1983.
Brubaker, Rogers: Nationalism Reframed. Nationhood and the National Question in the New Europe, Cambridge 1996
Hroch, Miroslav: Social preconditions of national revival in Europe, A Comparative Anaysis of the Social Composition of Patriotic Groups among the Smaller European Nations, Cambridge 1985.

The seminar aims to provide an overview of the development of nationalism theory and to deepen this perspective using the example of Central and Eastern Europe in a historical context. It is an interdisciplinary seminar, taking into account not only history but also linguistics, literary and cultural studies, and sociology. The first few sessions will introduce students to the conceptual history of nationalism theory through classic works on the theoretical debate about the nation (such as Miroslav Hroch, Benedict Anderson, and Ernest Gellner). This knowledge will then be deepened on the basis of concrete examples from Eastern Europe since the 16th century. Particular emphasis will be placed on interdisciplinary and trans-epochal perspectives. The regional focus will be on Poland, Lithuania, the Bohemian lands, historical Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, and Ukraine. The seminar will be held in English. Students will work on a topic independently and can choose between an empirical or a theoretical contribution.

Introductory literature:
Anderson, Benedict: Imagined Communities. Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, London 1983.
Brubaker, Rogers: Nationalism Reframed. Nationhood and the National Question in the New Europe, Cambridge 1996
Hroch, Miroslav: Social preconditions of national revival in Europe, A Comparative Anaysis of the Social Composition of Patriotic Groups among the Smaller European Nations, Cambridge 1985.

Ziele der Veranstaltung: Vertiefung der bereits erworbenen grammatischen Kenntnisse, Aneignung
von Wissen zu diversen Themen des aktuellen Lebens in der Ukraine sowie Kenntnis von literarischen Schlüsseltexten aus dem 20. und 21. Jahrhundert.

V tomto kurzu se podíváme na filmy jednoho z nejúspěšnějších českých scenaristů a herců, Zdeňka Svěráka. Tři z jeho filmů se dostaly mezi nejužší kandidáty na Oscara - jeden (Kolja) Oscara i získal.

Ziel der Veranstaltung ist die Fähigkeit, den Inhalt von ukrainischen literarischen Texten wiederzugeben, deren Themen zu diskutieren, historisch einzuordnen und den eigenen Standpunkt dazu zu erläutern. Bei der Auswahl Texte handelt es sich um Schlüsselwerke aus dem 20. und 21. Jahrhundert.

The space between Poland and the Baltic countries in the Northwest, Siberia in the Northeast, the Caucasus, Ukraine, and Bulgaria in the South has in recent history been impacted by empires (the Tsarist, the Prussian, the Hapsburg, and the Ottoman Empire). Most of the peoples residing there have been denied state sovereignty over centuries; the titular nations of the great empires imposed them their cultural patterns. Other than the overseas colonies this process has only rarely been de-scribed by historical scientists as colonialism.
This course is devoted less to the question whether it is justified to speak of an East, East-Central or South-East European „colonization,” but investigates, first, how the hegemonic cultures conceptual-ized the suppressed peoples as less civilized and thus in need of „colonization.” Secondly, we focus on the ways how foreign domination was perceived by the subjugated peoples as colonization.
Anglo-American Postcolonial Studies have made substantial propositions for describing not only the hetero-stereotypes deployed to the Orient (Said), but also the cultural strategies of the subordinated elites. The provocative main question goes as to how the theoretical concepts developed for the para-doxical strategies of identity building of Arabs and Black Africans (such as hybridity, in-betweenness, subalternity, mimicry, Black Signifying, self-Orientalization or agency) can become productive for describing the cultural processes of nation building in East, East-Central, and South-East Europe. During the course we will be exploring this question in mosaic-like form with regard to Bosnia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine.

More participants are welcome; for registration please send an email to dirk.uffelmann@slavistik.uni-giessen.de

The seminar aims to provide an overview of the development of nationalism theory and to deepen this perspective using the example of Central and Eastern Europe in a historical context. It is an interdisciplinary seminar, taking into account not only history but also linguistics, literary and cultural studies, and sociology. The first few sessions will introduce students to the conceptual history of nationalism theory through classic works on the theoretical debate about the nation (such as Miroslav Hroch, Benedict Anderson, and Ernest Gellner). This knowledge will then be deepened on the basis of concrete examples from Eastern Europe since the 16th century. Particular emphasis will be placed on interdisciplinary and trans-epochal perspectives. The regional focus will be on Poland, Lithuania, the Bohemian lands, historical Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, and Ukraine. The seminar will be held in English. Students will work on a topic independently and can choose between an empirical or a theoretical contribution.

Introductory literature:
Anderson, Benedict: Imagined Communities. Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, London 1983.
Brubaker, Rogers: Nationalism Reframed. Nationhood and the National Question in the New Europe, Cambridge 1996
Hroch, Miroslav: Social preconditions of national revival in Europe, A Comparative Anaysis of the Social Composition of Patriotic Groups among the Smaller European Nations, Cambridge 1985.

The space between Poland and the Baltic countries in the Northwest, Siberia in the Northeast, the Caucasus, Ukraine, and Bulgaria in the South has in recent history been impacted by empires (the Tsarist, the Prussian, the Hapsburg, and the Ottoman Empire). Most of the peoples residing there have been denied state sovereignty over centuries; the titular nations of the great empires imposed them their cultural patterns. Other than the overseas colonies this process has only rarely been de-scribed by historical scientists as colonialism.
This course is devoted less to the question whether it is justified to speak of an East, East-Central or South-East European „colonization,” but investigates, first, how the hegemonic cultures conceptual-ized the suppressed peoples as less civilized and thus in need of „colonization.” Secondly, we focus on the ways how foreign domination was perceived by the subjugated peoples as colonization.
Anglo-American Postcolonial Studies have made substantial propositions for describing not only the hetero-stereotypes deployed to the Orient (Said), but also the cultural strategies of the subordinated elites. The provocative main question goes as to how the theoretical concepts developed for the para-doxical strategies of identity building of Arabs and Black Africans (such as hybridity, in-betweenness, subalternity, mimicry, Black Signifying, self-Orientalization or agency) can become productive for describing the cultural processes of nation building in East, East-Central, and South-East Europe. During the course we will be exploring this question in mosaic-like form with regard to Bosnia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine.

More participants are welcome; for registration please send an email to dirk.uffelmann@slavistik.uni-giessen.de

The space between Poland and the Baltic countries in the Northwest, Siberia in the Northeast, the Caucasus, Ukraine, and Bulgaria in the South has in recent history been impacted by empires (the Tsarist, the Prussian, the Hapsburg, and the Ottoman Empire). Most of the peoples residing there have been denied state sovereignty over centuries; the titular nations of the great empires imposed them their cultural patterns. Other than the overseas colonies this process has only rarely been de-scribed by historical scientists as colonialism.
This course is devoted less to the question whether it is justified to speak of an East, East-Central or South-East European „colonization,” but investigates, first, how the hegemonic cultures conceptual-ized the suppressed peoples as less civilized and thus in need of „colonization.” Secondly, we focus on the ways how foreign domination was perceived by the subjugated peoples as colonization.
Anglo-American Postcolonial Studies have made substantial propositions for describing not only the hetero-stereotypes deployed to the Orient (Said), but also the cultural strategies of the subordinated elites. The provocative main question goes as to how the theoretical concepts developed for the para-doxical strategies of identity building of Arabs and Black Africans (such as hybridity, in-betweenness, subalternity, mimicry, Black Signifying, self-Orientalization or agency) can become productive for describing the cultural processes of nation building in East, East-Central, and South-East Europe. During the course we will be exploring this question in mosaic-like form with regard to Bosnia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine.

More participants are welcome; for registration please send an email to dirk.uffelmann@slavistik.uni-giessen.de

Das Seminar beschäftigt sich mit multimedialen Kommunikaten und ihrer (kulturellen) Funktion

Speaker use verbal tense to put historical events in a temporal order and to position themselves in relation to the time of the events. Besides of lexical means like temporal adverbs, the Slavic languages make use of grammatical temporal markers, of verbal aspect and of syntactic constructions. Besides the typical use ("начинали строить крепость") we discuss more uncommon expressions ("крепость начата строением"), also in West ("Miałem podlane całe mnóstwo grządek...") and South ("… kada ti budeš došla") Slavic languages.

This course provides a deep and broad overview over the current state of democracies and autocracies as globally competing regime forms. It helps to understand core characteristics of both regime types and guides through current debates about the impact of the competition between both regime forms for the global order, for various policy fields and especially peace and security.

This course guides through the relevance and role of democracy as a global norm in various international organisations. It provides an overview over the empiric situation and guides through main concepts and conceptual debates of the contestation of democracy in international organisations in various world regions

Fascism is often seen as a specter of the past—a closed chapter of the 20th century. Yet authoritarian movements are gaining influence worldwide, democratic institutions are coming under pressure, political violence is once again being spoken of openly, and exclusion is becoming normalized. But is this already fascism? Or are we witnessing new forms of authoritarian rule that differ from their historical counterparts? The seminar explores this pressing question and will address key features of fascism as well as their current transformations and possibilities for resistance against them.

This course provides a deep and broad overview over the current state of democracies and autocracies as globally competing regime forms. It helps to understand core characteristics of both regime types and guides through current debates about the impact of the competition between both regime forms for the global order, for various policy fields and especially peace and security.

This course guides through the relevance and role of democracy as a global norm in various international organisations. It provides an overview over the empiric situation and guides through main concepts and conceptual debates of the contestation of democracy in international organisations in various world regions

Den Ausgangspunkt dieser Vorlesung bildet der Konflikt als kulturelle Keimzelle sozialer Orientierungsprozesse und seine intensive Verflechtung mit dem Medialen. Konflikte sind nicht naturgegeben, sondern sie gewinnen ihre soziale Gestalt dadurch, dass sie als Konflikt erfahren und kommuniziert werden. Will man mehr über die Kulturen des Konflikts der Gegenwartsgesellschaften erfahren, dann gilt es, sich den kommunikativen Praktiken zuzuwenden, die diese hervorbringen. In den digitalisierten Mediengesellschaften der Gegenwart bedeutet das, dass Form und Wirksamkeit von Konflikten aufs Engste mit ihrer medialen Kommunizierbarkeit gekoppelt sind. Dabei sind ‚die‘ Medien kein Zaungast sozialer Konflikte, über die sie lediglich berichten würden. Im Gegenteil, sie sind auf unterschiedliche Arten und Weisen konstitutiver Bestandteil der sozialen Konstruktionsprozesse von Konflikten. Ob in den Fernsehnachrichten, auf TikTok, auf Telegram oder im Kino, die mediale Kommunikation von Konflikten trägt zur Ausdifferenzierung des gesellschaftlichen Wissensvorrats von eben diesen wesentlich bei.
Zum Aufbau: Die Vorlesung wird einen Überblick zur theoretischen und empirischen Erforschung kultureller Konflikte aus mediensoziologischer Perspektive geben. Zu diesem Zweck gliedert sie sich in drei Blöcke: In Block I werden zentrale Grundbegriffe aus der Mediensoziologie (u. a. Kommunikation, Öffentlichkeit, Konstruktivismen, Rezeption) geklärt. Dabei werden insbesondere die Bezüge und das Wechselspiel zwischen Medien und Konflikt herausgestellt. In Block II werden konkrete empirische Forschungsfelder der Mediensoziologie entlang der drei ausgewählten Konfliktformen ‚Krieg‘, ‚Gewalt‘ und ‚Krise der Information‘ vorgestellt. Diskutiert werden aktuelle Forschungsergebnisse u. a. zur Kriegsfotografie, zur mediatisierten Polizeigewalt, zu Trolling, Fake News, Hate Speech, Coded Bias und Diskriminierung in digitalen Spielen. Block III ist der Synthese gewidmet. Hier werden die Argumentationsschritte der Vorlesung rekapituliert und zusammengeführt und es wird ein Antworthorizont auf die Leitfragen erarbeitet.

Das Bildungssystem übernimmt unterschiedliche Rollen und Funktionen in den Bereichen der gesellschaftlichen Arbeitsteilung, Reproduktion und Transformation. Es ist etwa Bestandteil der sekundären Sozialisation und Persönlichkeitsentwicklung, es qualifiziert Individuen und trägt so zum Arbeitsmarkt bei und es ist mit deutlich über 2 Millionen Beschäftigten selbst ein wichtiger Bestandteil des Erwerbssektors. Auch Wissensproduktion und demokratische Partizipationsmöglichkeiten hängen grundlegend an der Arbeit in Kindertagesstätten, Schulen, Hochschulen und den Feldern der Erwachsenen- und Weiterbildung ab. Aus soziologischer Sicht sind damit auch Fragen von Macht und Teilhabe, Status und Anerkennung sowie Identität und Gruppenbildung verbunden. Hier setzt das Seminar an, indem es diese soziologischen Theorie- und Forschungsfelder in den Blick nimmt. Auf Grundlage unterschiedlicher sozialwissenschaftlicher Studien über Schule und Hochschule wollen wir uns ein sozialwissenschaftliches Verständnis von den diversen Konflikten, Strukturen und Praktiken erarbeiten, die Status, Anerkennung und Identität verleihen und verteilen.

Hochschulen nehmen im Kontext der globalen Nachhaltigkeitstransformation eine Schlüsselrolle ein. Als Orte der Wissensproduktion, Sozialisation und politischen Aushandlung tragen sie zur Umsetzung der Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) der globalen Agenda 2030 für nachhaltige Entwicklung bei. Über ihre Funktionen in Forschung, Lehre und Betrieb hinaus agieren Hochschulen zunehmend als normfördernde Akteure, die gesellschaftliche Leitbilder nachhaltiger Entwicklung mitgestalten und institutionell verankern. Die Veranstaltung untersucht die Rolle von Hochschulen in der Governance globaler Nachhaltigkeitsprozesse aus sozialwissenschaftlicher Perspektive und adressiert sie als politische und normfördernde Akteure. Im Mittelpunkt stehen theoretische, konzeptionelle und empirische Zugänge zu der Frage, unter welchen Bedingungen sich globale Nachhaltigkeitsnormen in und durch Hochschulen in die Praxis übersetzen. Die Veranstaltung besteht aus acht wöchentlichen Sitzungen sowie einer verpflichtenden eintägigen Blocksitzung am Samstag, den 6. Februar 2027.

Fascism is often seen as a specter of the past—a closed chapter of the 20th century. Yet authoritarian movements are gaining influence worldwide, democratic institutions are coming under pressure, political violence is once again being spoken of openly, and exclusion is becoming normalized. But is this already fascism? Or are we witnessing new forms of authoritarian rule that differ from their historical counterparts? The seminar explores this pressing question and will address key features of fascism as well as their current transformations and possibilities for resistance against them.

Das Bildungssystem übernimmt unterschiedliche Rollen und Funktionen in den Bereichen der gesellschaftlichen Arbeitsteilung, Reproduktion und Transformation. Es ist etwa Bestandteil der sekundären Sozialisation und Persönlichkeitsentwicklung, es qualifiziert Individuen und trägt so zum Arbeitsmarkt bei und es ist mit deutlich über 2 Millionen Beschäftigten selbst ein wichtiger Bestandteil des Erwerbssektors. Auch Wissensproduktion und demokratische Partizipationsmöglichkeiten hängen grundlegend an der Arbeit in Kindertagesstätten, Schulen, Hochschulen und den Feldern der Erwachsenen- und Weiterbildung ab. Aus soziologischer Sicht sind damit auch Fragen von Macht und Teilhabe, Status und Anerkennung sowie Identität und Gruppenbildung verbunden. Hier setzt das Seminar an, indem es diese soziologischen Theorie- und Forschungsfelder in den Blick nimmt. Auf Grundlage unterschiedlicher sozialwissenschaftlicher Studien über Schule und Hochschule wollen wir uns ein sozialwissenschaftliches Verständnis von den diversen Konflikten, Strukturen und Praktiken erarbeiten, die Status, Anerkennung und Identität verleihen und verteilen.

Hochschulen nehmen im Kontext der globalen Nachhaltigkeitstransformation eine Schlüsselrolle ein. Als Orte der Wissensproduktion, Sozialisation und politischen Aushandlung tragen sie zur Umsetzung der Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) der globalen Agenda 2030 für nachhaltige Entwicklung bei. Über ihre Funktionen in Forschung, Lehre und Betrieb hinaus agieren Hochschulen zunehmend als normfördernde Akteure, die gesellschaftliche Leitbilder nachhaltiger Entwicklung mitgestalten und institutionell verankern. Die Veranstaltung untersucht die Rolle von Hochschulen in der Governance globaler Nachhaltigkeitsprozesse aus sozialwissenschaftlicher Perspektive und adressiert sie als politische und normfördernde Akteure. Im Mittelpunkt stehen theoretische, konzeptionelle und empirische Zugänge zu der Frage, unter welchen Bedingungen sich globale Nachhaltigkeitsnormen in und durch Hochschulen in die Praxis übersetzen. Die Veranstaltung besteht aus acht wöchentlichen Sitzungen sowie einer verpflichtenden eintägigen Blocksitzung am Samstag, den 6. Februar 2027.

Fascism is often seen as a specter of the past—a closed chapter of the 20th century. Yet authoritarian movements are gaining influence worldwide, democratic institutions are coming under pressure, political violence is once again being spoken of openly, and exclusion is becoming normalized. But is this already fascism? Or are we witnessing new forms of authoritarian rule that differ from their historical counterparts? The seminar explores this pressing question and will address key features of fascism as well as their current transformations and possibilities for resistance against them.

Sustainable development has become a fundamental principle in social and human development as it emphasizes the needs for economic development and progress while safeguarding environmental quality. This module builds on this guiding principle, examining diverse sustainability and development practices across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, along with their unintended consequences. Throughout the module, students will engage with interdisciplinary approaches to identify and address global challenges in sustainable development in Africa, including poverty, population dynamics, healthcare, conservation, climate change, gender disparities, inequality and human rights. Throughout this process, students will develop the ability and capacity to work across multiple fields, particularly in the management of integrated development interventions and implementation of appropriate policies that support sustainability and sustainable development. While broad in scope, the module focuses on key development practices such as sustainable agriculture, water and waste management, education and human capital, the place and role of indigenous knowledge systems, and climate resilience.

Sustainable development has become a fundamental principle in social and human development as it emphasizes the needs for economic development and progress while safeguarding environmental quality. This module builds on this guiding principle, examining diverse sustainability and development practices across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, along with their unintended consequences. Throughout the module, students will engage with interdisciplinary approaches to identify and address global challenges in sustainable development in Africa, including poverty, population dynamics, healthcare, conservation, climate change, gender disparities, inequality and human rights. Throughout this process, students will develop the ability and capacity to work across multiple fields, particularly in the management of integrated development interventions and implementation of appropriate policies that support sustainability and sustainable development. While broad in scope, the module focuses on key development practices such as sustainable agriculture, water and waste management, education and human capital, the place and role of indigenous knowledge systems, and climate resilience.