Lecture Series
Starting in the winter term 2012/13, Euroculture Göttingen has organized interdisciplinary lecture series. All of the speeches were public lectures. The series was meant to invite colleagues from participating disciplines in Göttingen as well as from other institutions to share their perspectives on a given topic. Proceedings from the series "Imagining Europe" were published with Göttingen University Press (see "Publications"). Up to 2017, the Lecture Series was organized in cooperation with the Master Programme "Intercultural Theology". The series 2019/20 was held jointly with the Erasmus Mundus MA "Global Markets, Local Initiatives" (GLOCAL).
European Identity in the Wider World - WS 2012/13
During the lecture series, the Erasmus Mundus MA Euroculture asked how Europe is seen from both the inside and from other parts of the world. Political Scientists, scholars from Literary Studies, Theology and History presented their perspectives on Europe from India, UK, New Zealand, Spain, the United States and Germany. The former foreign minister Markus Meckel and the former Bishop for Ecumenical Relations of the Evangelical Church in Germany, Rolf Koppe, shared their insights on negotiating European identity in the Wider World.
The public lecture series was organized by Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Martin Tamcke and were held every week in autumn and winter 2012.
- Prof. Dr. George Zachariah Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute, Chennai, India The Ecological Crisis: Eurocentric Morals and Subaltern Alternatives 25.10.2012
- Dr. Sabine Selchow London School of Economics, UK / LMU Munich Security and the "New World" in Europe 01.11.2012
- Prof. Dr. Barbara Schaff Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Gender Identities in Europe: A Clash of Cultures?
- 08.11.2012
- Dr. Lars Klein Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Belonging without Believing? Reflections on European Identity 15.11.2012
- Prof. Dr. Natalia Chaban University of Canterbury, New Zealand Communicating Europe in the Times of Crisis: EU Images and Perceptions from Asia-Pacific 22.11.2012
- Prof. Dr. Monika Oberle Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Learning EU at School: An Emperical Look at Pupils‘ Knowledge and Attitudes Regarding the European Union 29.12.2012
- Markus Meckel Former Member of Federal Parliament, Berlin Challenges for the European Union and Transatlantic Relations: An Issue for Germany 06.12.2012
- Dr. Asier Altuna-García de Salazar Universidad de Deusto, Bilbao, Spain The Pillars of Identity: Representations in Irish Writing 07.12.2012
- Prof. Dr. Elizabeth M. Goering / Dr. Andrea Krause Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, USA / Universität Paderborn, Germany Forever Old? Cultural Mis/Perceptions of Europe in American Film 13.12.2012
- Dr. Rolf Koppe Göttingen A Soul for Europe: The Contribution of Churches and Religions for a More Just, Participatory and Sustainable Europe 20.12.2012
- Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Martin Tamcke Georg-August-Universität Göttingen European and Arab, Christian and Oriental: Mono-, Bi- or Multipolar Existence in Europe 10.01.2013
You can download the poster here.
During the financial crisis that has been going on since 2008, the role of the European Union has been under much discussion. The economic usefulness of the Euro has been debated just as the political implications of European unification. Most often, the current state of Europeanization has been presented as being without alternatives. For this lecture series, we invited scholars from various disciplines to elaborate on ways of imagining Europe that goes beyond the rather limited view of EU institutions that has been presented by politicians. How was, how is Europe imagined? Which memories are evoked, which visions explicated? Which counter-narratives to prominent discourses are there? How is the role of the university envisioned? The lecture series was dedicated to these and other questions and features speakers from Sociology, Political Science, English as well as French Literature, History and Theology.
The public lecture series was organized by Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Martin Tamcke and Dr. Lars Klein.
Following lectures took place in the winter term 2013/14:
- Dr. Sabine Selchow London School of Economics, UK / LMU Munich Beyond Globalisation and Transnationalisation. Thinking about Europe in Times of Cosmopolitization 31.10.2013
- PD Dr. Peter W. Schulze Georg-August-Universität Göttingen German-Russian Relations as a Decisive Factor of the EU's Eastern Policy. Unforeseen Consequences of Shifts of Paradigm 21.11.2013
- PD Dr. Claudia Jünke Universität Bonn Entangled Pasts. Remembering War and Violence in Contemporary French Fiction 22.11.2013
- Dr. Lars Klein Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Sketching a Cosmopolitan Europe 28.11.2013
- Dr. Asier Altuna-García de Salazar Universidad de Deusto, Bilbao, Spain Imagining a Transcultural Europe. Irish Counter-Narratives 05.12.2013
- Christina Norwig Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Re-inventing Europe. Visions and Experiences of Europe in the European Youth Campaign 1951-1958 12.12.2012
- Dr. Esther von Richthofen Georg-August-Universität Göttingen The European Higher Education Area and the Internationalization of the University of Göttingen 19.12.2013
- Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Martin Tamcke Georg-August-Universität Göttingen The Eurpeans in us. The use of "Europe" by Orhan Pamuk 16.01.2014
You can download the poster
The lecture series was held in the winter term 2014/15 and convened by Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Martin Tamcke and Dr. Lars Klein. It was held jointly with the MA Intercultural Theology.
- Dr. Alexander Kamkin Russian Academy of Science Intellectual turnover. Reception of German romantic ideas by Russian slavophiles. Example of intercultural dialog 23.10.2014
- Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Martin Tamcke Georg-August-Universität Göttingen West - East identity: the example of Henry von Heiseier 30.10.2014
- Svetlana Fakhrazeeva Perm State University Russian Orthodox Church in Contemporary Russia 06.11.2014
- Prof. Dr. Bassam Tibi Georg-August-Universität Göttingen The Return of the Sacred to the Public Square: Muslim Migration to Europe 20.11.2014
- Dr. Vladimir Svetkovic Nis/Belgrad/Göttingen Serbian Church and Europe on the Threshold of the Third Millennium? 04.12.2014
- Dr. Fritz Erich Anhelm Evangelische Akademie Loccum Minority Religion and Identity Politics - Muslims in Germany and Christians in Egypt and their strategies for political acceptance 15.01.2015
This seminar is meant for students to discuss questions of inclusion/exclusion in Europe with a special focus on the role of religion. As a case study, the debate on the so-called “refugee-crisis” will be analysed throughout the seminar, because it is here, that the terms and conditions of integration and participation are being discussed and ideas of Europeanness are formulated.
In order to allow for a multi-faceted debate, the class includes lectures and discussions with guest from different (academic) fields. The block seminar on “intercultural hermeneutics” will introduce theoretical approaches to interaction between people.
The lecture series was held in the winter term 2015/16 and convened by Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Martin Tamcke and Dr. Lars Klein.
- Prof. Dr. Larisa Deriglazova Tomsk What does it mean to be a Russian? 04.11.2015
- Dr. Benjamin Martin Uppsala Universitet A Historical Perspective on Muslims, Migrations, and European Identities 11.11.2015
- Dr. Sabine Selchow London School of Economics, UK / LMU Munich The Refugee Crisis and the Dialects of a Cosmopolitised Europe: Understanding Inclusion and Exclusion in Germany 12.11.2015
- PD Dr. Claudia Jünke Universität Bonn Constructing Europe, Reconstructing the Past. Cultural Memory and Traumatic History in Contemporary Literature 13.11.2015
- Dr. Lars Klein Georg-August-Universität Göttingen New Forms of Participation? Sketching a "Citizenship in Europe" 04.12.2015
- Dr. Kamal Sido GfbV – Society for Threatened Peoples, Göttingen Discussing the "refugee crisis" 04.12.2015
The diagnosis that Europe – and/or the European Union – is in crisis is not new. The debate has deep historical roots, as the idea of “Europe”, and the notion of an ever-expanding and ever-deepening political union have been called into question for decades. However, current trends make the diagnosis even more pertinent. Recent economic and financial crises have shown that Europe is socially and economically extremely disparate. Politically, the legitimacy of the whole European Union as a project is challenged by the Brexit and, again, the rise of nationalism and populism. Culturally, the question in how far ideas of a “European identity” provides for an umbrella in the search for Europeanization processes has long been contentious. With the rise of nationalism and the so-called “Migration crisis”, this question is in the spotlight of cultural and political discourse. The lecture series tries to generate a multi-faceted debate among different academic disciplines, discussing different symptoms of Europe in crisis – among them identity and culture, social cohesion, and political legitimacy. It is meant to give insights into how a “Europe in crisis” is discussed in the different disciplines and which ideas for problem solving are seen. Hopefully, the lecture series will also spark some ideas on how to re-invigorate Europe as an idea and as a political project.
Following lectures took place during autumn and winter 2017/2018:
- Dr. Dimitri Almeida Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Euroscepticism in Crisis? The Populist Radical Right and the EU 24.10.2017
- Julian Plottka Institute for European Politics (IEP), Berlin The Commission's White Book Process: Making Europe Crisis Proof? 07.11.2017
- Prof. Dr. Simon Fink Georg-August-Universität Göttingen When Do Crises of the EU Spur Reforms? 14.11.2017
- Lavinia Marin / Benedikte Custers University of Leuven / University of Porto Higher Education in European Discourse. A Conversation That Never Took Place 21.11.2017
- Dr. H. Pinar Senoguz Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Hospitality Discourse and Syrian Refugees in Turkey: Uniting or Dividing? 28.11.2017
- Dr. Flora Ferati-Sachsenmaier Georg-August-Universität Göttingen The Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue: A Litmus Test for the EU Diplomacy 05.12.2017
- Prof. Dr. Elizabeth Goering Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, USA De/Construction Zone Europe: American Media Representations of Europe in Crisis 12.12.2017
- Prof. Dr. h.c. mult. Martin Tamcke and students from Perm State University Georg-August-Universität Göttingen / Perm State University How Do We Want to Live? Russian Students Interpret Life after the Political Changes 1990/91 Through Literary Texts 19.12.2017
- Dr. Lars Klein Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Europe - Anatomy of a Crisis 09.01.2018
- Jesse van Amelsvoort Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Netherlands Contemporary Europe is Postcolonial: Transitions, Representations and Connections 16.01.2018
- Prof. Dr. Moritz Ege / Dr. Alexander Gallas Georg-August-Universität Göttingen / Universität Kassel What is 'Conjunctural Analysis' and What Are its Uses? Revisiting a Transdisciplinary Program in a New Time of Crisis 23.01.2018
Many current and historical debates in the social sciences and humanities focus on the question of regulation of human behavior. This ranges from small-scale social units such as families, villages or tribes to full-fledged industrial societies or even to the global level. Basically, there are two opposing camps in the diverse debates. One position holds that it is desirable and possible to develop societal aims, develop formal rules that help to steer groups towards these aims, devise institutions to monitor the implementation of these rules, and sanction noncompliance with these rules. The normative conclusion is that we can to some extent see government and governance as a feat of engineering, as a way of finding the right rules and incentives. The competing position holds that boundedly rational human decision makers cannot fully grasp the full consequences of their plans and rules. Moreover, informal rules and socially constructed notions of legitimacy are often more powerful than formal rules. Therefore, decision makers should refrain from overly ambitious projects and rather have an evolutionary approach to rules.
The lecture series will approach these debates from different disciplines, always trying to find answers to the question how we can (and should) govern human communities, and discuss empirical patterns of the ambitions (and shortcomings) of governance efforts.
The lecture series was held in the winter term 2018/19 and convened by Prof. Dr. Simon Fink and Dr. Lars Klein.
- Prof. Dr. Simon Fink Georg-August-Universität Göttingen How do we want to govern? 23.10.2018
- Dr. Levke Aduda Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Third-Party Conflict Management: Mediation in Intrastate Conflicts 30.10.2018
- PD Dr. Kirsten Sandrock Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Colonial Utopias/Dystopias 06.11.2018
- Prof. Dr. Tobias Lenz Georg-August-Universität Göttingen The design of international organizations. Why some international organizations are more authoritative than others 13.11.2018
- Dr. Julia Martinez-Arinio Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Netherlands Regulating religion from within? Participatory governance of religious diversity in European cities 20.11.2018
- Dr. Lars Klein Georg-August-Universität Göttingen "Impetous, adversarial, petty and ineffective". Fashioning the White House under Trump 27.11.2018
- Dr. Matthias Roick Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Between Ethics and Politics: Virtue, Self-Government and Governmental Power in Early Modern Europe 04.12.2018
- Vincent Lindner Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Take it or leave it! Social Concertation and Social Pacts in Europe during times of crises 11.12.2018
- Dr. Karthikeyan Damodaran University of Edinburgh, Scotland Caste, Class and Political Society in Southern India 18.12.2018
- Miriam Schafer Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Polic*e Work in Practice. Processes of Typification in the German Police 08.01.2019
- Dr. Christina Gabbert Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Land use governance in Ethiopia 15.01.2019
The public lecture series presents current research on Europe’s interrelationship with the global economy (past and present). Speakers from various disciplines provide a wide array of specialized topics to explore different facets of European engagement with economic globalization including: issues of trade and international investment, multinational companies and organizations, cross-cultural management and marketing, transfers of knowledge and know-how, questions of development and immigrant entrepreneurship, as well as finally issues of global migration and international labor markets. The lecture series addresses core questions of two Erasmus Mundus MA Programs in Göttingen about central issues for European politics and culture (Euroculture) and about regional perspectives on global markets (GLOCAL).
The lecture series was held in the winter term 2018/19 and convened by Prof. Dr. Simon Fink, PD Dr. Jan Logemann and Dr. Lars Klein.
- Prof. Dr. Simon Fink Euroculture, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen EU, ASEAN, Mercosur: Regional Integration in Global Perspective 29.10.2019
- PD Dr. Jan Logemann Economic History, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen European “Roots” of Consumer Capitalism? Emigres and Transatlantic Knowledge Transfers 05.11.2019
- Prof. Dr. Kilian Bizer Economics, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Different Modes of Innovation: Fostering Global Competitiveness through Innovation Policies in Germany 12.11.2019
- Prof. Dr. Fabian Froese Economics, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen European Expats in East Asia: Issues in Cross-Cultural management 19.11.2019
- Prof. Dr. Céline Teney Sociology, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Does the EU Economic Crisis Undermine Subjective Europeanisation? 26.11.2019
- Dr. Lucas Drouhot Sociology, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity Immigrant and Second Generation Entrepreneurs: Assimilation in the Knowledge Economy 03.12.2019
- Dr. Bruno Witzel Economics / Economic History, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Migration and Development: Knowledge Transfers between Europe and Brazil in the 19th Century 10.12.2019
- Prof. Dr. Krisztina Kis-Katos Economics, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Globalization and Social Change: Trade Liberalization and Gender Dynamics 17.12.2019
- Prof. Dr. Sascha Münnich Sociology, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Legitimacy of Financial Profits in a Global Perspective 07.01.2020
- Prof. Dr. Dominic Sachsenmaier History / CeMEAS, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen China and the World: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives 14.01.2020
- Prof. Dr. Udo Kreickemeier Economics, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Globalisation and Labour Market Polarisation 21.01.2020