Friday 2 December 2016

Central German Universities are launching a joint research Forum

The Universities of Leipzig, Halle-Wittenberg, Jena and Erfurt set up a joint research forum in the humanities and social sciences on 1 December 2016. The forum, entitled "Forum for the Study of
the Global Condition", brings together scholars from numerous disciplines, studying the global entanglement of contemporary societies and their historical roots. In addition to the four universities, involved are the Leibniz Institute for Leipzig, the Max Planck Institute for Ethnology, the Simon Dubnow Institute for Jewish History and Culture Leipzig, and the Center for the History and
Culture of Eastern Central Europe at the University of Leipzig (which will become part of the Leibniz Gesellschaft on 1 January 2017).

The initiative is based on the idea that the Central German Universities, together with the institutes of the Max Planck Society and the Leibniz Gesellschaft, have an excellent expertise in the analysis of global processes, with their professionalism and experience in collaborative research. Existing
collaborative and individual projects are to be linked with each other and supplemented by appropriate forms of doctoral qualification and research-oriented teaching.

In terms of content, it is about the paradox that more and more people are involved in and affected by global interdependencies, but that they are skeptical about a globalized future for various reasons. The Forum does not study "globalization", but explores how different actors deal with transnational migration, exchange of goods, financial flows and the transfer of ideas, and thus create "the global" at all.

"Through an interdisciplinary combination of our competencies in the new Forum, we will be able to form a competitive center, whose research is attracting international attention and is thus highly attractive to excellent young scholars and master students," says Prof. Dr. Beate Schücking,
Rector of the University of Leipzig. "In Central Germany, we are constantly showing how good inter-institutional cooperation can be achieved. The institutionalised cooperation between Halle, Jena and Leipzig has now been in existence for more than 20 years, special research areas such as those of the
nomadic societies have made the best use of this foundation and the relatively young German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research is developing into an internationally visible lighthouse. The study of global processes is now building on this."

More important collaborative projects have been approved in the recent past, such as the Leibniz Science Campaign "Eastern Europe - Global Area" between Leipzig, Halle and Jena, and the special research area "Spatialization Processes under Globalization Conditions" (University of Leipzig, Leibniz Institute for Ethnology, History and Culture of East Central Europe). The new research Forum also links thematically to topics and projects of the "International Year of Global Understanding", which has its origin at the University of Jena and focuses on questions of sustainability and the understanding of global contexts.

"The research Forum will be an expression of cooperation between university and non-university research centers in Central Germany," emphasized Prof. Dr. Walter Rosenthal, President of the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena (FSU). Bringing together excellent human and social sciences expertise is an important step "to promote interdisciplinary research in these fields", so Rosenthal.

In terms of content, the University of Jena inter alia focuses on literature, history, and sociology. The existing research and graduate colleges as well as the collegiate research groups represent an excellent starting point for the successful cooperation. The President of the FSU also emphasizes that the promotion of young scholars is a particular concern of the new Forum. Thus, by means of a joint program of excellence, the proportion of international graduate students in Central Germany would be significantly increased.

"Halle contributes its expertise primarily to questions of law and the possible implementation of national legal systems in the context of international norms," ​​says Prof. Dr. Udo Sträter, Rector
of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. The University of Halle and Jena, among others, are part of the University's interdisciplinary research center "Society and Culture in Motion" as well as the Aleksander Brückner Center for Polish Studies. Another important partner is the Max Planck
Institute for Anthropological Research in Halle.

At the University of Erfurt, the sociological and historical research at the Max Weber Center for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies concentrates on the changing world-relations of individuals and entire societies, which are increasingly challenging in the face of growing uncertainty about the result of the many overlapping global interdependencies. Professor Walter Bauer-Wabnegg, President of the University of Erfurt, said: "The comparative analysis of world relations in the field of culture, in particular, also includes historical aspects well before the 19th century and our time."

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