Upcoming Events
No search results
Past events
-
Interdisciplinary Summer School: Crisis Analysis
What We Can Learn from the Classical Theories of Durkheim and Bourdieu Current crises affect nearly all aspects of human existence and all spheres of late modernity. Climate change, war, the rise of authoritarian illiberal democracies, economic crises, the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Brexit are just a few examples of these societal challenges. The Émile Durkheim Research Unit: Crisis Analyses is dedicated to addressing these issues of the post-global era and focuses on the comparative-historical analysis of meta-crises. The Émile Durkheim Research Unit invites applications for its upcoming interdisciplinary Summer School. This program aims to introduce students and early-career researchers to the scientific framework of crisis analysis, linking their personal experiences of crisis definition, perception, and resilience strategies to key theoretical perspectives. Kindly include a short motivation letter and a brief CV ( ~150 words ), no longer than one page.© Mauss, Durkheim, Bordieu au croisement des champs 2025 -
Mission Future: Space and Crisis Research
As part of the MINT for Future holiday programme run by the Sparkasse KölnBonn Foundation, young people aged 14 and above (from Year 8 onwards) gain exciting insights into current fields of research. Under the umbrella of the Emile Durkheim Research Centre: Crisis Analysis, which deals intensively with the transfer of science into society, we discuss with experts in space research how crisis analysis and space travel are connected and what visions of the future can emerge from this. The focus is on the key questions: How do we get out of the crisis? Can space become our home? Is there a Planet B? Who is responsible for the Earth? Participants develop their own messages for the future – these are recorded together and pressed onto a vinyl record as individual ‘impulses for the future’. The contributions are added to the Archive of Future Euphoria and tie in with the project ‘Be a voice, not an echo!’ Anmeldung: veranstaltungen@stiftung-wissen-koelnbonn.de oder 0221 169129-75© Stiftung Wissen der Sparkasse KölnBonn -
Future Euphoria – The Thrill of What’s to Come
Are we living in hopeless times, or is there still reason for optimism despite crises, conflicts, and widespread exhaustion? Public sociologist, transition researcher and writer Stefan Selke explores how we might stop perceiving the future as a threat and start seeing it as an opportunity. He argues that today’s upheavals open spaces for fresh perspectives and that crises can spark creative rethinking. Drawing on research findings and examples from future-oriented projects, Selke illustrates how paralyzing resignation can be transformed into a spirit of positive renewal. “Future euphoria” is more than mere optimism: it is a social fuel that generates motivation, imagination, and a collective sense of belonging. In this view, the future becomes a vital resource—something we can practice, share, and actively shape together.© Stefan Selke -
The Law on the Twist - or in Crisis?
In her lecture, Diana Villegas will explore the so-called "new legal turns"—textual, visual, spatial, acoustic, and artistic—that propose a sensorial and emotional approach to law that moves beyond its normative core. Rooted in the Law-as-Culture Paradigm, they foreground symbolic and aesthetic dimensions, opening law to new forms of knowledge and practice. In the face of current crises—social, ecological, institutional—these perspectives reveal how law can not only reflect but also reshape collective perceptions and responses. This contribution identifies three key moments—oscillation, rupture, and resonance—through which the law’s non-normative dimensions become visible and potentially transformative in times of crisis.© Privat -
Research Symposium: War as a Crisis of Society?
Eighty years after the end of World War II, new wars—such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or the destruction of Gaza—demand a renewed engagement with the phenomenon of war. This conference explores how war acts as a crisis of society. Beyond technological aspects like cyberwarfare or drones, it highlights symbolic representations in art, literature, and film. How does war affect social differentiation, collective experience, trauma, and sites of memory? How does it reshape normative orders such as international law? And what role does the culture of war play in how societies process violence? The symposium brings together perspectives from history, sociology, law, and cultural studies to grasp war as a complex crisis.© Privat -
Opening Symposium
Welcome to the inaugural symposium of the Émile Durkheim Research Unit at the University of Bonn! This event marks the beginning of a new era of research committed to the principles of internationality, interdisciplinarity and the Fellow Principle. Our aim is to ask new questions and develop solutions in a learning community. The research center is dedicated to the challenges of the 21st century, which manifest themselves in various spheres of crisis, such as climate change, wars, democratic crises, global inequality, digitalization and artificial intelligence. The aim is to bridge the scientific cultures between the humanities, cultural studies and natural sciences and bring them into a fruitful dialog.© Gephart, Rumbrecht -
Discourses of Justice. Indicators of Crises?
Join us for a two-day interdisciplinary workshop exploring how 21st-century crises have shaped a pervasive "crisis of justice," impacting all aspects of society. Across the globe, feelings of resentment, resistance, and anger over living conditions are increasingly framed as issues of injustice. This workshop examines these dynamics through diverse perspectives—philosophical, sociological, and economic—alongside justice debates in politics, gender, climate change, and historical memory. We also delve into the classic tension between legal formalism and substantive justice. Email Thorsten Gerwin (tgerwin@uni-bonn.de) until 03.01.2025 with 2-3 sentences about your background and why you’d like to join. Limited slots available© Privat -
Democracy in America? Re-Reading Alexis de Tocqueville
After Vice President J.D. Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference and President Trump’s endorsement, key questions arise: How can the supposed erosion of free speech in Europe be seen as a greater threat than Russia’s military aggression? How does the same political camp that pardons Capitol riot perpetrators justify placing the president above the law while intervening in the judiciary? In Old Europe, such actions resemble absolutist rule. How does this align with Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, which explores democracy’s sociological foundations? A re-reading of this classic may help clarify today’s contradictions, which challenge transatlantic relations and reflect a broader crisis of democracy. To explore these pressing issues, we invite you to a panel discussion with renowned international experts. We look forward to welcoming you.© Privat -
Working Group "Crisis Analysis"
The Emile Durkheim Research Unit cordially invites you to the sixth meeting of the Working Group on Crisis Analyses. The aim of the working group is to further develop a learning community focused on crisis analyses, bringing together perspectives from various disciplines and world regions. These perspectives are particularly relevant in post-global times for understanding, observing, and analyzing crisis phenomena. While the meeting is intended as an internal session, interested members of the University of Bonn are warmly invited to attend. If you are interested, please send an email to: edf-info@uni-bonn.de© Privat