Summaries of Research Projects and Events
Political Consultation on Global Change The German Advisory Council on Global Environmental Change (WBGU) was set up by the Federal Government in 1992 as an independent scholarly advisory body. Its nine members are nominated by two ministers (those responsible for education and research on the one hand and for the environment, natural conservation and nuclear safety on the other) and then appointed by the Cabinet for four years. Claus Leggewie has been a member of WBGU since 2008; Bernd Sommer is a research associate and consultant. See p. 98
Wissenschaftsforum Ruhr e.V. FUNDED BY the Mercator Foundation
The Wissenschaftsforum Ruhr (Ruhr Science Forum) is a network of currently 45 representatives of all disciplines. It promotes cooperation, particularly among non-university research institutions in the region, and represents them in the outside world. The Wissenschaftsforum Ruhr maintains close contact with universities and partners in the spheres of education, culture, media, the economy and politics. KWI is a founder member of the forum, which was launched and developed at the Institute. See p. 99
The German Sociological Association (DGS) The German Sociological Association has been based at KWI in Essen since 2006. The main aims of this non-profit organisation are to promote scholarly communication among its members and to assist the spread and depth of sociological knowledge. The association hosts the DGS Congress every two years. See p. 99
Käte Hamburger Collegium for Political Cultures of World Society ORGANISAT ION Tobias Debiel (Institute for Develop-
ment and Peace), Claus Leggewie (KWI), Dirk Messner (German Development Institute) | FUNDED BY the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research For an initial period of six years this collegium will investigate cultural premises and dynamics of the emerging structures of governance and order in world
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society. By considering representative problem areas, it will investigate opportunities for and barriers to global cooperation. In the face of increasing global interdependence and the rise of new regional and world powers, the collegium will challenge Western ideas and concepts of modernity. See p. 100
Interdisciplinary Summer Academy Prometheus 2010: “Wo kommen unsere Energien her?” ORGANISAT ION Claus Leggewie (KWI), Ursula
Renner-Henke (University of Duisburg-Essen), Peter Risthaus (Ruhr-Universität Bochum) | Funded by RWE AG
The goal of this summer academy was to investigate the relationship between humans and their energy sources and to identify alternatives for the future. The participating scholars and experts approached this relationship from a range of viewpoints – historical, theoretical, philosophical – and from the angle of the technical and natural sciences. The event included five master classes, public lectures, readings and discussions, as well as a series of documentary films and a singing lesson. See p. 101
Series of Events KWI organises and supports a number of symposia and workshops aimed at a scholarly audience of experts. It also provides the general public with material and information for discussions on its fields of research and arranges lectures, panel discussions and book presentations, frequently in conjunction with partner organisations from the cultural and media worlds. | Lesart Spezial: Conversations on recently published non-fictional works on current affairs | Interdisziplinäre Gewaltforschung: Lecture series on the complex phenomenon of violence | Europäische Horizonte: Initiative aimed at intensifying public debates on society, religion, politics | CineScience: Discussions of social phenomena using films from various genres as case studies | Der Literarische Salon: Authors read from their own works, and those they find moving | KWI mit Gästen: Dialogues on controversial and contemporary issues See p. 103
FURTHER PROJECTS See p. 104
Self-Image in a World of Images: the Sociology of the Individual and His/Her Figuration in Observational and Self-Worth Systems of Visual Media PRINCIPAL INVEST IGATOR S Jun.-Prof. Dr Michael R. Müller, Prof. em. Dr Hans-Georg Soeffner | FUNDED BY the German Research Foundation (DFG)
As the Frenchman and committed European Jacques Delors once declared, “We must give Europe a soul.” In the midst of the current financial and economic crisis, his dictum seems to have lost none of its urgency. But what is holding Europe together? Claus Leggewie and Anne Lang believe that Europe can develop a strong political identity, and thus retain its capacity for both internal and external action, only if memories laden with conflict are acknowledged and publicly debated by all parties. See p. 107
Even towards the end of the twentieth century, boulevards, street cafés and other public places were still the main locations for people to express themselves and observe each other, while these processes of self-expression and exchanges now increasingly take place in technological social environments too – in a cluster of complementary media. This research project analyses these forms of thematising the self, which are new to society and influenced by visual and media developments. See p. 105
Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit (Encyclopaedia of the Modern Age) EDIT ED BY Friedrich Jaeger, PUBLISHED BY J.B. Metzler, Stuttgart The first volumes of this lexical reference work on European history and its global contexts between 1450 and 1850 were published in 2005; it will eventually comprise a total of sixteen volumes containing approximately 4,000 entries in alphabetical order. Around one hundred internationally renowned scholars have been involved as editors, and more than 1,500 authors have contributed articles. The sheer scale of this project makes it one of the most substantial publications ever by historians in Germany. Volumes 11 and 12 were published in 2010, Volumes 13 and 14 in 2011. See p. 106
Der Kampf um die europäische Erinnerung. Ein Schlachtfeld wird besichtigt (The Struggle for Human Memory: A View of the Battlefield) EDIT ED BY Claus Leggewie (with Anne Lang), PUBLISHED BY C.B. Beck, Munich 2011
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