Events
In the Anxiety Culture Project, networking within and between the stakeholder groups has high priority. The events serve this purpose. Take a look at the upcoming events. The archive also shows you what past events have dealt with.
Upcoming events
2023
Focus Talks... what is it?
As an initiative of the university Third Mission, the Focus Talks address both a professional audience and the broad interested public. They are intended to illustrate that good information and critical analysis are essential moments in the communication and discussion of socially relevant problems. The Focus Talks are not conceived as expert discussions in the ivory tower, but as forms of transparent, but also personal participation in both scientifically and socially important issues.
The Focus Talks are offered by experts from various subjects and disciplines in order to bring important fields of research of our time to a wider audience and to discuss them with them.
Focus Talk with Prof. Dr. Kailuweit (HHU)
Civil Society Reactions to Islamist Attacks in Western Europe: The Symbolic Shaping of Discourse Spaces between Mourning, Protest and Hatred
In Kiel on July 6, 2023 at 6 p.m. c.t.
Since the attack of 9/11, Islamist attacks have permanently changed Western democracies. After the end of the Cold War, a new geopolitical antagonism emerged, with Western leaders calling for a “war on terror.” Alongside military operations, there were security policy measures with far-reaching consequences for civil society. Their reactions are reflected above all in the so-called Grassroots Memorials and in the digital media. Grassroots memorials, where artifacts (texts, pictures, objects) are laid down, developed into a special form of expression of mourning and protest in the context of the attacks. New forms of mourning can also be found on the Internet, which were used to respond to the attacks. This talk addresses – mainly from a linguistic and media studies perspective – the discourses in which the reactions of European civil societies to the Islamist attacks in Western Europe (2004 to 2018) appear. We ask ourselves whether Western societies are proving resilient. Do they stand in solidarity with their values or do the perpetrators succeed in generating “terror” that leads to or reinforces Islamophobic and authoritarian attitudes, triggers social tensions, and damages the fundamental principles of liberal democracies, especially freedom of expression and freedom of religion?
...in der Seeburg...where is it?
Directions to the Seeburg:
Seeburg -Lighthouse of Science Düsternbrooker Weg 2
24105 Kiel
From the university to the Seeburg by public transport: From the Leibnizstraße stop take the 62 (direction Russen) OR 61 (direction Mettenhof) to the Schlossgarten stop.
Walk through the Schlossgarten in the direction of the Förde and Ostseekai Nord.
-> Entrance via Düsternbrooker Weg
Passed events
2022
Focus Talk... with Dr. Anik Nandi
8 June 2023
Policies and practices towards minority languages in India and beyond
Integration, linguistic continuity, or the anxiety of a cultural erasure?
India has a population of 130 billion who speak 780 languages (Devy, 2014). Many of those languages are endangered (Moseley, 2012). Language policy rhetoric in India although contests “one language – one nation” ideologies by conferring constitutional recognition to its regionally dominant languages, in practice, governmental policymakers have often been criticised for endorsing the interests of dominant social groups, marginalising minority languages and attempting to perpetuate systems of socio-lingual inequality through laissez- faire policies. Comparing and contrasting multiple case examples from similar policies around the world, this lecture attempts to understand the language-related anxiety issues with reference to ‘linguistic violence’. Linguistic violence has been defined as the “use of vulgar, humiliating, and discriminating words, phrases, and sentences to harm, attack, and label others, victims of which can be vulnerable groups in the society” (Wang 2018: 19). The intention is also to reveal the implementational spaces within these policies causing many minority-language-speaking children suffer from anxiety, alienation and challenges in establishing lasting acquaintances beyond their ethnic and linguistic group.
Week against prejudice at the CAU Kiel
17th – 21st April 2023
How do prejudices arise? What do they trigger in me? And how can we as a society deal with them? With the “Week against Prejudice”, the Anxiety Culture Project offered a platform in April 2023 to deal with these and related questions in an interactive and creative way. The connection to the research project is obvious – after all, prejudices are often driven by fears. With a diverse program at various locations on the campus of CAU Kiel, a broad audience could be addressed. The offerings ranged from student short films on the topic to a Gallery Walk as a kind of collection of ideas for participation to a series of impulses on the topic of “gender prejudice”. A highlight was certainly the participatory art installation “Prejudice Oracle” by the Swiss collective Permeable (represented by Sonja Koch) with its centerpiece, the “Prejudice Generator”. From the interaction with the audience, the generator picks up existing prejudices, but combines them in a new way, ultimately leading them ad absurdum. We are sure that the diverse impulses for reflection and the opportunities for exchange created will bear fruit – whether on a personal, university or even overall societal level. Overcoming fears removes the breeding ground for prejudices and at the same time paves the way towards confidence! So: Let’s go!WEEK AGAINST PREJUDICE AT THE CAU KIEL
The ACP Expert Talk
19 October 2022
Venue: Landesvertretung Schleswig-Holstein, Berlin
Organized by Dr. Markus Lemmens (Kiel University)
Anxiety Index 2025: Understanding citizens – protecting people
Identifying societal threats early and responding politically
In the expert talk, stakeholders reflect on the aspirations, means and possibilities of improved civil protection. The current federal government has been in office for one year. And the threat situation for the population has changed on several levels since then.
Both in Europe and worldwide, war, climate crises and conflicts show that the core topics of the transatlantic research project ACP around a social insecurity that can turn into fear phobias of citizens is highly relevant.
In the Expert Talk, the ACP – Anxiety Culture Project of the Universities of Kiel and Columbia New York – scientists, politicians, administrators, stakeholders and company representatives will come together in Berlin in October. The aim is to look for future instruments to identify feelings within societies early and simultaneously and then to be able to react to them socio-politically.
The question is: Does Germany need an Anxiety Index?
ACP Autumn Workshop
20 & 21 October 2022
Venue: Kiel University
Organized by Dr. Markus Lemmens (Kiel University)
Discussion Research Training Group
Topics – Third-party funding applications – Research strategy
The members of the Anxiety Culture Project at CAU – Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel – are now meeting again at the university after stops at CAU Kiel, Columbia University New York, CAU Kiel and Gut Siggen. In the regular meetings, the research priorities are discussed and applications for third-party funding are reflected. This year, the main focus is on a final consultation on the planned application for an ACP Research Training Group at the German Research Foundation. Interested MA and PhD students are cordially invited.
Interdisciplinary Lecture Series
Start: 27 October 2022
Organized by Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hoinkes, Prof. Dr. Christian Martin & Dr. Markus Lemmens (Kiel University)
Climate, Crises, Wars and Concepts
Scientific contributions to options and opportunities for the future
Cooperation of the Political and Social Sciences with the Anxiety Culture Project of the CAU – Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel in the winter semester 2022/23
The lecture series offers an opportunity to look into the laboratories of science. The insights generated there to better (1) classify the facts, (2) explain the connections and (3) describe possible options and opportunities to solve the challenges will be shared in the winter semester event series.
(programme to follow)
Science Talks / Colloquium in wintersemester 2021/2022
November 2021 – Feburary 2022, 18.00 s.t.
Venue: online via ZOOM
Organized by Dr. Max Doppelbauer (Kiel University)
Our Science Talks are intended to be a scientific exchange between academics, students and people interested in the ACP. We discuss different approaches to Anxiety Culture. We envisage rather relaxed discussion rounds, which should be introduced by one or two impulse statements. In the process, very different areas of expertise could also be presented or dealt with together in order to possibly make possible intersections visible.
Tuesday, 9/11/2021: Prof. Dr. Martina Winkler: Anxiety Cultures und Kindheitsforschung
Tuesday, 23/11/2021: Prof. Dr. Catherine Parayre: Der Letzte sein: eine Sprache stirbt
Tuesday, 7/12/2021: Prof. Dr. Stephanie Zehnle: Der Teufel in jedem Detail. Missionarische Mobilität und atlantisches Verschwörungsdenken im 19./20. Jahrhundert
Tuesday, 11/01/2022: Prof. Dr. phil. Timo Felber: Angstreflexionen in deutschsprachiger Literatur des Mittelalters. Kontexte – Ausprägungen – Funktionen
Tuesday, 25/01/2022: Prof. Dr. phil. Elke Krahmann: Anxiety und ontologische Sicherheit
Tuesday, 08/02/2022: Prof. Dr. phil. Caecilie Weissert: Isolierte Angst: Der Schrei in der Kunst der Frühen Neuzeit
2021
Science Talks in summersemester 2019
June 2021 – July 2021, 18.00 s.t.
Venue: online via ZOOM
Organized by Dr. Max Doppelbauer (Kiel University)
Tuesday, 08/06/2021: Gender-Fragen und Angstkultur
- Prof. Dr. Tina Spies (Gender & Diversity Studies, CAU Kiel)
- Dr. Catharina Peeck-Ho (Gender & Diversity Studies, Universität Oldenburg)
Tuesday, 15/06/2021: Brain Studies und Umweltethik in ihrer Perspektive auf Angstkultur
- Prof. Dr. Maren Urner (Cognitive Science & Neuroscience, Media Psychology, HMKW Cologne)
- Prof. Dr. Konrad Ott (Philosophy & Environmental Ethics, Kiel University)
Tuesday, 06/07/2021: Gemeinschaft und Individuum inmitten von Angstkulturen
- Prof. Dr. phil. Sonja Windmüller (European Ethnology / Ethnology, Kiel University)
2020
Theme Day "Alltagsrassismus"
September 29th, 2020
Venue: Kiel University, online via ZOOM
Organized by the Prof. Ulrich Hoinkes (Kiel University) Karen Struve (Bremen University), Lilit Karapetyan (Kiel University)
For many people, experiences of discrimination are part of everyday life; they are confronted with racism, but also sexism, homophobia and classism. However, social exclusion mechanisms cannot always be identified at first glance. The team around Professor Ulrich Hoinkes, Department of Romance Languages at CAU, and Dr. Karen Struve, University of Bremen, invited experts from research and politics, from the art world and the university environment to question discriminatory patterns of language and behavior in everyday life. In virtual workshops, discussions and lectures, they want to raise awareness for social grievances and explore possibilities for action. The theme day is sponsored by the project Successful Teaching and Learning (PerLe).
Click here to learn more about the event and to view the program.
2019
Night of the Profs: “Angst Macht Kultur”
November 15th, 2019
Venue: Kiel University
Organized by the Center on Humanities in Education, Prof. Ulrich Hoinkes (Kiel University)
Worry, panic, loss of control: fear has many faces, and it is fueled by crises of all kinds, artificial intelligence or climate change, by populist politics, technological progress or migration. Fear is a necessary component of the human being, which is dealt with differently in different times, cultures and societies. How it manifests itself, where and why it arises, but also how we and others deal with it, will be addressed at this year’s Night of the Profs at Kiel University. The motto is “Angst Macht Kultur”.
learn more
New York: Varieties of Anxiety – A Global Perspectives
December 10-11, 2019
Venue: New York University
Sponsored by the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, New York in collaboration with NYU’s Center for European and Mediterranean Studies
Visit the official website of the conference
Madrid: CESEurope – 26th International Conference of Europeanists
June 20-22, 2019
Venue: Madrid University
Visit the official website of the conference.
Working Conference of the Anxiety Culture Project
May 26th – 29th, 2019
Venue: Seminarzentrum Gut Siggen.
In collaboration with the Center on Humanities in Education,
organized by Prof. Ulrich Hoinkes (Kiel University)
2018
International Conference and Workshop of the Anxiety Culture Project’s Profile and Research Strategy
November 15th – 17th, 2018
Venue: Kiel University – Leibnizstraße 1, room 106b.
Organized by the Center on Humanities in Education, Prof. Ulrich Hoinkes (Kiel University)
In June 2015, a group of scholars from Columbia University were invited to Kiel to meet their German colleagues in a “come-into-touch” conference that would become the foundation stone of the Anxiety Culture Project.
Anxiety Culture Project Workshop
February 23rd, 2018
Interchurch Center, New York City
8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
With the aim of exploring specific research areas and opening up our project to broader perspectives, a research workshop took place in New York City. Collaborators from diverse fields and institutions came together to explore the common ground laid at the foundations of the Anxiety Culture Project.
Click here to read the profiles of all participants.
2017
International Conference: The perception of social threats and crisis in public life and education
Seminarzentrum Gut Siggen
July 16 – 18, 2017
Report on the International Conference “The Perception of Social Threats and Crisis in Public Life and Education”
From July 16th to July 18th, 2017, in the idyllic location of Gut Siggen, an international conference centered on “The Perception of Social Threats and Crisis in Public Life and Education” took place. Owned by the Alfred-Toepfer-Stiftung F.V.S., a non-profit organization with its seat in Hamburg and dedicated to many projects related to culture, education, and nature preservation, the Gut Siggen Seminar Center is located on the far eastern coastline of Schleswig-Holstein, close to the town of Oldenburg in Holstein, not far from Lübeck and Kiel.
2016
Round Table: The Discursive Reality of Social Threat Scenarios
Interdisciplinary Workshop at Kiel University
Monday, July 18th 2016, 4:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, July 19th 2016 9:00 – 12:00 p.m.
“The Discursive Reality of Social Threat Scenarios” is the title of an interdisciplinary roundtable to be held at Kiel University on July 18, 2016. It will bring together Prof. Dr. Stephan Habscheid and Dr. Jan Gerwinski, experts in Discourse Analysis from Siegen University, and a research team from Kiel University, who, under Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hoinkes’ leadership, have been organizing symposia, colloquiums, and special events on the topic of Social Threats and Public Education. The round table will summarize the activity of the research project to date and provide an open forum for the discussion of future perspectives and initiatives.
Educational Responsibility in Times of Social Crisis
Interdisciplinary Symposium at Kiel University during the Kieler Woche
Thursday, June
11.00 a.m. – 6.30 p.m.
Venue: Leibnizstraße 1, Room 104
There is a political maxim, variously attributed to Winston Churchill, Karl Marx, and current mayor of Chicago Rahm Emanuel: “Never let a serious crisis go to waste.” More and more contemporary discourse is framed in terms of threats and dangers and our responsibility to meet them. In this
Discourses, Social Practices and Education with Regard to Threats and Dangers in Public Life
Interdisciplinary Workshop at the Dr. Otto Bagge-Kolleg of Christian-Albrechts-University, Sehlendorf
February 19th / 20th 2016
A Response to Social Threats: Discourse Analysis and Educational Research
In these historic times for the global community, educators, researchers