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Semester Classes

Regular Semester Classes

The International Undergraduate Study Program (IUSP) takes courses from the university's regular course catalogue. Usually, classes take place two hours per week.
Important: Each class, whether held in English or German, is being supported by tutorials (obligatory!) in English with four hours per week, especially for IUSP students. In the tutorials, students are working up the contents of the lecture, not only of the first eight weeks the IUSP participants are staying, but also the contents of the second half of the German semester. In addition, the tutors work more deeply on the topic with the students and deepen their knowledge.

The IUSP students give presentations and write essays on the topics according to the respective class and tutorial. Generally, marks are given for oral work (presentations, performance in class etc.) and written work (reports, bibliographies, homework, essays etc.).

Class Choice: We are adding classes as they come in from the professors, and will start publishing classes from December on for the Spring semester, and from July on for the Fall semester.* As soon as the list will be complete, we will notify all students, and ask for their class choice in an email. We will ask for their final decision after their arrival in Marburg. Only students with the language level B1.1 and above can enroll for classes held in German.

Note on Class Attendance
Please bear in mind that attendance is required in order to receive credit for IUSP classes. Failure to attend classes can result in grade cuts and/or a grade not being issued to you if you do not attend classes regularly. IUSP students do not have the option of simply sitting for the exam at the end of the semester without having attended classes. Health issues and other serious reasons for missing lectures are, of course, another matter. Please keep your teacher and/or the IUSP staff informed if you are unable to attend lectures.

*Please note:
Generally speaking, class descriptions are posted online later than what many colleges and universities outside of Germany are accustomed to. The reason for this lies in the differing academic calendars. The classes for the spring semester in Marburg are published in January; classes for the fall semester in Marburg are published in July. We recommend looking at classes from the previous academic year to get a feel for what classes will be offered in the corresponding semester of the current academic year. In most subject areas, similar courses are offered on a rotating basis one time each academic year. We do not offer the same classes every year/semester. Introductory-level courses, however, are generally repeated. Browsing through past catalogues can be helpful in giving you an idea of what courses may be offered and what courses may be counted towards your degree.
The descriptions in the class list are taken from our university course catalogue. It can be accessed, if of interest, through the word "Vorlesungsverzeichnis" in the menu of "Direkt-links" in the upper right corner of this page. By choosing the respective semester the original description can be found.

Class List Spring 2019

Subject Area: American Studies 

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Carmen Birkle: A Cultural History of North America: Teaching Race, Class, Gender, and FoodProf. Dr. Carmen Birkle: A Cultural History of North America: Teaching Race, Class, Gender, and Food (held in English)

  lecture

  Tuesday 10am - 12pm 

  Content:

  This lecture class will trace some of the most important historical and cultural developments in North America. We will move from the earliest settlements and colonial period through the centuries and will look at the gradual establishment of the United States (because or in spite of critical issues that have accompanied the rise of this new nation). Based on relevant theories of and in American Studies, this journey through U.S. history will reveal the debates about race, class, gender as crucial and key to the formation of an imperial power. Phenomena such as slavery, Native dispossession, and immigration are just a few examples of our analysis of race and ethnicity. Republican Motherhood, the True and New Woman, Women’s Suffrage, the Women’s Rights and later the LGBTQ movements will help us understand questions of gender in the U.S. This class will also shed light on the myth of the absence of class in the U.S. and will discuss this key concern with the help of American photography and social history. By briefly looking at Food Studies and analyzing selected phenomena such as restaurants, the preparation and eating of food, and American and / or hybrid cuisine, we will see how food is part of, reflects, shapes, and gives access to the diversity of American culture. The final questions to be raised are those of how to teach race, class, gender, and how teachers teaching (in) America have been presented in selected media, above all film (e.g., Dangerous Mind [1995]; Dead Poets’ Society [1989]; Mona Lisa Smile [2003]; Freedom Writers [2007]). We will also discuss Amy Tan’s novel The Joy Luck Club (1989) in order to critically analyze the intersection of gender, race, and food.

   Required Reading:

  Deloria, Philip J., and Alexander I. Olson. American Studies: A User’s Guide. Oakland: U of California P, 2017.

  Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. 1989.

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Carmen Birkle: Teachers Teaching America (held in English)Prof. Dr. Carmen Birkle: Teachers Teaching America (held in English)

  seminar

  The IUSP has only 5 spots in this class!

  Tuesday 2pm - 4pm 

  Content:

  “Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think” (Albert Einstein).

   Teaching is more than just the mediation of knowledge. It is helping others understand the complexity of the world by tracing in exemplary fashion historical, socio-political, and cultural developments and their connection to contemporary phenomena. Teaching is also a didactic profession that tries to motivate students to actively shape their own learning process and is subject to changing ideas and theories about the best teaching methods. Forms and settings of teaching are myriad and range from homeschooling, self-learning, public and private schools, colleges and universities to continuing education and life-long learning, and probably more. Most recent methods include problem-based and research-based learning, and vital debates about teacher-centered, frontal teaching vs. the teacher as a coach as well as about teaching competences rather than facts have recently shaped the teaching profession. In this seminar, we will discuss some of these issues with reference to their representation in American literature and film. Apart from a variety of teaching methods, the selected examples will reveal the relevance of ethnicity, gender, and class and their intersectionality as these categories determine the interaction between teachers and those eager (or not so eager) to learn. Furthermore, they will show that teaching is never a one-way street but always entails mutual learning.

  The seminar will offer exemplary insight into education from early colonial times until today with a particular emphasis on gender (Judith Sargent Murray, Lillian Hellman, Mona Lisa Smile, David Mamet), class (Dead Poets Society [1989], Freedom Writers [2007]), ethnicity / race (Hidden Figures [2016], Dangerous Minds [1995], Emily Carr, “Ucluelet” [in Klee Wyck, 1941], John Milton Oskison, “A Schoolmaster’s Dissipation” [1897]). U.S. American and Canadian residential schools for the indigenous population will receive particular attention (Where the Spirit Lives, Zitkala-Ša) to understand how frequently misguided and destructive forced assimilation though education can be (as can also be seen in the missionary schools Emily Carr depicts in Canada).

   Required Reading:

   Mamet, David. Oleanna. 1992.

  Hellman, Lillian. The Children’s Hour. 1934

  Wilder, Laura Ingalls. These Happy Golden Years. 1943.

  Murray, Judith Sargent. “On the Equality of the Sexes.” 1791. (ILIAS)

   Car, Emily. “Ucluelet.” (in Klee Wyck). 1941. (ILIAS)

  Oskison, John Milton. “A Schoolmaster’s Dissipation.” 1897. (ILIAS)

  Zitkala-Ša. “Impressions of an Indian Childhood.” “The Schooldays of an Indian Girl.” “An Indian Teacher among Indians.” 1900. 1921. American Indian Stories. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 1985. (ILIAS)

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Carmen Birkle, Prof. Dr. Sabine Föllinger and Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Schulte: Individual Goals and the Common Good: Perspectives on Utility Concepts from Ancient Greek Literature, American Studies, and Economics (held in English)Prof. Dr. Carmen Birkle, Prof. Dr. Sabine Föllinger and Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Schulte: Individual Goals and the Common Good: Perspectives on Utility Concepts from Ancient Greek Literature, American Studies, and Economics (held in English)

  seminar

  The IUSP has only 5 spots in this class!

  Tuesday 4pm - 6pm

  Content: 

  In this interdisciplinary seminar, the following fundamental questions will guide our discussions: What is utility? What is the common good? When do we talk about a tension between individual utility and the common good?

   We will also address the following related questions: What contributes to utility? Can we observe or even measure utility? Do individuals succeed to maximize utility? What contributes to the common good? Can we measure the common good? How to maximize the common good?

   Texts in different formats (ranging from tragedies to scientific articles) and from different epochs (ranging from the 7th century BCE to 2017) will guide us in approaching the questions.

  ‘Utility’ has played an important role in ideas and concepts since the earliest texts of Western Culture, long before modern economists reflected on this topic. We can find concepts of utility not only in economic and philosophical texts, but also in poetic and fictional texts, which explicitly or implicitly use them. So the early poetic text of the Greek author Hesiod (7th century BCE), which treats rules of behavior in an agricultural world, uses ‘utility’ as a category and reflects on the relation between individual utility and common good. But also the thoughts and argumentation of figures in Greek tragedies like Antigone (5th century BCE) reveal ideas of utility. The Greek philosopher Plato (4th century BCE) thinks more explicitly about utility as an incentive of human behavior and about the relation of the categories ‘useful’ and ‘good’. In modern times, the scholars Adam Smith (18th century CE) and Jeremy Bentham (18th to 19th century CE), who themselves had an education in the Classics, developed the theory that human beings in general pursue their own benefit. They also asked what the relation of individual good and common good is. Starting from their ideas, ‘utility’ has become the central concept of economics and now plays an important role in the mathematical models of economics which measure ‘utility.’ Therefore, it is a central topic in economic studies. At the same time, we can find that modern political, but also fictional texts like novels and short stories integrate ‘utility’ as an important motivation of people. We discover this by carefully reading the texts. We will see how important it is to be able to analyze texts by approaching them in a methodical way.

  By reading the texts we will learn about the different ways ‘utility’ has been and still is understood and which concepts of the relation between individual good and common good exist. This leads us to a deeper understanding of these concepts and of their importance for economics.

  Participants’ responsibilities:

  The seminar participants are expected to read all the required texts (see bibliography) and to actively participate in the discussions. Each student is supposed to address the questions above in a presentation, based on the text assigned for the particular session and complemented with his or her own literature research. Presentations can be prepared in interdisciplinary teams of students. Based on their presentation, on the discussions during the seminar, and on their own research, students write a seminar paper (10-12 pages) in which they address the questions posed above.

   

  Learning goals:

  The seminar participants deepen the knowledge received from their own discipline and become familiar with perspectives from the other disciplines. The unique composition of expertise in the seminar will enable all participants to see the common ground and to identify discipline-specific points of view. These insights will sharpen the reflection of the respective disciplines and enhance the appreciation of a multitude of perspectives. Students will learn to present the results of their analysis in front of a group consisting of experts from different fields. This experience will increase their ability to argue convincingly in a heterogeneously composed group.

   

  Seminar plan:

  18.12.2019      Kick-off for students of the study programs in Economics

  16.04.2019      Introduction and organization of the seminar

  23.04.2019      Texts: Tirole, Föllinger, Zeh; Birkle, Norris

  Presenters: Prof. Dr. Carmen Birkle, Prof. Dr. Sabine Föllinger & Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Schulte

  30.04.2019      Text: Hesiod, “Works and Days”, especially V. 212-357

                          Presenters: Students (TBA)

  07.05.2019      Text: Smith

                          Presenters: Students (TBA)

  14.05.2019      Text: Jefferson

                          Presenters: Students (TBA)

  21.05.2019      Text: Sophocles, “Antigone”, especially, V. 280-331, V. 441-525, V. 1155-1180.                        

                         Presenters: Students (TBA)

  28.05.2019      Text: Leshem

                          Presenters: Students (TBA)

  04.06.2019      Text: Carnegie

                          Presenters: Students (TBA)

  11.06.2019      Texts:  Plato, “Republic”, Book I, especially 340E-350B Plato, “Laws”, Book 11, 913A-E

                          Presenters: Students (TBA)

  Bibliography

   Required reading (accessible via ILIAS):

   Economics

  -          Bentham, Jeremy (1823/1780): An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, Oxford Claredon Press, Chapter 1.

  -          Leshem, Dotan (2016): Retrospectives: What Did the Ancient Greeks Mean by "Oikonomia?", in: The Journal of Economic Perspectives 30(1): 225-238.

  -          Loewenstein, George (1999): Because It Is There: The Challenges of Mountaineering... For Utility Theory, in: Kyklos 52(3):315-344.

  -          Smith, Adam (1776): The Wealth of Nations. W. Strahan and T. Cadell, London. Book I, Chapter 2.

  -          Tirole, Jean (2017): Economics of the Common Good. Princeton University Press, Introduction.

  American Studies

  -          Carnegie, Andrew. Wealth. 1889. An American Primer. Ed. Daniel J. Boorstin. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1966. 499-510. Print.

  -          Jefferson, Thomas. “Query XIX: Manufactures.” Notes on the State of Virginia. Ed. William Peden. 1788. New York: Norton, 1954. 164-65. Print.

  -          Jewett, Sarah Orne. “The Foreigner.” 1900. The Country of the Pointed Firs and Other Fiction. By Sarah Orne Jewett. Oxford: OUP, 1996. 159-84. Print.

  -          Walker, Alice. “Everyday Use.” 1973. Revolutionary Tales: African American Women’s Short Stories, from the First Story to the Present. Ed. Bill Mullen. New York: Laurel, 1995. 346-56. Print.

  Greek Studies

  -          Hesiod: “Hesiod: Works and Days”, in: Hesiod, Theogony, Works and Days, Testimonia. Edited and translated by Glenn W. Most (Loeb Classical Library),  Cambridge/ Massachussetts; London: Harvard University Press, 2006 (online).

  -          Sophocles: Sophocles, “Antigone”, in: Sophocles: Antigone, The Women of Trachis, Philoctetes, Oedipus at Colonus  edited and translated by Hugh Lloyd-Jones (The Loeb Classical Library), Cambridge/Massachussetts; London: Harvard University Press 1994, 1-127 (online)

  -          Plato: “Plato, The Laws” editedy by Malcolm Schofield, translated by Tom Griffith (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2016 (online)

  -          “Plato, Republic” edited and translated by Chris Emlyn-Jones and William Preddy (The Loeb Classical Library), Cambridge/Massachussetts; London: Harvard University Press 2013 (two volumes). Print and Digital, volume 1 (online)

  -          Sabine Föllinger, Ökonomie bei Platon, Berlin; Boston De Gruyter 2016, 49-54 (here you can find information about the concept of utiliy in Plato’s Laws; it will be available in an English translation by April).

    

  Please prepare these texts prior to the sessions to which they are assigned (see seminar plan). You find the texts on ILIAS.

    

  Further reading:

   

  Economics—introductory material

  -          Tirole, Jean (2017): Economics of the Common Good. Princeton University Press.

  o   In Chapter 2, Nobel laureate Jean Tirole offers his perspective on “the moral limits of the market”, pointing at tensions between individual utility and the common good. Chapter 5 offers insights into non-materialistic motivations and how they are incorporated into Economic analysis.

  -          Dasguta, Partha (2007): Economics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press.

  o   In his very short introduction, Partha Dasgupta illustrates the key concepts in Economics. In Chapter 8, he reflects on “social well-being and democratic government”.

  -          The CORE Team: The Economy, available at www.core-econ.org. This is a text book that has been collaboratively developed by a group of Economists. It is founded on concepts from information economics and strategic social interaction. Chapter 4 offers insights into fairness concepts.

   

  Economics—advanced material

  -          Falk, Armin et al. (2018): Global evidence on economic preferences, in: The Quarterly Journal of Economics 133(4):1645-1692.

  o   The authors study the global variation in economic preferences, and correlations with demographic and cultural variables.

  -          Kahneman, Daniel (2011): Thinking, fast and slow, Penguin Books.

  o   Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman elaborates (among many other things) on reference-dependent preferences, time-inconsistent preferences and experienced utility

   

  American Studies—introductory material

  -          Abbott, H. Porter. The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2008. Print.

  -          Barry, Peter. Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory. 4th ed. Manchester: Manchester UP, 2017. Print.

  -          Campbell, Neil, and Alasdair Kean. American Cultural Studies: An Introduction to American Culture. 4th ed. New York: Routledge, 2016. Print.

  -          Culler, Jonathan. Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2011. Print.

  -          Deloria, Philip J., and Alexander I. Olson. American Studies: A User’s Guide. Oakland, CA: U of California P, 2017. Print.

  -          Holland, Owen, and Piero. Introducing Literary Criticism: A Graphic Guide. London: Icon, 2016. Print.

  -          Klarer, Mario. An Introduction to Literary Studies. 3rd ed. London: Routledge, 2013. Print.

  -          Kusch, Celena. Literary Analysis: The Basics. London: Routledge, 2016. Print.

  -          Paul, Heike. The Myths That Made America: An Introduction to American Studies. Bielefeld: transcript, 2014. Full text open access at https://www.transcript-verlag.de/978-3-8376-1485-5/the-myths-that-made-america/

   

  American Studies—advanced material

  -          Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge, 2014. Print.

  -          Watts, Michael, and Robert F. Smith. “Economics in Literature and Drama.” The Journal of Economic Education 20.3 (Summer 1989): 291-307. 296. Taylor & Francis http://www.jstor.org/stable/1182306. 4 Dec. 2018.

  Greek Studies—introductory material

  -     West, Martin L.: Prolegomena, in: Hesiod, Works and Days. Edited with Prolegomena and Commentary by M.L. West, Oxford: Clarendon Press 1978, p. 1-3, 30-50 (introduction to the poem with summary of the poem).

  -     Cairns, Douglas: From Mythos to Plot, in: Cairns, D.: Sophocles, Antigone, London;          Oxford: Bloomsbury 2016, 1-28 (short introduction to the context of “Antigone” and     summary of the plot).

  -          Nails, Debra: The Life of Plato of Athens, in: Benson, Hugh H. (ed.): A Companion to Plato, Malden/ MA; Oxford: Blackwell Publishing 2009, 1-12.

  -          Schofield, Malcolm: Plato in his time and place, in: Fine, Gail: The Oxford Handbook of Plato, Oxford: University Press 2008, 36-62 (very short introduction, helpful for the first approach)

  -          Annas, Julia: Plato. A Very Short Introduction, Oxford 2003 (this small book gives a short introduction to Platos’ works and ideas which is easy to understand).

  -          Sauvé Meyer, Susan: Plato on the law, in: Benson, Hugh H. (ed.): A Companion to Plato, Malden/ MA; Oxford: Blackwell Publishing 2009, 373-387 (this article presents a helpful summary of the importance of laws from Plato’s point of view)

  Greek Studies—advanced material

  -     Strauss Clay, Jenny: Works and Days: Tracing the Path to Arete, in: Montanari, Franco; Rengakos, Antonios; Tsagalis, Christos (edd.), Brill’s Companion to Hesiod, Leiden; Boston: Brill 2009, 71-90 (this contribution presents the context of Hesiod’s idea of ‘utility’)

  -     Cairns, D.: Sophocles, Antigone, London; Oxford: Bloomsbury 2016 (this book offers a modern approach which also focus on the political dimension and on the reception of this famous tragedy)

  -          Pradeau, J.-F.: Plato and the City. A New Introduction to Plato’s Political Thought, transl. by J. Lloyd, with a Foreword by Ch. Gill, Exeter 2002 (this book presents an instructive and clear idea of Plato as a political thinker who underlines the importance of education of citizens and human beings in general)

  -          Santas, Gerasimos : Plato on Pleasure as the Human Good, in: Benson, Hugh H. (ed.): A Companion to Plato, Malden/ MA; Oxford: Blackwell Publishing 2009, 308-322 (the role pleasure plays in the Platonic philosophy is important when we study the importance of utility)  

  -          Schriefl, A.: Plato on the Incompatibility of Wealth and Justice: the Property Arrangements in the Republic, in: History of Political Thought, XXXIX, No. 2, 2018, 193-215 (this contribution helps in understanding why the Platonic dialogues “Republic” and “Laws” recommend more or less radical statal measures in order to restrain the insatiable desire of humans)

  -          Föllinger, S.: Ökonomie bei Platon, Berlin 2016 (for students who are able to read German) (by presenting a general introduction in Plato’s ideas of economics and of their position in his philosophy this books gives the context of Plato’s concept of utility)

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Christina Koch (M.A.): Illness and Narrative (held in English)Christina Koch (M.A.): Illness and Narrative (held in English)

  block seminar 

  The IUSP has only 4 spots in this class!

  Monday, April 15, 6pm - 8pm 

  Friday, May 3, 10am - 5pm

  Saturday, May 4, 10am - 5pm

  Friday, May 17, 10am - 5pm

  Saturday, May 18, 10am - 5pm

  Content: to come

Subject Area: Archeology 

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Rita Amedick: : Porträts von Frauen. Hellenismus und römische Kaiserzeit (held in German)Prof. Dr. Rita Amedick: : Porträts von Frauen. Hellenismus und römische Kaiserzeit (held in German)

  lecture

  Tuesday 10am - 12pm

  Content: to come 

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Winfried Held: Griechische Architektur der geometrischen bis archaischen Zeit (held in German)Prof. Dr. Winfried Held: Griechische Architektur der geometrischen bis archaischen Zeit (held in German)

  lecture

  Thursday 10am - 12pm

  Content:

  Nach dem Zusammenbruch der mykenischen Kultur im 12. Jh. v. Chr. folgte eine längere Epoche kultureller Stagnation. Ab dem 8. Jh. v. Chr. – der spätgeometrischen Epoche – können wir eine neue Entwicklung beobachten, die eine zunehmende Dynamik entwickelt und schließlich zur griechischen Hochkultur der spätarchaischen und klassischen Zeit führt. In der Vorlesung sollen die Anfänge dieser Entwicklung in der Architektur im 9. bis 6. Jh. v. Chr. im Mittelpunkt stehen. Betrachtet werden die Anfänge der Tempel- und Sakralarchitektur, Wohnhäuser und politische Bauten.

Subject Area: Business Administration and Economics

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Sascha Mölls: Financial Accounting around the World - Empirical Evidence (held in English)Prof. Dr. Sascha Mölls: Financial Accounting around the World - Empirical Evidence (held in English)

  Seminar

  Day & Time: Considering the regular schedule of the IUSP-program, a first appointment with the participants will be arranged via email.

  Pre-requisites: Basic knowledge of financial accounting and/or corporate financing is helpful, but not required.Participants should, however, be interested in the economic analysis on firm and/or country level.

  Course description:
  In the last years countries around the world have either adopted the capital marketoriented International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) or adjusted their national standards accordingly. As the IFRS are deeply linked to a corporate governance system typical for the US or Great Britain companies are supposed to be primarily financed by equity and/or debt offered on well-developed capital markets, employed managers (and not the equity holders themselves) manage companies, decisions of and in firms are typically made with a strict reference to market parameters, ownership is characterized by high rates of free float and labor markets are characterized by a “hire and fire”-philosophy. Against this background the question arises if and in how far this model of corporate governance is suitable for other countries, in particular in Europa and Asia, as financing patterns and the institutional environment in those countries are different in many ways. Based on samples of the 100 biggest corporations from different countries, given annual reports as the main “database”
  and a prepared checklist for the analysis participants are supposed to analyze the financing patterns and the capital market environment empirically to derive and discuss
  implications for the standardsetting process. Thus the main question is: Are capital market-based accounting standards suitable for economies around the world?
  Participants can either work individually or in groups of up to three students. The results of the individual or joint work have to be presented at different stages of the project
  and a short final essay has to be handed in.

  Literature:
  Alexander, David/Nobes, Christopher [2013]: Financial Accounting – An International Introduction, 5th Edition, Pearson: Harlow.
  Penman, Stephen H. [2013]: Financial Statement Analysis and Security Valuation, 5th Edition, McGraw-Hill: New York.
  Weygandt, Jerry J./Kimmel, Paul D./Kieso, Donald E. [2013]: Financial Accounting – IFRS Edition, 2nd Edition, John Wiley & Sons: Hoboken.

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Sascha Mölls: Empirical Comparative Corporate Governance - International Case Studies (held in English)Prof. Dr. Sascha Mölls: Empirical Comparative Corporate Governance - International Case Studies (held in English)

  Seminar

  Day & Time: Considering the regular schedule of the IUSP-program, a first appointment with the participants will be arranged via email.

  Pre-requisites: Due to the variety of topics specific skills / knowledge are / is not required in advance. Participants should, however, be interested in the economic analysis on firm and/or country level.

  Course description:
  Driven by the idea that national corporate governance systems differ due to several path dependencies such as different cultures, traditions etc. the seminar aims at exploring
  those differences by an empirical analysis of selected topics from the field of “comparative corporate governance”. Based on samples of the 100 biggest corporations from countries around the world, given annual reports as the main “database” and a prepared checklist for the analysis participants are supposed to do joint work in groups of up to three students. Topics include a wide variety of issues such as ownership and control, financing patterns, the use of capital market institutions, board structure, corporate social responsibility-mechanisms, corporate governance codices and manager compensation. The results of the joint work have to be presented at different stages of the project and a short final essay has to be handed in. Assistance will be given on a regular basis.

  Literature:
  Goergen, Marc [2012]: International Corporate Governance, Pearson: Harlow.
  Larcker, David/Tayan, Brian [2001]: Corporate Governance Matters, Pearson: Upper Saddle River.
  Mallin, Christine A. (Ed.) [2011]: Handbook on International Corporate Governance - Country Analyses, 2nd Edition, Edward Elgar: Cheltenham/Northampton.

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Sascha Mölls: Institutional Activism, Share Repurchases and Hostile Take Overs in Europe (held in English)Prof. Dr. Sascha Mölls: Institutional Activism, Share Repurchases and Hostile Take Overs in Europe (held in English)

  Seminar

  Day & Time: Considering the regular schedule of the IUSP-program, a first appointment with the participants will be arranged via email.

  Pre-requisites: Participants should have some basic knowledge of corporate finance.

  Course description:
  Since the mid-1990s, capital market-orientation seems to be the guiding principle of legal reforms as well as of scientific research. The seminar aims to examine the capital
  market-orientation of large enterprises in Europe based on selected indicators (namely institutional activism, share repurchases and hostile takeovers). Participants
  are supposed to perform an empirical study as a content analysis relying on annual reports and related sources. An appropriate template for a structured analysis is provided
  for by the chair. Starting with a short theoretical introduction the results of the analysis have to be made up in a report (term paper) and are to be presented at different
  stages of the project in the seminar. Participants are supposed to do joint work in groups of up to three students. Assistance will be given on a regular basis.

  Literature:
  Black, B.S. [1992]: Agents watching Agents: The Promise of Institituional Investor Voice, in: UCLA Law Review, Vol. 39(4), p. 811-893.
  Black, B.S. [1992]: The Value of Institutional Investor Monitoring: The Empirical Evidence, in: UCLA Law Review, Vol. 39(4), p. 895-939.
  Larcker, D./Tayan, B. [2015]: Corporate Governance Matters, 2nd Edition, Pearson: Upper Saddle River.
  OECD [2011]: The Role of Institutional Investors in Promoting Good Corporate Governance, OECD Publishing.

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Sascha Mölls: Corporate Valuation - An International Case Study (held in English)Prof. Dr. Sascha Mölls: Corporate Valuation - An International Case Study (held in English)

  Seminar

  Day & Time: Considering the regular schedule of the IUSP-program, a first appointment with the participants will be arranged via email.

  Pre-requisites: Participants should have some basic knowledge of corporate finance.

  Course description:
  The valuation of firms is one of the most difficult tasks in “practical business” as the valuation has to account for uncertainty concerning the future cash flows as well as
  the cost of capital. The course deals with the theorectical and practical problems of such a valuation process based on a real world case study from the global telecommunication
  industry. Topics include a variety of issues such as the derivation of a future firm strategy, the evaluation of management forecasts, the estimation of firm cash flows and the capital market-based determination of the cost of equity and debt. Participants are supposed to do joint work in groups of up to three students. The results of the joint work have to be presented at different stages of the project and a short final essay has to be handed in. Assistance will be given on a regular basis.

  Literature:
  Berk, J. / DeMarzo, P. [2013]: Corporate Finance, 3rd Ed., Pearson: Upper Saddle River.
  Copeland, T.E. / Weston, J.F. / Sastri, K. [2005]: Financial Theory and Corporate Policy, 4th Ed., Addison-Wesley: London.
  Holthausen, R.W./Zmijewski, M.E. [2014]: Corporate Valuation – Theory, Evidence & Practice, Cambridge Business Publishers: Cambridge.
  Titman, S./Martin, J.D. [2016]: Valuation, 3rd Ed., Pearson: Upper Saddle River

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Sascha Mölls:  Executive Compensation & Firm Performance - Concepts and Cases (held in English)Prof. Dr. Sascha Mölls:  Executive Compensation & Firm Performance - Concepts and Cases (held in English)

  Seminar

  Day & Time: Considering the regular schedule of the IUSP-program, a first appointment with the participants will be arranged via email.

  Pre-requisites: Due to the variety of topics specific skills / knowledge are / is not required in ad-vance. Participants should, however, be interested in the economic analysis on firm and/or country level.

  Course description:
  Driven by the idea that economic systems differ due to several path dependencies such as different cultures, traditions etc. the seminar aims at exploring differences in managerial remuneration and its consequences for firm performance. Based on samples of the 100 biggest corporations from countries around the world, given an-nual reports as the main “database” and a prepared checklist for the analysis partici-pants are supposed to do joint work in groups of up to three students. Topics include a wide variety of renumeration issues, particularly different compensation structures as well as different degrees of capital market-orientation. The results of the joint work have to be presented at different stages of the project and a short final essay has to be handed in. Assistance will be given on a regular basis.

  Literature:
  Larcker, David/Tayan, Brian [2015]: Corporate Governance Matters, 2nd Edition, Pearson: Upper Saddle River (Chapter 8).
  Mallin, Christine A. (Ed.) [2011]: Handbook on International Corporate Governance - Country Analyses, 2nd Edition, Edward Elgar: Cheltenham/Northampton.
  Murpyh, Kevin J. (1985): Corporate Performance and Managerial Remuneration, in: Journal of Accounting and Economics, Vol. 7, 11-42.

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Dr. Ahmed Badreldin: Islamic Finance (held in English)Dr. Ahmed Badreldin: Islamic Finance (held in English)

  lecture

  Monday 8am - 10am

  Content:

  Lecture Summary:
  The course begins with the basics of Islamic Banking and Finance including Shariah compliance criteria and principles for financial products, then moves to a detailed in-depth cash flow and risk analysis of the different products with a comparative focus on conventional products. Applications of products such as how products are combined into investment accounts (as
  Islamic alternatives for conventional saving deposits) and Sukuk will also be handled in detail. After covering these basics, the course moves its focus onto pricing of Islamic financial products and how models must be adapted to suit the specific needs of Islamic markets. The nature of market segmentation will be touched upon as well since it plays a role in the majority of countries where Islamic Finance exists. Other issues such as empirically applying asset pricing for Islamic assets as well as issues of central banking regulations for Islamic banking in Germany will also be touched upon.

  Aims of the Lecture:
  1. Introduce the principles of Islamic Finance.
  2. Analyze the cash flows and risks of specific Islamic financial contracts (in contrast to conventional contracts) and their application in investment accounts and Sukuk.
  3. Address the challenges facing Islamic Finance, such as valuation within segmented markets, risk management, and issues with empirical asset pricing and central banking
  regulations for Islamic banks in Germany.

  Learning Objectives:
  1. The course is designed to equip students with in-depth information about Islamic Finance to remain up-to-date with this growing trend in the world that has stemmed and remains
  mostly active in the MENA region.
  2. After attending the course, students should be able to discuss and contribute to debates regarding Islamic Finance’s principles and basic products as well as combined products
  (such as investment accounts and Sukuk) including their cash flows and risks, and be able to contrast these with conventional ones.
  3. Students should be able to identify the more empirical challenges facing Islamic Finance, especially those having to do with valuation on segmented markets and risk management
  as well as issues of central banking regulations for Islamic banks in Germany.

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Bernhard Nietert: Intermediate Finance (held in English)Prof. Dr. Bernhard Nietert: Intermediate Finance (held in English)

  lecture

  Monday 8am - 10am

  Content:

  Research Questions
  What interest rate schould I take for investment analysis and why?
  Why shouldn’t I put all eggs into one basket?
  How much should I deduct for risk?

  Content
  1 Investment Analysis under Certainty
  1.1 Motivation
  1.2 Arbitrage Theory under Certainty
  1.3 Investment Analysis on Imperfect Markets
  2 Portfolio Selection
  2.1 Bond Portfolio Selection: Duration
  2.2 Portfolio Selection Theory
  3 Asset Pricing
  3.1 The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM)
  3.2 Pricing of Options
  4 Corporate Finance: Hedging
  4.1 Definition of Terms
  4.2 Implementation Hedging

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Sven Fischer & Dalia Fadly: Environmental Economics with Reference of the MENA (Middle East & North Africa) Region  (held in English)Sven Fischer & Dalia Fadly: Environmental Economics with Reference of the MENA (Middle East & North Africa) Region  (held in English)

  seminar 

  Tuesday 8am - 10am

  Content: to come

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Sven Fischer: Methods of Middle East Economics (held in English)Sven Fischer: Methods of Middle East Economics (held in English)

  seminar

  Thursday 2pm - 4pm

  Content: to come

Subject Area: English Studies 

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Malte Unterweg: Murder Most Foul: William Shakespeare's Tragedies (held in English) Malte Unterweg: Murder Most Foul: William Shakespeare's Tragedies (held in English) 

  seminar

  The IUSP has only 5 spots in this class!

  Thursday 2pm - 4pm

  Content: to come

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Sonja Fielitz: British Comedies through the Ages (held in English)Prof. Dr. Sonja Fielitz: British Comedies through the Ages (held in English)

  lecture

  Wednesday 10am - 12pm

  Content:

  The genre of "comedy" is usually associated with laughter, marriage, and a happy ending. An expectation like this tends to forget, however, that happiness and merriment in most cases can only be achieved by overcoming obstacles, pain and deceiving expectations. This lecture will deal with various types of comedies which have developed over the centuries. It will focus on William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and Twelfth Night, Ben Jonson's Volpone and Epicoene, William Wycherley's The Country Wife, George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Ernest, and Alan Ayckbourn's The Norman Conquests.

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Sonja Fielitz: The Rise of the Novel: Defoe, Richardson, Fielding (held in English)Prof. Dr. Sonja Fielitz: The Rise of the Novel: Defoe, Richardson, Fielding (held in English)Prof. Dr. Sonja Fielitz: Early Modern Sonnets and Verse Epics (held in English)

  seminar

  The IUSP has only 5 spots in this class!

  Thursday 12pm - 2pm

  Conent:

  This seminar will be concerned with one of the most energetic periods of British literature, that is, the so-called “Age of Classicism”. Torn between the cultural constructions of a dichotomy of “reason and emotion” and varying attitudes to classical Roman and Greek literature and cultures, the 18th century produced strikingly different texts. Since Ian Watt’s influential study The Rise of the Novel (1957), the 18th century is especially associated with his conception that a rise in fictional realism during the 18th century came to distinguish the novel from earlier narratives. By around 1700, fiction was no longer a predominantly aristocratic entertainment, but printed books had gained the power to reach readers of almost all classes. In the seminar, we will discuss the following novels: Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, Samuel Richardson, Pamela, und Henry Fielding’s Shamela und Joseph Andrews. There will be a compulsory introductory test about the contents of these works in the first session of term.

  seminar

  The IUSP has only 5 spots in this class!

  Tuesday 4pm - 6pm

  Content:

  William Shakespeare was not only a dramatist, but also a poet. His 154 sonnets, first published in 1609, cover a variety of themes and modify the hitherto established conventions of form and content. His verse epics “Venus and Adonis” and “The Rape of Lucrece” were often censured because critics believed them to be a mere gallery of gallant inventions. Reading these poems as experi¬ments, however, will give a fresh approach to them. “Venus and Adonis” (1593), tells the story of Venus, the Goddess of Love, and her unrequited love of Adonis, an extremely handsome young man. The Rape of Lucrece as Shakespeare’s other narrative poem, is about the legendary Lucretia.
  There will be a compulsory introductory test about the contents of “Venus and Adonis” and “The Rape of Lucrece” in the first session of term.

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Sonja Fielitz: Theatre of the Absurd: Beckett, Pinter, Stoppard (held in English)Prof. Dr. Sonja Fielitz: Theatre of the Absurd: Beckett, Pinter, Stoppard (held in English)

  seminar

  The IUSP has only 5 spots in this class!

  Thursday 10am - 12pm

  Content:

  The term theatre of the absurd was coined by Martin Esslin in the 1960s and covers numerous dramas written by a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1950s. The quality of the absurd in these plays takes the form of man's reaction to a world apparently without meaning, or man as a puppet controlled or menaced by invisible outside forces. Characters are caught in hopeless situations and forced to do repetitive or meaningless actions; dialogues are full of clichés, wordplay, and nonsense; plots are cyclical or absurdly expansive. Absurd plays depart fundamen¬tally from Aristotle’s Poetics and the so-called ‘closed’ form of drama, since logical construction and argument give way to irrational and illogical speech and to its ultimate conclusion, that is, silence, when all communication breaks down. In class, we will discuss Samuel Beckett’s plays Waiting for Godot and Endgame, Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker.

  There will be a compulsory introductory test about the contents of these works in the first session of term.

Subject Area: German Studies 

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Heinrich Kaulen: Popliteratur (held in German) Prof. Dr. Heinrich Kaulen: Popliteratur (held in German) 

  lecture

  Thursday 8.30am - 10am

  Content:

  Die Vorlesung gibt einen systematisierenden und historischen Überblick über die Wechselwirkung zwischen Literatur und Popkultur in der (vorwiegend, aber nicht nur) deutschsprachigen Literatur von 1945 bis zur Gegenwart. Behandelt wird, jeweils im kulturellen und zeithistorischen Kontext: die angloamerikanische Beatliteratur und ihre Rezeption in Deutschland seit den 1950er Jahren; die deutsche Popliteratur vor und nach 1968 als subversiver Protest gegen die bürgerliche Hochkultur (R.D. Brinkmann, P. Handke, E. Jelinek); der Neuansatz der ‒ von ihrem Selbstverständnis her nicht mehr der Subkultur zugehörigen ‒ Popliteraten seit Mitte der 1990er Jahre bei Autoren/innen wie Christian Kracht, Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre, Rainald Götz, Alexa Hennig von Lange, Andreas Neumeister u.a. Aber auch 'Seitenstränge' wie der Social Beat, der literarische Rap oder der Poetry Slam, die wiederum an die avantgardistischen und dissidentischen Tendenzen der Nachkriegszeit anzuknüpfen suchen, werden in der Vorlesung thematisiert. Zudem soll die Frage erörtert werden, ob es neben dem dominanten Poproman auch popliterarische Strömungen in anderen Genres (Lyrik, Reportage, Drama) gibt.

   Zur Vorbereitung nützlich: Moritz Baßler: Der deutsche Pop-Roman. Die neuen Archivisten, München: C.H. Beck 2002; Heinrich Kaulen: Jugendliche Lebenswelten im Spiegel der deutschsprachigen Popliteratur seit den 1990er Jahren, in: Mitteilungen des Deutschen Germanistenverbandes 55 (2008), Heft 2: Literatur im 21. Jahrhundert, S. 120-142.

  Weitere Hinweise in der Veranstaltung gegeben.

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Heinrich Kaulen: Literatur und Toleranz. Von Lessing und Mozart bis Max Frisch (held in German) Prof. Dr. Heinrich Kaulen: Literatur und Toleranz. Von Lessing und Mozart bis Max Frisch (held in German) 

  seminar

  Thursday 10am - 12pm

  Content:

  Toleranz ist ein Schlüsselbegriff im gesellschaftlichen Diskurs, nicht erst in der Gegenwart. Sie zählt zu den Leitbildern und Grundwerten einer demokratischen Gesellschaft  − und ist doch immer wieder umstritten und gefährdet. Das Seminar wird sich mit der Frage beschäftigen, wie die Toleranzidee in literarischen Texten ästhetisch diskursiviert, postuliert und reflektiert wird. Am Beginn wird ein Blick auf die Vorgeschichte und Genesis des Toleranzgedankens seit der frühen Neuzeit geworfen (S. Castellio, Voltaire, Locke). Erst vor dem Hintergrund dieser Ideengeschichte werden die Brisanz und Spannweite begreifbar, die das Konzept seit dem 18. Jahrhundert in literarischen Kanontexten gewinnt. Behandelt werden exemplarisch: G.E. Lessing: „Nathan der Weise“ (1779); W.A. Mozart: „Die Entführung aus dem Serail“ (1782, Libretto); M. Frisch: „Andorra“ (1961); E.-E. Schmitt: „Monsieur Ibrahim und die Blumen des Koran (2003).

   Zum Verständnis der Kontexte nützlich: Friedrich Vollhardt (Hg.): Toleranzdiskurse in der frühen Neuzeit (2015); Rainer Forst: Toleranz im Konflikt (2003). Weitere Literatur im Seminar.

   Textkenntnisklausur in der ersten Sitzung am 18.04.2019. Erwartet wird dafür die Kenntnis der oben genannten Texte von Lessing, Mozart und Frisch.

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Volker Mergenthaler: Spiegel – ein Reflexionsmedium (in) der Literatur (18.-21. Jahrhundert) (held in German)Prof. Dr. Volker Mergenthaler: Spiegel – ein Reflexionsmedium (in) der Literatur (18.-21. Jahrhundert) (held in German)

  seminar

  Thursday 8.30am - 10am

  Content:

  Spiegel geben einer sie betrachtenden Instanz die Möglichkeit, ein dem ungebrochenen Blick nicht zugängliches Bild des Selbst zu sehen; sie sind das Medium der Selbstreflexion par excellence – kein Wunder, daß sie in der ihrerseits zur Selbstreflexion neigenden Literatur allenthalben anzutreffen sind, und zwar in den unterschiedlichsten Formen und mit den unterschiedlichsten Folgen, immer aber mit dem Effekt einer Verständigung der Literatur über sich selbst, über Texte, Autorschaft, literarischen Weltbezug, Leseprozesse. An einer Reihe exquisiter Fälle, angefangen bei den Ovidischen Deutungen des Narziß- und des Perseus-Mythos, über die Spiegelmetaphorik der frühromantischen Theoriebildung (Fr. Schlegel), die Integration von Spiegeln in modische Taschenbüchlein zu Beginn des 19. Jahrhunderts, das Spiegelmotiv in der romantischen Novellistik, in den Volks- und Kunstmärchen (Eichendorff, E.T.A. Hoffmann, Brüder Grimm), die Spiegelmetaphorik im Symbolismus und Ästhetizismus (Hofmannsthal, Rilke, Schnitzler) bis hin zur psychoanalytischen Theoriebildung (Lacan) und zu experimentellen Formen der Integration von Spiegeln in das Medium Buch im ausgehenden 20. und im 21. Jahrhundert soll die ästhetische Bandbreite dieser hochreflexiven Beziehung vermessen werden.

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Volker Mergenthaler: Deutschsprachige Kurzgeschichten (held in German)  Prof. Dr. Volker Mergenthaler: Deutschsprachige Kurzgeschichten (held in German)  

  seminar

  Thursday 12pm - 2pm

  Content:

  Substantiell zu bestimmen, was eine Kurzgeschichte ausmacht, erweist sich als gattungspoetisches Wagnis, an dessen Ende ein wenig aussagekräftiges quantitatives Kriterium stehen bleibt: ihre Kürze eben. Diese Kürze hat ihren guten Grund. Dieser wiederum liegt aber nicht in der Textsorte selbst, sondern in den Medienformaten, in denen sie – und zwar verstärkt in den ersten Jahrzehnten des 20. Jahrhunderts und ein weiteres Mal in der Zeit nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg – Karriere gemacht hat: In Unterhaltungsblättern, Tageszeitungen, Magazinen, Zeitungsbeilagen u. dgl.. Im Seminar werden wir prominente Kurzgeschichten am Ort ihres ersten Auftretens in Augenschein nehmen und ein zweites Gattungskriterium auf den Prüfstand stellen: Das ihrer Enigmatik. An ihrem ursprünglichen Erscheinungsort erweisen sie sich, eingebettet in ein konkretes historisches Umfeld, als weit weniger rätselhaft als in den zahlreichen, insbesondere für den Schulgebrauch zusammengestellten Anthologien. Befassen werden wir uns (aller Voraussicht nach) mit Texten von Robert Walser, Marieluise Fleißer, Robert Musil, Wolfgang Borchert, Ilse Aichinger, Elisabeth Langgässer, Thomas Bernhard, Sibylle Berg und Judith Hermann.

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Romy Traeber: Schreiben oder Leben(?) Literarische Verarbeitungen des KZ Buchenwald (held in German)Romy Traeber: Schreiben oder Leben(?) Literarische Verarbeitungen des KZ Buchenwald (held in German)

  seminar

  Monday 10am - 12pm

  Content: 

  1949, als man in Deutschland den 200. Geburtstag Goethes beging, verkündete der aus dem Exil zurückgekehrte Germanist Richard Alewyn in seiner Kölner Goethe-Vorlesung: „Zwischen uns und Weimar liegt Buchenwald“. Diesem Diktum folgend wird die in den untersuchten Romanen durchaus als problematisch wahrgenommene Nähe der beiden Orte im Seminar ebenso eine Rolle spielen, wie die Frage, warum gerade in Buchenwald eine solche Vielzahl hochwertiger und die Zeit überdauernder literarischer Texte entstanden sind. Welche Motive und ästhetischen Strategien finden sich in den Romanen, die über einen Zeitraum von 36 Jahren entstanden und von Autoren geschrieben wurden, deren Lebensgeschichten nur eine einzige Gemeinsamkeit aufzeigt? Daran anknüpfend wird es auch um die Frage gehen, wo sich diese im Spannungsfeld Fiktion/Faktizität verorten lassen.

  Achtung: Am 10. und 11. Mai findet eine Exkursion zu Gedenkstätte Buchenwald statt. Die Teilnahme ist verpflichtend. Bitte beachten Sie dies bei Ihrer Semesterplanung!

  Wir werden uns mit folgenden Texten befassen, die bereits vor Seminarbeginn besorgt werden sollten (in Klammern jeweils das Jahr der Erstveröffentlichung):
  Eugon Kogon: Der SS-Staat. Das System der deutschen Konzentrationslager (1946), Bruno Apitz: Nackt unter Wölfen (1958), Jorge Semprún: Die große Reise (1963), Fred Wander: Der siebente Brunnen (1971), Imre Kertész: Roman eines Schickssallosen (1975), Jorge Semprún: Was für ein schöner Sonntag! (1980), Jorge Semprún: Schreiben oder Leben (1994) 

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Marion Schmaus: „Gespräch im Gebirg“: Literarische Bergtouren vom 18. Jahrhundert bis in die Gegenwart (held in German)Prof. Dr. Marion Schmaus: „Gespräch im Gebirg“: Literarische Bergtouren vom 18. Jahrhundert bis in die Gegenwart (held in German)

  lecture

  Wednesday 10am-12pm

  Content: 

  Seit dem 18. Jahrhundert werden die Berge als Landschafts- und Kulturraum in der Literatur erschlossen und dienen sowohl als U-topos nicht entfremdeten, natürlichen Lebens als auch als Gefahrenzone menschlicher Bewährung. Die Vorlesung wird diesen Literarisierungen der Berge seit Albrecht von Hallers ‚Die Alpen‘ (1729) über klassisch-romantische Bergszenen (Goethe, Novalis u.a), über Realismus und Naturalismus (u.a. Stifter ‚Bergkristall‘), die Erste (Mann ‚Zauberberg‘) und Zweite Moderne (Celan ‚Gespräch im Gebirg‘) bis in die Gegenwart (Jelinek, Poppe, Kracht) nachgehen. Dabei werden auch intermediale Verflechtungen: der Berg in Bild, Fotographie und Film, sowie die Bergdiskurse von Wandervereinen, Tourismus und Umweltschutz thematisch sein.

  Bibliographie:

  Informationen und Literaturhinweise auf der Online-Lernplattform ILIAS. 

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Marion Schmaus: Kulturwissenschaftliche Debatten in historischer Perspektive - Hegels ‚Phänomenologie‘ für Literaturwissenschaftler/innen (held in German)Prof. Dr. Marion Schmaus: Kulturwissenschaftliche Debatten in historischer Perspektive - Hegels ‚Phänomenologie‘ für Literaturwissenschaftler/innen (held in German)

  seminar

  Thursday 2pm - 4pm

  Content: 

  Das Forschungsseminar bietet Raum für die Vorstellung und Diskussion entstehender Abschlussarbeiten der Teilnehmerinnen und Teilnehmer. In diesem Semester wendet sich das Seminar der Lektüre ausgewählter Kapitel von Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegels ‚Phänomenologie des Geistes‘ (1807) zu, die als Einleitung in sein philosophisches System konzipiert ist, aber auch in enger Kommunikation mit literarischen Textformen (Bildungsroman, philosophischer Roman, (Auto-)Biographie) sowie mit Autoren seiner Zeit (Hölderlin, Novalis, Schleiermacher u.a.) entstanden ist. Dies gibt Gelegenheit, die Verbindung von Philosophie und Literatur sowie Hegels philosophische Ästhetik, seine Gattungstheorie, sein Nachleben in Denken und Literatur der Gegenwart etc. näher zu beleuchten. 

  Bereitschaft zu umfangreicher Lektüre und reger Mitarbeit im Seminar wird vorausgesetzt.

  Literatur: Informationen und Literaturhinweise auf der Online-Lernplattform ILIAS.

Subject Area: History 

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Christian Kleinschmidt: Die amerikanische Herausforderung. Amerikanische Einflüsse auf Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft in Westdeutschland  (held in German)Prof. Dr. Christian Kleinschmidt: Die amerikanische Herausforderung. Amerikanische Einflüsse auf Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft in Westdeutschland  (held in German)

  lecture

  Wednesday 10am - 12pm

  Content:

  Das 20 Jahrhundert ist ein amerikanisches Jahrhundert. Wirtschaft, Gesellschaft und Politik der USA haben weltweit die politischen, gesellschaftlichen und wirtschaftlichen Entwicklungen stark beeinflußt. In Deutschland zeigen sich amerikanische Einflüsse im Bereich der Wirtschaft, der Technik und auf Unternehmensebene ebenso wie auf dem Gebiet der Freizeitgestaltung und des Konsums, etwa im Bereich der populären Musik und Kultur – bereits im Kaiserreich und in der Weimarer Republik, sogar während des Nationalsozialismus, besonders dann in der Bundesrepublik, aber auch in der DDR. Diese Einflüsse waren selbst Gegenstand innergesellschaftlicher Diskussionen und Auseinandersetzungen und verliefen zwischen den Polen „Amerikanismus“ und „Antiamerikanismus“.

  Literatur: Stephan Alexander (Hg.): America on my mind – zur Amerikanisierung der deutschen Kultur seit 1945, Paderborn 2006; Frank Becker, Elke Reinhardt-Becker (Hg.): Mythos USA. „Amerikanisierung“ in Deutschland seit 1900, Frankfurt/New York 2006; Anselm Doering-Manteuffel: Wie westlich sind die Deutschen? Amerikanisierung und Westernisierung im 20. Jahrhundert, Göttingen 1999; Anselm Doering-Manteuffel: Amerikanisierung und Westernisierung, in: Docupedia-Zeitgeschichte, https://docupedia.de/zg/Amerikanisierung_und_Westernisierung; Philipp Gassert: Amerikanismus, Antiamerikanismus, Amerikanisierung. Neue Literatur zur Sozial-, Wirtschafts- und Kulturgeschichte des amerikanischen Einflusses in Deutschland und Europa, in: Archiv für Sozialgeschichte 39, 1999, S. 531-561; Marcus Gräser: Modell Amerika, in: EGO (Europäische Geschichte online), http://ieg-ego.eu/de/threads/europa-und-die-welt/modell-amerika/marcus-graeser-modell-usa/?searchterm=amerikanisierung&set_language=de; Victoria de Grazia: Das unwiderstehliche Imperium. Amerikas Siegeszug im Europa des 20. Jahrhunderts, Stuttgart 2010; Susanne Hilger: „Amerikanisierung“ deutscher Unternehmen. Wettbewerbsstrategien und Unternehmenspolitik bei Henkel, Siemens und Daimler-Benz (1945/49-1975), Stuttgart 2004; Susanne Hilger: Amerikanisierung der europäischen Wirtschaft nach 1880, in: EGO (Europäische Geschichte online), http://ieg-ego.eu/de/threads/modelle-und-stereotypen/modell-amerika/susanne-hilger-amerikanisierung-der-europaeischen-wirtschaft-nach-1880/?searchterm=amerikanisierung&set_language=de; Konrad Jarausch, Hannes Siegrist (Hg.): Amerikanisierung und Sowjetisierung in Deutschland 1945-1970, Frankfurt, New York 1997; Matthias Kipping, Ove Bjarnar (Hg.): The Americanisation of European Business. The Marshall Plan and the transfer of US management models, London, New York 1998; Egbert Klauke: Unbegrenzte Möglichkeiten. „Amerikanisierung“ in Deutschland und Frankreich (1900-1933), Stuttgart 2003; Christian Kleinschmidt: Der produktive Blick. Wahrnehmung amerikanischer und japanischer Management- und Produktionsmethoden durch deutsche Unternehmer 1950-1985, Berlin 2002; Alf Lüdtke, Inge Marßolek, Adelheid von Saldern (Hg.): Amerikanisierung. Traum und Alptraum im Deutschland des 20. Jahrhunderts, Stuttgart 1996; Harm G. Schröter: Americanization of the European Economy. A compact survey of American economic influence in Europe since the 1880s, Dordrecht 2005; Schröter, Harm G.: Winners and Losers: Eine kurze Geschichte der Amerikanisierung, München 2008; Michael Wala, Ursula Lehmkuhl (Hg.): Technologie und Kultur. Europas Blick auf Amerika vom 18. bis zum 20. Jahrhundert, , Köln, Weimar, Wien 2000.
  In der Vorlesung werden neben den empirischen Themenschwerpunkten auch Begriffe, Konzepte und theoretische Ansätze der Amerikanisierungsforschung berücksichtigt.

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Christian Kleinschmidt & Prof. Dr. Sigrid Ruby: „Come in and find out“. Werbung aus wirtschafts- und kunsthistorischer Perspektive  (held in German)Prof. Dr. Christian Kleinschmidt & Prof. Dr. Sigrid Ruby: „Come in and find out“. Werbung aus wirtschafts- und kunsthistorischer Perspektive  (held in German)

  seminar

  Tuesday 10am - 12pm

  Content: 

  Interdisziplinäres Seminar mit dem Institut für Kunstgeschichte der Universität Gießen.

  Werbung ist ein Mittel der unternehmerischen Absatz- und Verkaufsförderung. Sie dient der Beeinflussung von Konsumenten und bedient sich dabei unterschiedlicher textlicher, bildlicher und filmischer Mittel. Nicht selten spielen dabei auch künstlerische Aspekte eine wichtige Rolle. Insofern bewegt sich Werbung (Produktwerbung) im Schnittpunkt von Wirtschaft und Kunst, in historischer Sicht von Wirtschafts-, Unternehmens- und Kunstgeschichte. Entsprechende interdisziplinäre thematische Schwerpunkte und Fragestellungen sollen im Seminar für den Zeitraum des 20. Jahrhunderts in Zusammenarbeit mit dem kunsthistorischen Institut der Universität Giessen (Prof. Dr. Sigrid Ruby) erarbeitet werden.
  Die Veranstaltung findet deshalb auch alternierend an beiden Standorten (Marburg und Giessen) statt. Zudem sind zwei Halbtagsexkursionen geplant. Die Teilnahme am Seminar setzt also eine gewisse zeitliche und räumliche Flexibilität voraus.

  Literatur: Hartmut Berghoff (Hg.): Marketinggeschichte. Die Genese einer modernen Sozialtechnik, Frankfurt/New York 2007; Peter Borscheid, Clemens Wischermann (Hg.): Bilderwelt des Alltags. Werbung in der Konsumgesellschaft des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts, Stuttgart 1995; Deutsche Reklame: 100 Jahre Werbung 1870-1970. Ein Beitrag zur Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte, von Michael Weisser, München 1985; Yasmin Doosry, Stephanie Gropp, G. Ulrich Großmann: Plakativ! Produktwerbung im Plakat 1885-1965, Ostfildern 2009 (Ausstellungskatalog); Rainer Gries: Produkte als Medien. Kulturgeschichte der Produktkommunikation in der Bundesrepublik und der DDR, Leipzig 2003; Rainer Gries: Werbung als Geschichte: Geschichte der Werbung, Garbsen 1992; Rainer Gries, Volker Ilgen, Dirk Schindelbeck: „Ins Gehirn der Masse kriechen“. Werbung und Mentalitätsgeschichte, Darmstadt 1995; Ursula Hansen, Matthias Bode: Marketing & Konsum. Theorie und Praxis von der Industrialisierung bis ins 21. Jahrhundert, München 1999; Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte 1997/1: Werbung; Christian Kleinschmidt, Florian Triebel (Hg.): Marketing. Historische Aspekte der Wettbewerbs- und Absatzpolitik, Essen 2004; Christine Lamberty: Reklame in Deutschland 1890-1914: Wahrnehmung, Professionalisierung und Kritik der Wirtschaftswerbung, Berlin 2000; Christa Murken-Altrogge: Coca-Cola Art: Konsum, Kult, Kunst, München 1991; Dirk Reinhardt: Von der Reklame zum Marketing. Geschichte der Wirtschaftswerbung in Deutschland, Berlin 1993; Alexander Schug: „Deutsche Kultur“ und Werbung – Studien zur Geschichte der Wirtschaftswerbung von 1918 bis 1945, Berlin 2010 (UB Marburg auch als Online-Ressource); Günter Schweiger, Gertraud Schrattenecker: Werbung – eine Einführung, Konstanz, 9. Aufl. 2017; Henriette Väth-Hinz: Odol: Reklame-Kunst um 1900, Giessen 1985; Clemens Wischermann, Peter Borscheid, Karl-Peter Ellerbrock (Hg.): Unternehmenskommunikation im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert, Dortmund 2000. 

Subject Area: Islamic Studies 

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Ahmed Mohamed A. Sheir (M.A.): The Crusades from the Arab Perspective (held in English)Ahmed Mohamed A. Sheir (M.A.): The Crusades from the Arab Perspective (held in English)

  seminar

  Wednesday 4pm - 6pm

  Content:

  The Crusades were a series of medieval religious wars, endorsed by the Latin Church in the medieval period, 1097-1291, between the Latin Christians (Europe) and the Muslims in the Levant and Egypt. The crusading movement involved fascinating and dramatic occurrences that shaped essential aspects of the history of the relations between Western Europe and the Arab world, between Christianity and Islam. In consequence, the historical memory and legacy of the Crusades have influenced the relations between Christianity and Islam, between Western Europe and the Middle East during the Medieval and Modern time, and still, cast a deep shadow on those relations in our present time.
  This seminar, thus, seeks to study the crusades and the crusading memory through the Arab perspective. It is also important to give examples of the peaceful relations that took place during the crusades as this can contribute to reinforcing the peacebuilding between East and West in the present time. There were numbers of events in the modern Arab-Muslim world have some pertinent to the medieval crusading period, which contributed to retaining a vivid presence of the crusades in Arab-Muslim memory. We aim to discuss the memory of the crusades and its perception through some writings and cultural materials of the 19th and 20th centuries of the Arab world, to measure the crusades’ memory and its role in shaping the relations between East and West in such period and later on.
  This means that this seminar will deal with the crusades and its memory form historical, political and intercultural aspects, presenting examples from sources, literature, and media of the Middle East and the Arab world. Across a semester, we would together study such dramatic events and important aspects.

Subject Area: Media Studies 

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Angela Krewani: Visual Politics in Digital Contexts (held in English)Prof. Dr. Angela Krewani: Visual Politics in Digital Contexts (held in English)

  seminar

  Tuesday 8.30am - 10am

  Content: 

  Through mass and social media politics has experienced a strong visualisation of its contents. Especially narrative forms from film and television are transformed into visual political messages, thus conflating fictional realities with political statements. This class aims to collect and analyze the processes of visualisation and their respective distributions through mass and social media with a special regard to aspects of social dynamics and cultural archives. 

Subject Area: Peace and Conflict Studies 

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Susanne Buckley-Zistel: Human Rights in a Globalized World  (held in English) Prof. Dr. Susanne Buckley-Zistel: Human Rights in a Globalized World  (held in English) 

  Block Seminar

  The IUSP has only 8 spots in this class!

  Friday, May 31 & Saturday, June 1 AND Friday, June 7 & Saturday, June 8

  Content: 

  This seminar offers a general introduction to human rights, as well as an overview of some specific topics in this field. It focuses on human rights history, principles, instruments and institutions, and provides an overview of current issues and debates. In particular, it zooms in on some of the following fields: rights of women, rights of the child, rights of indigenous peoples, as well as transitional justice, migration and sexual minorities. The seminar also explores the role of social movements and advocacy groups in promoting human rights.

  The following topics shall be discussed in more detail: Universal Declaration of Human Rights, history and development of human rights, different generations of human rights, human rights violations, instruments and intuitions of human rights, norms and organisations, protecting human rights, criticism of human rights.

  Bibliography:

  Donnelly, J., 2016. Universal human rights in theory and practice. Cornell University Press.

  Hoffmann, S.L. ed., 2010. Human rights in the twentieth century. Cambridge University Press.

  Hopgood, S., Snyder, J. and Vinjamuri, L. eds., 2017. Human Rights Futures. Cambridge University Press.

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Dr. Kerstin Zimmer: Ethnische Diversität und Konflikte - das Habsburger Reich und das zaristische Russland im Vergleich (held in German)Dr. Kerstin Zimmer: Ethnische Diversität und Konflikte - das Habsburger Reich und das zaristische Russland im Vergleich (held in German)

  seminar

  Thursday 12pm - 2pm

  Content: 

  Heute sind die meisten Staaten als Nationalstaaten organisiert. Das 19. Jahrhundert war aber in Europa, vor allem im Osten und Südosten, noch von multiethnischen Imperien und sich formierenden National- und Sezessionsbewegungen geprägt. Das galt insbesondere für das Habsburger Reich und das zaristische Russland, die durch territoriale Expansion heterogen geworden waren, sowohl hinsichtlich von Sprachen und Religionen als auch hinsichtlich historischer Erfahrungen und Sozial- und Verwaltungsstrukturen.
  Im Seminar befassen wir uns zunächst mit Theorien von Ethnizität und ethnischem Konflikt. Anschließend wenden wir diese auf das Habsburger Reich und Russland an.
  Wir lesen deutsch- und englischsprachige Texte, die wir im Seminar besprechen. Die Prüfungsleistung ist eine Hausarbeit.

Subject Area: Philosophy

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Dr. Greg Sax: The Philosophy of Time (held in English)Dr. Greg Sax: The Philosophy of Time (held in English)

  seminar

  Monday 2pm - 4pm

  Content: 

  It is very hard to make explicit sense of time.  Is it objectively real?  If so, then does it exist in and of itself (substantivalism) or only in virtue of certain relations among physical objects (relationism)?  Does it exist all at once, statically, or is it dynamic and pass or flow (and, if so, then in what sense)?  Does it comprise the past, present, and future (the A-series), the field of before-than/after-than relations (the B-series), or both?  What do answers to these questions imply about the symmetry/asymmetry of space and time, e.g., is the universe a unified four-dimensional space-time, as the special theory of relativity concludes, or are the three dimensions of space separate from the dimension of time?  And what do answers imply for the past and the future with respect to our ability to prevent events from occurring or bring them about?  Is time travel possible, and if not, then why not? 

   Time is also intimately connected with a surprising number of equally abstract issues (like change, truth, bivalence, and logic) but especially with existence and coming to be.  Do only the contents of the present really exist (presentism)?  Or, is the past also real (the growing block theory)?  Or, are the past, present, and future all equally real (eternalism)? 

  These are the questions that will be considered in the seminar (though I will be responsive to participants’ interest in other issues).  Readings will come from the following well-known, widely discussed papers and books:

  Isaac Newton, “Absolute Space and Time” (1687)

  Gottfried Leibniz, “The Relational Theory of Space and Time” (1715-1716)

  J.E. McTaggart, “The Unreality of Time” (1908); “Time” (1927)

  Bertrand Russell, “On the Experience of Time” (1915)

  C.D. Broad, Scientific Thought (1923)

  J.N. Findley, “Time: A Treatment of Some Puzzles” (1941)

  Donald C. Williams, “The Myth of Passage” (1951)

  Michael Dummett, “A Defense of McTaggert’s Unreality of Time” (1960); “Bringing about the Past” (1964); “The Reality of the Past” (1969)

  W.V. Quine, Word and Object (1960)

  Charles Hartshorne, “The Meaning of ‘Is Going to Be’” (1965)

  Storrs McCall, “Temporal Flux” (1966)

  Hilary Putnam, “Time and Physical Geometry” (1967)

  Richard Gale, “The Static versus the Dynamic Temporal” (1968)

  Larry Dwyer, “Time-Travel and Changing the Past” (1975)

  Richard Sorabji, “Is Time Real?” (1983)

  David Lewis, “The Paradoxes of Time-Travel” (1986)

  Howard Stein, “On Relativity Theory and the Openness of the Future” (1991)

   

  The course will be taught in English and in the American style.  All forms of credit that the philosophy department allows (except for class presentations) will be accepted.

Subject Area: Political Science 

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Susanne Buckley-Zistel: Human Rights in a Globalized World  (held in English) Prof. Dr. Susanne Buckley-Zistel: Human Rights in a Globalized World  (held in English) 

  Block Seminar

  The IUSP has only 8 spots in this class!

  Friday, May 31 & Saturday, June 1 AND Friday, June 7 & Saturday, June 8

  Content: 

  This seminar offers a general introduction to human rights, as well as an overview of some specific topics in this field. It focuses on human rights history, principles, instruments and institutions, and provides an overview of current issues and debates. In particular, it zooms in on some of the following fields: rights of women, rights of the child, rights of indigenous peoples, as well as transitional justice, migration and sexual minorities. The seminar also explores the role of social movements and advocacy groups in promoting human rights.

  The following topics shall be discussed in more detail: Universal Declaration of Human Rights, history and development of human rights, different generations of human rights, human rights violations, instruments and intuitions of human rights, norms and organisations, protecting human rights, criticism of human rights.

  Bibliography:

  Donnelly, J., 2016. Universal human rights in theory and practice. Cornell University Press.

  Hoffmann, S.L. ed., 2010. Human rights in the twentieth century. Cambridge University Press.

  Hopgood, S., Snyder, J. and Vinjamuri, L. eds., 2017. Human Rights Futures. Cambridge University Press.

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Hubert Zimmermann: Einfühung in die Internationalen Beziehungen (held in German)Prof. Dr. Hubert Zimmermann: Einfühung in die Internationalen Beziehungen (held in German)

  lecture 

  Thursday 10am - 12pm

  Content: Ziel ist der Erwerb grundlegender Kenntnisse über die Strukturen und Probleme der Internationalen Politik. Die Betonung liegt auf der Analyse aktueller Problem mit Hilfe der in der Vorlesung behandelten Theorien. Die Vorlesung soll Sie in die Lage versetzen, hinter dem Chaos der täglichen Berichterstattung über internationale Politik bestimmte Strukturen und Grundprobleme zu erkennen und mit Hilfe politikwissenschaftlicher Instrumente einzuordnen. Dabei wird immer versucht, den Anschluss an andere politikwissenschaftliche Teildisziplinen herzustellen: internationale Politik ist nicht als isolierter Bereich zu verstehen. In dieser Einführung liegt der Schwerpunkt nicht auf der Erläuterung der Fakten der internationalen Politik. Grundvoraussetzung ist, dass sich die Studierenden selbständig über die tägliche Lektüre das Basiswissen über die grundlegenden Vorgänge in den internationalen Beziehungen verschaffen.

  Literature: 

  Basislektüre:
  Frank Schimmelfennig. (2015): Internationale Politik. Paderborn: Schöningh, 4. Aufl.,

  Zusatzlektüre:
  Baylis John/ Smith Steve/ Owens Patricia (Hrsg.) (2013): The Globalization of World Politics. An Introduction to International Relations, 6. Aufl., Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  Carlsnaes Walter/Risse, Thomas/Simmons, Beth A. (Hrsg.) (2013): Handbook of International Relations, 2. Aufl., London: Sage.
  Goldstein, Joshua S./ Pevehouse, Jon C. (2010): International Relations. 9. Aufl. New York: Pearson Education.
  Jetschke, Anja (2017): Internationale Beziehungen. Eine Einführung. 1. Aufl., Tübingen: Narr Francke Attempto Verlag.
  Krell, Gert (2009): Weltbilder und Weltordnung. Einführung in die Theorie der internationalen Beziehungen. 4. Aufl. Baden-Baden: Nomos.
  List, Martin (2006): Internationale Politik studieren. Eine Einführung. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag. Auch online verfügbar unter: http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-3-531-90181-7
  Müller, Markus M. (Hrsg.) (2011): Casebook internationale Politik. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag. Auch online verfügbar unter: http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-3-531-92092-4
  Schieder, Siegried/Spindler Manuela (2010): Theorien der Internationalen Beziehungen, 3. Aufl., Opladen: Budrich.
   

Subject Area: Psychology 

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Martin Pinquart: Migration and Human Development (held in English)Prof. Dr. Martin Pinquart: Migration and Human Development (held in English)

  lecture

  Friday 8.30am - 10am

  Goals and contents:

  The seminar applies main topics in the field of developmental psychology to young people with migration background, focusing on the situation of Germany and other countries.

  In Germany, about 20% of the citizens have a migration background, meaning that they are foreigners, were born outside of Germany, of have at least one parent who has been born outside Germany. The percentage is higher in children and adolescents than in older age groups. In the first part of the seminar, we will discuss whether and how the psychological development of children with and without migration background differs, for example with regard to success in school, language development, social integration, and problem behavior. Factors will be identified that explain the observed differences. In the second part of the seminar, we will discuss interventions aimed at promoting a positive development of children and adolescents with migration background (e.g., in kindergarten, schools, families, on in the whole society). Amongst others, we will discuss whether mainstream programs for young people in general are as successful in children or adolescents with migration background and how specific interventions could be developed that focus on the risk factors and resources of children with migration background.

  References:
  Garcia Coll, C. (2012). The impact of immigration on children’s development. Basel: Karger.

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Christopher Cohrs: Aggression and ViolenceProf. Dr. Christopher Cohrs: Aggression and Violence

  lecture

  Friday 10am - 2pm

  Content:

  The overall goal of the lecture is to give an understanding of psychological and sociological mechanisms explaining the emergence, escalation, and reduction of aggression and violence. Content of the lecture are basic psychological theories regarding aggression as well as possibilities to apply these theories in intervention procedures. Inter alia the following topics will be addressed: methodological and ethical problems in manipulating and measuring aggression, the impact of the media, sexual violence.

  A reading list will be distributed at the beginning of the lecture.

  First reading to get access to the topic: Anderson, C. A. & Bushman, B. J. (2002) Human aggression. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 27-51.

Subject Area: Religious Studies

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Marita Günther: Heiliger oder verbotener Sex: Religionen & Sexualitäten zwischen Ordnung und Vielfalt? (held in German)Marita Günther: Heiliger oder verbotener Sex: Religionen & Sexualitäten zwischen Ordnung und Vielfalt? (held in German)

  seminar

  Monday 12pm - 2pm

  Content: 

  In diesem Seminar werden wir einen Einblick in das Verhältnis von Religionen und Sexualitäten erarbeiten. Religiöse Sexualitätsordnungen thematisieren und regeln nicht nur die Beziehungen zwischen Menschen, sondern auch die Beziehung zum eigenen und anderen Körper. Sie verhandeln darüber hinaus die Beziehungen zum ‚Göttlichen‘. Damit kommt ihnen oftmals eine gesellschaftpolitisch legitimierende Funktion zu.

  Einige grundlegende Texte werden theoretische Zugänge vermitteln. Der Schwerpunkt des Seminars liegt auf aktuellen Debatten der institutionalisierten Religionen zu Geschlechter- und Sexualitätsordnungen sowie Beispielen der alternativen Spiritualität. Auch gesellschaftspolitische Utopien entwerfen neue religiöse Praxen und (sexuelle) Beziehungsmodelle. Anhand von Beispielen werden wir die Spannungsfelder zwischen einer ‚säkularen‘ Gesellschaftsordnung, identitätspolitischen Positionen und religiösen Weltbildern diskutieren.

  Literatur: Ammicht-Quinn, Regina: (Un)Ordnungen und Konversionen: Trans*, Gender, Religion und Moral. In: Gerhard Schreiber (Hg.): Transsexualität in Theologie und Neurowissenschaften. Berlin/ Boston 2016, 441-459.
  Elsas, Christoph et al. (Hg.): Geschlechtergerechtigkeit: Herausforderung der Religionen, Berlin 2014.

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Gerrit Lange: Besessenheit in Film, Feld und Forschung (held in German)Gerrit Lange: Besessenheit in Film, Feld und Forschung (held in German)

  seminar

  Tuesday 2pm - 4pm

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Bärbel Beinhauer-Köhler: Buddha und Muhammad  (held in German)Prof. Dr. Bärbel Beinhauer-Köhler: Buddha und Muhammad  (held in German)

  seminar

  Tuesday 4pm - 6pm

  Content:

  In diesem Basismodul-Seminar beschäftigen wir uns am Beispiel ihrer Religionsstifter elementar mit zwei Religionen, Buddhismus und Islam. Diese haben eine je eigene Religionsgeschichte, die sich in charakteristischen Quellentexten (Sutras des Palikanon als Buddha zugeschriebene Lehrtexte, Lalitavistara als Legendensammlung mit einer Hagiographie Siddharta Gautamas, Qur‘an als Medium der von Muhammad verkündeten Offenbarung, Hadithe als Erzählungen von und über Muhammad) rekonstruieren lässt. Mit der Zeit entfuhren beide eine Überhöhung: Buddha wurde mit der Schule des Mahayana vom Lehrer zum Gott – Muhammad, wohl angesichts des strengen Monotheismus des Islam, zum vollkommenen Menschen, der in jeder Lebenslage Orientierung vermittelt und zu emotionaler Frömmigkeit Anlass bietet.  Uns interessiert im weitesten Sinne die Entwicklung des Wissens um diese Gestalten, die wir in verschiedenen Medien, bis hin zum zeitgenössischen Film, repräsentiert finden.

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Bärbel Beinhauer-Köhler: Götter, Göttinnen und Heilsgestalten (held in German)Prof. Dr. Bärbel Beinhauer-Köhler: Götter, Göttinnen und Heilsgestalten (held in German)

  lecture

  Thursday 4pm - 6pm

  Content:

  „Can one pray to a nonanthropomorphic deity?“ fragt der Religionswissenschaftler Zwi Werblowsky und markiert damit eine wichtige Funktion anthropomorpher Gegenüber in Religionen, nämlich eine Möglichkeit zur Kommunikation. In der Überblicksvorlesung, die für sämtliche Semester gedacht ist, werden insofern in exemplarischen Ausschnitten Gottesvorstellungen sowie Heilsgestalten (Religionsstifter, Propheten/Prophetinnen, „Heilige“) verschiedener Religionen vorgestellt (mittels Mythen, Legenden, Theologien, Visualisierungen). Ferner interessieren rituelle (Gebet, Opfer u.ä.) und soziale Bezugnahmen (Orientierung, Identitätsstiftung, Repräsentation, Konstruktion von Geschlecht). Vor dem Hintergrund vorzustellender Materialien lassen sich weiterführende Fragen diskutieren: das Menschsein transzendierende Größen stehen an der Schnittstelle spezifischer Theologien und Anthropologien. Religionshistorisch scheinen diese Dimensionen in dynamischem Verhältnis befindlich: „Helden“, Religionsstifter und „Heilige“ erfahren zuweilen eine Apotheose (Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Fatima) oder Heilsgestalten ermöglichen persönliche Nähe, wenn in Theologien amorphe Transzendenzvorstellungen dominieren, so jedenfalls Werblowsky in seinem Artikel „Anthropomorphism“.

  Literatur: Lit.: Zwi Werblowsky, Art. „Anthropomorphism“, in: Encyclopedia of Religion I, hg. v. M. Eliade, New York 1987, S. 316-320.

Subject Area: Social and Cultural Anthropology 

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Siegfried Becker: Erinnern und Vergessen. Biografische Forschung als kulturwissenschaftliche Methode  (held in German)Prof. Dr. Siegfried Becker: Erinnern und Vergessen. Biografische Forschung als kulturwissenschaftliche Methode  (held in German)

  seminar

  Friday 10am - 12pm

  Content:

  Was erinnern wir, was vergessen wir? Wie wirken sich Erfahrungen unserer Sozialisation und Enkulturation auf Einstellungen und Lebensentwürfe aus? Und wie spiegelt sich die Zeitgeschichte des 20. Jahrhunderts in den Lebensgeschichten wider, die uns Zeitzeuginnen und Zeitzeugen erzählen? Wie wurden Krieg, Flucht und Vertreibung erfahren? Und wie wurde der Holocaust in den Überlebendenberichten verarbeitet und vermittelt? Biografische Forschung hat interdisziplinär, so auch in unserem Fach, seit den 1980er Jahren große Bedeutung als methodischer Zugang zum Feld erhalten. Wir wollen uns mit Praxis und methodischen Fragen der biografischen Forschung beschäftigen und ausgewählte Beispiele aus der Fachliteratur diskutieren. Kleine Übungen eigenständigen Forschens sind möglich.

  Literatur:

  Helma Lutz, Martina Schiebel, Elisabeth Tuider (Hrsg.): Handbuch Biographieforschung. Wiesbaden 2018

  Hans-Werner Wahl, Andreas Kruse (Hrsg.): Lebensläufe im Wandel. Entwicklung über die Lebensspanne aus Sicht verschiedener Disziplinen. Stuttgart 2014

  Brigitta Schmidt-Lauber, Gudrun Schwibbe (Hrsg.): Alterität. Erzählen vom Anderssein. Göttingen 2010

  Manfred Seifert, Sönke Friedreich (Hrsg.): Alltagsleben biografisch erfassen. Zur Konzeption lebensgeschichtlich orientierter Forschung. Dresden 2009

  Werner Fuchs-Heinritz: Biographische Forschung. Eine Einführung in Praxis und Methoden. 4. Aufl. Wiesbaden 2009

  Brigitte Bönisch-Brednich, Rolf-Wilhelm Brednich, Helge Gerndt (Hrsg.): Erinnern und Vergessen. Vorträge des 27. Deutschen Volkskundekongresses Göttingen 1989. Göttingen 1991

  Albrecht Lehmann: Erzählstruktur und Lebenslauf. Autobiographische Untersuchungen. Frankfurt a.M. 1983

  Rolf Wilhelm Brednich u.a. (Hrsg.): Lebenslauf und Lebenszusammenhang. Autobiographische Materialien in der volkskundlichen Forschung. Freiburg i.Br. 1982

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Dr. Marion Näser-Lather: Grundlagentexte der empirischen Kulturwissenschaft (held in German)Dr. Marion Näser-Lather: Grundlagentexte der empirischen Kulturwissenschaft (held in German)

  seminar

  Monday 2pm - 4pm

  Content: 

  Die Lehrveranstaltung möchte anhand einer exemplarischen Auswahl von Schlüsselexten Orientierungswissen über methodische Zugänge, relevante Theorielagen, Begrifflichkeiten, fachspezifische Fragestellungen und Forschungsfelder der Europäischen Ethnologie/Kulturwissenschaft vermitteln.
  Durch die Textlektüre und die Diskussion im Seminar soll zudem ein erstes Verständnis für die Annäherung an das Verstehen kultureller Prozesse erreicht werden.
  Die Texte werden jeweils in Form einer kurzen wissenschaftshistorischen Einordnung kontextualisiert, um mittels einer Konturierung der Fachgeschichte einen Einblick in fachinterne Debatten und Entwicklungen zu ermöglichen. Die Liste der Lektüretexte wird zu Beginn des Semesters bekannt gegeben.
  Zielgruppe: Studierende der Empirischen Kulturwissenschaft im 1. und 2. Studienjahr
  Studienleistungen: Lektüre der Texte, regelmäßige Anwesenheit und aktive Mitarbeit (Übermittlung von 3 diskussionsleitenden Fragen zu jedem Text vor der entsprechenden Sitzung, Beteiligung an den Diskussionen im Seminar)
  Prüfungsleistung: Hausarbeit 

  Literatur zur Einführung:
  Brednich, Rolf (Hg.): Grundriß der Volkskunde. Einführung in die Forschungsfelder der europäischen Ethnologie. Berlin 1988.
  Kaschuba, Wolfgang: Einführung in die Europäische Ethnologie. Dritte Auflage, München 2006.

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Dr. Antje van Elsbergen: Ethnopoetische Äußerungen von Minderheiten in einer pluralistischen Gesellschaft (held in German)Dr. Antje van Elsbergen: Ethnopoetische Äußerungen von Minderheiten in einer pluralistischen Gesellschaft (held in German)

  seminar

  Monday 10am - 12pm

  Content: to come 

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Ina Merkel: Kultur und Macht: Die Denkschule der Cultural Studies (held in German)Prof. Dr. Ina Merkel: Kultur und Macht: Die Denkschule der Cultural Studies (held in German)

  seminar

  Tuesday 4pm - 6pm

  Content: 

  Cultural Studies waren fachgeschichtlich für die Herausbildung und Entwicklung der empirischen Kulturwissenschaft von besonderer Bedeutung. Ausgehend von einem Kulturverständnis, das auf die „ganze Lebensweise“ (the whole way of life) zielte und Kultur als etwas Prozesshaftes auffasste, befassten sich die Cultural Studies mit Machtverhältnissen in modernen Gesellschaften. Dabei steht die Frage, wie die Individuen in gegebenen Verhältnissen ihr Leben leben, sich kulturell ausdrücken und kreativ sind, im Mittelpunkt ihres Interesses. Besondere Aufmerksamkeit wird den subordinierten, marginalisierten, ausgegrenzten sozialen Gruppen gewidmet: der Arbeiterjugend, den Einwanderern, Hausfrauen usw. Kulturelle Phänomene – der Fernsehkonsum von Soaps, das aggressive Verhalten von Fußballfans, das Aufblühen von junger Designermode im Londoner Osten, die Liebe zum Bollywood-Kino oder was auch immer – werden immer daraufhin untersucht, inwiefern darin Machtverhältnisse bestätigt oder in Frage gestellt, gestärkt oder unterwandert werden. Cultural Studies haben eine faszinierende Sensibilität für Themen und Untersuchungsfelder entwickelt, die von der herrschenden Kulturkritik abgewertet, verdammt oder belächelt werden.
  Ziel des Seminars ist es, dass Sie einen tieferen Einblick in die wissenschaftlichen Konzepte, Theorien und Methoden der Cultural Studies gewinnen und ihre wichtigsten Protagonisten kennen lernen. Das Lesen von Texten (auch englischsprachigen) und eine kontinuierliche Teilnahme sind für eine vertiefende Seminardiskussion unabdinglich, weshalb Sie sich gut überlegen sollten, ob Sie entsprechend Zeit investieren wollen.

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Dr. Marion Näser-Lather: Researching sensitive fields  (held in English)Dr. Marion Näser-Lather: Researching sensitive fields  (held in English)

  Tuesday 2pm - 4pm

  seminar

  Content:
  Based on inputs of the lecturer, the reading of short theoretical texts and field research examples as well as practical exercises, an insight into ethnological working in fields will be given which pose special challenges e.g. because of sensitive topics (such as interviews with members of discriminated groups, or persons with a fatal illness), in settings within which field access is complicated (such as intercultural contact situations), or in surroundings characterized by violent structures (e.g., conducting research about organized crime or in warzones). Within this context, among other topics, the relationship between researcher and field (emotions, expectations, experiences) and the ethical responsibility of the researcher will be addressed.

  Target Audience: students of cultural anthropology and social sciences with basis knowledge about empirical methods

  Examination mode: Continuous and active participation and reading of the texts (Studienleistung), written reflection of own fieldwork experience (Hausarbeit, Prüfungsleistung).

  Reading for introduction:
  Girtler, Roland: 10 Gebote der Feldforschung. Münster und Wien 2004.
  Lee, Raymond M.: Doing Research on Sensitive Topics. London u.a. 1993.
  Leimgruber, Walter/Bischoff, Christine/Oehme-Juengling, Karoline (Hg.): Methoden der Kulturanthropologie. Ein Arbeitsbuch. Bern 2014.
  Tertilt, Hermann: Turkish power boys. Frankfurt a.M. 1996.
  Heringer, Hans Jürgen: Interkulturelle Kommunikation. Tübingen 2010, 2. Auflage.

Subject: Sociology

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Martin Schröder: Gender and social inequality (held in English)Prof. Dr. Martin Schröder: Gender and social inequality (held in English)

  Seminar

  Thursday 12pm - 2pm

  Content: 

  Currently, women have higher educational qualifications than men in almost all developed countries. Nevertheless, they work less often, especially in top positions. Germany is particularly extreme: not one of the 30 largest German listed companies is headed by a woman. Why is that? Which countries make it possible to combine work and family and which policy are they using to do so? What do women say why they are less successful? Can we identify areas where men are disadvantaged?

  This seminar will use empirical studies to explore how material disadvantages can be explained by one’s gender. This seminar with therefore also train students’ competence in quantitative and qualitative methods.

  We will look at introductory literature on empirically identifiable gender inequalities in labor markets using some of the best empirical studies available. Furthermore, we will find out whether discrimination can be traced back to gender or parenthood through studies that use lab and field experiments. In addition, we will find out how welfare states differentiate and discriminate between men and women and how this affects their labor market behavior.

  An important aspect of this seminar is that it is only concerned with what is measurable, such as income, productivity and qualifications. It is well known that variables such as gender, productivity, etc. can be considered social constructions; However, it is not the goal of the seminar to fundamentally question this, but to make it usable as a basis for statistical calculations. In other words, we will use multivariate regressions to test how gender is a category that can explain social inequality, both at individual level as well as on the level of entire societies. Statistical knowledge is highly recommended, but can also be acquired through the seminar.

  At the end of this seminar, you will have understood some of the world's most important social science research articles. In doing so, you will learn the methods, with which researchers achieve methodically sound results. You will not only understand empirical research results, but also be able to recognize and criticize weak points.

  The seminar concludes with a term paper. For this term paper, you will work on a self-chosen topic that is related to the seminar topics. You have to process the literature of the seminar for your housework. That's why you can only write a good term paper if you regularly show up to class, read the texts and ask questions.

  It is possible that you will not downright understand all texts that we are going to read. That is ok. If you understood everything right away, you would not need a seminar, after all. So bring your questions to the seminar. By having them answered, you will start to understand scientific studies. As you read each text, try to ask and answer the following questions.

  • Which research question does the text answer? Why is this question relevant?

  • What assumptions did the text make? How are these plausible?

  • How does the text answer the chosen question?

  • What do you learn from the text?

  If it is an empirical work:

  • What data does the text use? Is the underlying method appropriate?

  • How appropriate is the data, in view of the conclusions to which they lead?

  • How could the present work be extended or improved? What are its weaknesses?

  • What remains unclear to you? What did not you understand about the method?

  Write down open questions and bring them to the seminar. I expect constant presence and participation. As we read research literature rather than textbooks, many of the methods used will be unknown to you. It's about getting to know them.

  All texts can be found in a course folder in ILIAS.

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Antje Röder: European Welfare States and Migration (held in English)Prof. Dr. Antje Röder: European Welfare States and Migration (held in English)

  seminar

  The IUSP has only 6 spots in this class!

  Wednesday 12pm - 2pm

  Content: 
  We begin by looking at migration more generally, to then focus on the often contested relationship between migration and welfare states. The main area of interest is migration into and within the European Union, but comparative references to other immigration receiving countries are made. A variety of teaching formats will be used that include student presentations, guided discussions and group work. All of these are premised on active participation and regular attendance.
  17. April Introduction
  24. April Migration to Europe: historical background and current trends
  1. May Bank holiday – no seminar
  8. May Country case studies
  15. May Migration theories: an overview
  22. May Managing migration: why migration policies often fail
  29. May Social protection for migrants in Europe
  5. June The “liberal dilemma”: Migration as a threat to welfare states?
  12. June Reading Week – no seminar
  
  Assessment
  As a “Studienleistung” all students prepare a presentation (individual or as a group), which will be held in the relevant seminar. Time slots are organised in the first week. Students can submit an essay as “Prüfungsleistung” in this module. It is recommended to consult with the course lecturer on the selected topic. Essays can be submitted in English or in German.

  Contact details
  Course lecturer: Prof. Dr. Antje Röder
  Email: roeder@uni-marburg.de
  Office hours: Wednesdays, 11.00 – 12.00

  Introduction
  In this first week, the course aims and contents are introduced and presentations are organised. As introduction to the topic the following readings are recommended:
  Castles, S., de Haas, H. And Miller, M.J. (2014) The Age of Migration: International Population Movements in the Modern World, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. (Chapter 1)
  Favell, A. (2008) “The new face of East-West migration in Europe”, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 34(5), 701-716.
  For those unfamiliar with debates around welfare state typologies, the following article provides a good overview:
  Arts, W. and Gelissen, J. (2002) “Three worlds of welfare capitalism or more? A state-of-the-art report”, Journal of European Social Policy 12(2), 137-158.

  Migration to Europe: historical background and current trends
  To better understand the current situation with regards to migration in Europe, we look at both historical and current migration to and within Europe. As background reading for all students the following is recommended:
  Castles, S., de Haas, H. And Miller, M.J. (2014) The Age of Migration: International Population Movements in the Modern World, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. (Chapter 5: Migration in Europe since 1945)

  Additionally, students work in groups to focus on one country as a case study (France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, UK). Material for this is provided on ILIAS or can be accessed online. Students are encouraged to bring their own devices (preferably laptops or tablets rather than mobile phones) to access this plus additional material online. Groups begin their work this week and continue it in the next seminar.
  Some good starting points:
  IOM Global Migration Data Portal
  MIPEX 2015, available on: http://www.mipex.eu
  Migration Data Portal
  OECD International Migration Database
  Triandafyllidou, A. And Gropas, R. European Immigration: A Sourcebook, Aldershot: Ashgate.
  Country case studies
  Country case studies are completed this week. We use these as a basis for discussion of similarities and differences in migration patterns across European countries.

  Migration theories: an overview
  Why and under which circumstances do people migrate? This week we focus on theories that aim to explain migration. Different perspectives from early push-pull and neoclassical models to more recent approaches will be considered and compared. All students should read the following chapter, which will be discussed in class:
  Castles, S., de Haas, H. And Miller, M.J. (2014) The Age of Migration: International Population Movements in the Modern World, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. (Chapter 2: Theories of Migration)
  Further readings:
  Massey, D.S., Arango, J., Hugo, G., Kouaoici, A., Pellegrino, A. And Taylor, J.E. (1993) “Theories of international migration: A review and appraisal”, Population and Development Review 19(3), 431-466.
  Smith, M.P. and Favell, A. (eds.) (2006). The Human Face of Global Mobility. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers.

  Managing migration: why migration policies often fail
  The management of migration is a contested area, as current political discussions about border control once more illustrate. We examine migration policies in the past and present, and discuss why they frequently fail to meet their objectives. All students should read the following chapter to contribute to in-class discussion:
  Castles, S. (2008) “The factors that make and unmake migration policies” in Portes, A. And DeWind, J. (eds.) Rethinking Migration: New theoretical and empirical perspectives, Oxford: Berghahn Books, 29-61.
  Further readings:
  Castles, S., de Haas, H. And Miller, M.J. (2014) The Age of Migration: International Population Movements in the Modern World, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. (Chapter 10: The State and International Migration: The Quest for Control)
  Geddes, A. And Scholten, P. (2016) The Politics of Migration & Immigration in Europe (2nd ed.), London: Sage.
  Hollifield, J. (2008) “The emerging migration state” in Portes, A. And DeWind, J. (eds.) Rethinking Migration: New theoretical and empirical perspectives, Oxford: Berghahn Books, 62-89.
  Menz, G. (2009) The Political Economy of Managed Migration: Nonstate Actors, Europeanization, and the Politics of Designing Migration Policies, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

  Social protection for migrants in Europe
  Migrants enjoy some, but typically not all social protections afforded to the native born population. With particular focus on the European Union we examine where migrants are excluded or included in social protection, and how this differs across welfare regime types.
  A group of students will prepare a presentation on this topic. Recommended literature is listed below, although students are welcome to research additional sources.
  Bruzalius, C. (2018) “Freedom of movement, social rights and residence-based conditionality in the European Union”, Journal of European Social Policy (online first).
  Dwyer, P.J., Scullion, L., Jones, K. and Stewart, A. (2018) “The impact of conditionality on the welfare rights of EU migrants in the UK”, Policy and Politics, online first.
  Morissens, A. and Sainsbury, D. (2005) “Migrants’ social rights, ethnicity and welfare regimes”, Journal of Social Policy 34(4), 637-660.
  Schmitt, C. And Teney, C. (2018) “Access to general social protection for immigrants in advanced democracies”, Journal of European Social Policy (online first).

  The “liberal dilemma”: Migration as a threat to welfare states?
  Welfare states rely on their members’ support for redistribution to those in need. Having been largely conceived in times of relative cultural homogeneity, it is often claimed that the willingness to support others will erode with greater diversity as a result of immigration. Fear of immigrants abusing the welfare state or “taking more than they give” is frequently voiced by right-wing populists. A growing body of research investigates whether immigration does indeed undermine support for welfare state policies.
  A group presentation will focus on these questions to present the often competing arguments in this field as well as current empirical research. Recommended literature is listed below, although students are welcome to research additional sources.
  Brady, D. And Finnigan, R. (2014) “Does immigration undermine public support for social policy?”, American Sociological Review 79(1), 17-42.
  Putnam, R.D. (2007) “E pluribus unum: Diversity and community in the twenty-first century”, Scandinavian Political Studies 30(2), 137-174.
  Reeskens, T. and van Oorschot, W. (2012) “Disentangling the ‘New Liberal Dilemma’: On the relation between general welfare redistribution preferences and welfare chauvinism”, International Journal of Comparative Sociology 53(2), 120-139.
  Schmidt-Catran, A. and Spies, D. (2016) “Immigration and welfare support in Germany”, American Sociological Review 81(2), 242-261.

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Randy Stache (M.A.): "Specifying the Social Cogs and Wheels" - Soziologisches Erklären mit Mechanismen (held in German)Randy Stache (M.A.): "Specifying the Social Cogs and Wheels" - Soziologisches Erklären mit Mechanismen (held in German)

  seminar

  Monday 4pm - 6pm

  Content: to come

• Inhalt ausklappen Inhalt einklappen Prof. Dr. Sven Opitz: Global Health Security (held in English)Prof. Dr. Sven Opitz: Global Health Security (held in English)

  seminar

  Monday 10am - 12pm

  Content: 

  Since the SARS-pandemic in 2002 and 2003 global health has increasingly been addressed as a security issue. Especially the World Health Organization (WHO) came to understand its primary task in providing what was now called „Global Health Security”. From a sociological perspective, this linkage between health and security is highly significant for the fact that societal modes of dealing with phenomena change fundamentally as soon as they are problematized in terms of security: acts of “securitization” turn a given situation into an existential drama of survival vis-à-vis an existential threat which calls for exceptional measures; the concern for matters of life and death feeds into biopolitical modes of governing. This seminar elaborates conceptual tools for empirically investigating the contemporary securitization of global health, its procedures and its effects. It focuses on surveillance programms, border technologies, humanitarian design, legal regulations, contingency plans, and forms of risk management inter alia. It will become clear that biological problems of infection are of utmost relevance for the sociological inquiry of relationalities. The anxiety about pathogenic agents goes hand in hand with a heightened concern for the material contacts that bind humans with microbes, animals and things. Accordingly, the seminar will investigate how the securitization of health tends towards the securitization of collective life.
    

  Readings:

  Elbe, Stefan: Security and Global Health: Towards the Medicalization of Insecurity, Polity Press 2010.

  Hinchliffe, Steve, et al.: Pathological lives: Disease, Space and Biopolitics, Wiley 2017.

  Lakoff, Andrew: Unprepared. Global Health in a Time of Emergency, Oakland: University of California Press 2017.

  Opitz, Sven: „Regulating Epidemic Space: The Nomos of Global Circulation”, in: Journal of International Relations and Development 19, 2016, S. 263-284.

  Weir, Lorna/Mykhalovskiy, Eric: Global Public Health Vigilance: Creating a World on Alert, Routledge 2010.

Class Lists from Previous Semesters

Fall 2018

Spring 2018

Fall 2017

German Conversation Classes

The main goal of our Conversation Classes is to improve students' ability to communicate and interact in German. The classes focus on teaching students conversational techniques and strategies, improving students’ listening abilities, and strengthening students’ grasp of German grammar and vocabulary. The conversation classes will have the same language levels as the intensive German language classes.