This course introduces students to the anthropology of democracy and to (1) the concepts of citizenship, participation in governance and transparency; (2) the nature, philosophy and future of autonomy which is important for democracy; and (3) the concepts of free time and utopia. The course will consist of three different parts. The first part will focus on preparation (introducing the course, planning, etc.) and the conceptual framework. In the second part We will focus on autonomous organizations and grassroots movements. In this context, We will discuss experiences in Latin America (Porto Alegre and Landless Rural Workers), Europe and the Middle East (Israel, Rojava and Kurdish neighborhood assemblies in Turkey). Lastly, the course will be followed by reflection phase.

Online Seminar

The course introduces students to the most important debates about the relationship between work and class in capitalism. At the end of the course, students will have a deeper understanding of how cultural factors have shaped the world of work in fundamental aspects: managerial ideologies, everyday practices, and struggles in and for the workplace. Moving beyond the point of production, we will discuss the controversial issue of social class, its definitions, and the most important associated topics: its continuing relevance (or lack thereof); classism; social reproduction and mobility; the experience of class; class, habitus, and consumption; the representation of class; and finally, class and politics of place. Drawing on explorations of concrete cases (many of them ethnographic), the aim of this class is to help students develop the capacity for critical thinking about cultures of work and class in the real-world, including in their own everyday lives.

Literature:
During the course, the students will become familiar with the work of several scholars working on the issues of work and class: James Carrier, Don Kalb, Paul Willis, Hadas Weiss, Owen Jones, Stuart Hall, Pierre Bourdieu, Carolyn Steedman, Richard Sennett, Krisztina Fehervary, Sharon Zukin, Massimiliano Mollona, Stephen Campbell, Tania Li, bell hooks, and Cynthia Cruz.

Methodology deals with the fundamentals of scientific work and their practical implementation. Methods are scientific tools. The research process is guided by the choice of method appropriate to the research question.
When asked what research-based learning means for the work in this module, a student from a previous course wrote (excerpt):
"We learn the methods of qualitative cultural research and ethnology in the course of applying the methods. [...] Ideally, therefore, you should carry out a complete research project within the framework of this module, from the initial idea to evaluation and writing up. The theory read and heard [...] only forms the basis for independent action and learning."
The methods module is not only about getting to know and trying out cultural studies tools, but also about encouraging students to carry out their own research and questioning and making the experience of an entire research process tangible. It is also about becoming aware that we are conducting research with and about people and dealing with what this means for us as researchers, the people in our research 'fields', and for our relationship with them.
The seminar introduces basic methods of qualitative cultural research and focuses on ethnographic methods. In the sense of independent, experience-based research-based learning, it guides students to carry out their own field research and to document, analyze, interpret and reflect on the research process and the central research results. Methods and techniques are therefore presented and discussed in the seminar, and basic texts are read and discussed.
In the research workshops, students work on their own research documents. Work steps and everyday problems are discussed on a weekly basis. Feedback on the documents is also given in a peer review process.
Over the course of the semester, a research report is produced in team and/or individual work, which is then assessed and graded.
In the summer semester, students in the M6 profile subject can deepen their knowledge of methods and continue the research process begun in the winter semester.

Literature: see StudIP, a basic book is: Breidenstein, Georg/ Hirschauer, Stefan/ Kalthoff, Herbert/ Nieswand, Boris. 2013. ethnography. The practice of field research. Constance/ Munich: UVB

some weekly sessions and block seminar

In this seminar, we will work on different narratives about representations of what is imagined – in different times and under different (political, social, economic) circumstances – as ‘Germany’. We will explore what ‘Germany’ supposedly is and gain a deeper understanding of it. With a cultural studies perspective we will look at what and who is represented by whom as ‘German(y)’, who and what is excluded by the narratives, what the specific circumstances for specific narratives are and which counter-narratives can be found.
The aim of the seminar is not to study what is called ‘Germany’ or ‘Europe’ but to learn about representation and perspectives of (multiple) self-imaginations, how they are constructed in different narratives and which functions these imaginations serve.
In the context of this seminar, we do a joint study trip to the Bunker Valentin in Bremen Nord to explore different narratives and representations about Germany’s past and present. With a selection of texts and short films we will thematise issues of German colonialism, migration, racism, exclusion and inclusion, and their implications.
The seminar will consist of some single weekly sessions (on Mondays around noon) and a couple of weekend Block seminars. The specific tasks of participants would be determined at the be beginning of the semester based on whether participants take it as a 3 CPs or 6 CPs seminar.

Online-Seminar
Only 3 CP possible

This seminar is planed as a part of the conversation series about Ways of Remembering: Memories, Representations, Contexts will examine the current state of memory studies on violent and contested histories, as well as the various ways in which they are represented or silenced. In each session, the participants will have the opportunity to reflect on different aspects of the field through critical conversations on a case of memorialization with guest scholars and cultural practitioners from a diverse range of contexts and disciplines. A particular focus of the series will be on the multilayered imbalance between the representations of the past and the present and how this asymmetry translates into the present-day politics, society and culture in different contexts.

Over recent years the renown philosopher, feminist and gender studies scholar Judith Butler has become the target of hate which ranges from the burning of their effigy in the streets of Sao Paolo, Brazil, to verbal attacks and severe threats. Appraised across the globe as one of the most esteemed thinkers of our times, Butler is now criticized by liberal, conservative and far-right actors for their stance in the Israel-Palestine conflict on the one hand and their theorizations on sex and gender, on the other, again and again demonizing Butler as the ideological mastermind (“Chefideologin”) behind gender theory. What is behind this hate against such an influential scholar of our times? And what does Butler actually have to say about sex, gender and their performativity and queer theory, about hate speech, war, violence and mourning, about struggles, resistance and non-violence, mastery and vulnerability?
The seminar aims at undoing the wave of anti-intellectualism, which we are currently witnessing towards critical thinkers, and actually engage with the original texts. We will read a selection of chapters from Gender Trouble (1990), Bodies that Matter (1993), Excitable Speech: A Politics of the Performative (1997), Psychic Life of Power (1997), Precarious Life (2004), Frames of War (2009), Notes Toward a Performative Theory of Assembly (2015), The Force of Non-Violence (2020), Who’s afraid of Gender ? (2024). We will aim at understanding and critically discussing these texts and her public interventions. We will also reflect on the political and theoretical background to Butler’s thinking, engage with the critique brought forward against it, and ask in which ways her thinking is relevant for our discipline.
This reading-focussed seminar will be held in English language. Although you are also welcome to hand-in final assignments in German. Where available, we can also find the German translations, if you prefer. The seminar is open both for MA and BA students.


Literatur:

Butler, Judith. 1990. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge
Butler, Judith. 1993. Bodies that Matter. On the Discursive Limits of "Sex". New York: Routledge
Butler, Judith. 1997. Excitable Speech: A Politics of the Performative. New York: Routledge
Butler, Judith. 1997. Psychic Life of Power. Theories in Subjection. Stanford (CA): Stanford University Press
Butler, Judith. 2004. Precarious Life. The Powers of Mourning and Violence. London, New York: Verso
Butler, Judith. 2009. Frames of War. When Is Life Grievable? London, New York: Verso
Butler, Judith. 2015. Notes Toward a Performative Theory of Assembly, Cambridge (MA): Harvard University Press
Butler, Judith. 2020. The Force of Non-Violence. An Ethico-Political Bind. London, New York: Verso
Butler, Judith. 2024. Who’s Afraid of Gender? London: Allen Lane

Kommentar: https://www.uni-bremen.de/fileadmin/user_upload/fachbereiche/fb9/zemki/docs/comments/comments_WiSe24_25/KMW7_2_Kuznetsova.pdf

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Kommentar: https://www.uni-bremen.de/fileadmin/user_upload/fachbereiche/fb9/zemki/docs/comments/comments_WiSe24_25/KMW7_5_Dergacheva.pdf

Kommentar: https://www.uni-bremen.de/fileadmin/user_upload/fachbereiche/fb9/zemki/docs/comments/comments_WiSe24_25/KMW7_11_Reiss.pdf

Kommentar: https://www.uni-bremen.de/fileadmin/user_upload/fachbereiche/fb9/zemki/docs/comments/comments_WiSe24_25/KMW7_12_Scharlach_WiSe24_25.pdf

Achtung! Englischsprachige Veranstaltung

Achtung! Englischsprachige Veranstaltung

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Kommentar: https://www.uni-bremen.de/fileadmin/user_upload/fachbereiche/fb9/zemki/docs/comments/comments_WiSe24_25/KMW9_Katzenbach_Dergacheva.pdf

Getting started with your BA-Thesis can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be that way! In this seminar, we want to prepare the steps for a successful accomplishment of your BA-Thesis together. We will talk about finding a topic, looking for the appropriate supervisors and the administrative steps. Together you will do the first literature research and write the necessary abstracts. You will present your ideas to each other in a symposium style workshop and receive helpful feedback from your peers. We will also discuss issues of how to do fieldwork and analyse your material, and focus on different styles of writing and structuring your theses. The seminar also aims at collectively developing ideas and strategies for dealing with stress and time management issues. This way it hopes to achieve a supportive collective environment to help you through this task of writing your BA-Thesis.

The seminar will be held in a mix of English and German depending on the needs of the participants. All are welcome! It will be held as a mix of in-person, online and block sessions. We will hold the first three-four sessions in person in order to get to know each other, then we will have a symposium of one or two days depending on the number of participants in the middle of the semester, followed by further online and offline sessions.

A collaborative conversation between the Universities of Bremen (Fachbereich 9 und 12), the University of Western Cape, the University of Cape Town, Carleton University, and Rojava University.

3 CP

Where? Room: Room S2, UNICOM, Haus 3 (Turin), Mary-Somerville-Straße 3.
When? October 17 (10:15-18:00) and October 18 (10:15-12:00).

Thursday, 17.10.2024
10:15-10:45: Opening Remarks, Alisha Heinemann and Andrea Muehlebach
10:45: - 12:30: Exploring shifting concepts: Abolition? Justice? Transformative Education?
12:30-14:15: University of Bremen History Walk and Lunch
14:15-15:45: Pedagogical Locations – Histories of Teaching in Times of Crisis
Keynote speakers: Kelly Gillespie, University of Western Cape; Ghaid Amly, University of Bremen; Leigh-Ann Naidoo, University of Cape Town; Sardar Saadi, University of Ottawa; Zaini Ali, Rojava University, Kurdistan; Students for Palestine, University of Bremen; Münevver Azizoglu-Bazan, University of Bremen.
16:15-18:00: Visions of Future Education

Friday, 19.10. 2024
10:15-11:45: Next Steps!


"Abolition Pedagogy / University Education in Times of Crisis" is a 2-day symposium on education organized jointly by the Fachbereiche 9 and 12 at the University of Bremen. It brings together scholars from several of our university partners (the University of Western Cape, the University of Cape Town, and the University of Rojava) and synthesizes the pedagogical experiences of these institutions. South African universites operate from within the context of the former Apartheid regime, while the University of Rojava from within the decades-long oppression of the Kurds in Syria. In both universities critical educational methods, concepts and tools were developed as answers to authoritarian regimes and as vehicles for the critique of violence and hegemonic power. We ask: What is the social role of universities in times of crisis, what is the role that pasts have played in education, and how can we envision possibilities for a transformative education that creatively enables just, non-violent futures?

Building on the concept of “abolition pedagogy” proposed by Kelly Gillespie (University of Western Cape) and Leigh-Ann Naidoo (University of Cape Town), this symposium explores violence and authoritarianism in education and asks what role education can play in the envisioning of these futures. We ask how existing educational spaces can be radically changed, how they ought to be 'decolonized', and how education can do justice to the realities of a diverse and heterogeneous society. What role does education play in the self-assertion and self-determination of marginalized groups, their social struggles and liberation movements? To what extent must education be understood as a form of 'self-defense' against an increasingly right-wing German, European, and global public and political spheres? How can "abolition pedagogy" play a role in enlivening our democratic institutions as a whole?

Language of the conference will be English, but participants are welcome to speak German as well - moderators will be able to translate English/German if needed!