Projektarbeit

The challenges facing Europe today, both within and without, are many. Populist movements in the European Union continue to contest not only contemporary multicultural society, but liberal democracy itself, promoting illiberal and autocratic governance inspired by increasingly assertive autocratic states outside Europe. Meanwhile, the Russian invasion of Ukraine is only the most dramatic example of a colossal shift in world order, as new powers, especially China, drive the shift to a multilateral international system characterized by confrontation and distrust. Meanwhile, shared-fate issues such as climate change ever more urgently demand cooperation within the global community, as no single state could hope to manage them alone. It is in this uncertain future that Europe seeks to find ways to navigate the increasingly fractious global community.

Academic: Claudia Equit |  Project Goup Number: 01, 02 & 03

Children and young people are just as affected by social crises as adults. At the same time, due to their status and child development, they are considered particularly "vulnerable" to exploitation and negative impacts on their well-being. Facing numerous crises around the world, Children's Rights aims to provide a "turning point" for children and young people to guarantee their rights and help them overcome social crises. We will discuss Children´s Rights and their impact to amend the status of children and adolescents.

Academic: Leonie Jantzer | Project Goup Number: 04, 05 & 06

Who will protect me if I do not perceive the police as protection? With a view to abolitionist approaches and the concept of Transformative Justice, we will familiarize ourselves with different concepts of security that marginalized and criminalized communities have fought for and created. Thus, the big question is: How can security be guaranteed for all?

Academic: Steffen Farny | Project Goup Number: 07, 08 & 09

Business sustainability is at the crossroads. As the ‘business case for sustainability’ and the 'triple-bottom-line perspective’ have not inspired a sustainable transformation of organisational life, researchers and practicers call for new frameworks to guide organisations. In this project we will engage with the Regeneration First Manifesto and try to develop concrete suggestions for developing a ‘truly sustainable’ business for the future.

Academic: Till Patrik Holterhus | Project Goup Number: 10, 11 & 12

Considering its combined economic and military strength, geopolitical advantages and soft powers, the European Union (EU) holds the capacity to play an independent and influential role in global politics. However, until today, the EU has failed to live up to these potentials. In fact, the EU is highly dependent on third states when it comes to international security, energy supply, digital infrastructure, etc. and, at the same time, is still not being recognized as an essential actor in world diplomacy. With war back in Europe, a fading US-American hegemon and a “Chinese era” on the horizon, the question arises: What should and could be the EU’s future (leading) role in the world community?

Academic: Norman Laws | Project Goup Number: 13, 14 & 15

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is seen as a turning point when it comes to the security architecture of Europe. But can the war also be a turning point for sustainability? For example: Turning down your heating for saving the climate and the planet on a mandatory basis? This was hardly ever thinkable. But now where there is war, turning down heating seems to be no problem. In our small course we will figure out newly arising possibilities and challenges for sustainability that stem from the war.

Academic: Marco de Angelis | Project Goup Number: 16, 17 & 18

Es geht nicht mehr! Die letzten weltgeschichtlichen Ereignisse haben eindeutig gezeigt, dass die Generation der Älteren nicht in der Lage ist, die Welt sauber (Umwelt), friedlich (Krieg) und gesund (Pandemie) zu halten. Diese Ereignisse – Klimakrise, Pandemie, Krieg in Ukraine (aber auch in anderen Regionen der Erde, Palästina z.B.) -  bedeuten das Versagen einer ganzen Generation, und zwar die, die in den Jahrzehnten nach dem 2. Weltkrieg auf die Welt kam. In dieser Generation, die meine Generation ist, habe ich mich nie richtig wohl gefühlt. Aus dem Grund erarbeitete ich die Welt, die ich für richtig hielt, in Gedanken, und so entstand meine Philosophie, die ich heute online auf die philosophische Plattform www.philosophyforfuture.org  präsentiere. Diese Philosophie stellt die Welt von morgen dar, die komplett anders als die Welt von heute sein muss, wenn die Menschheit überleben möchte.Die heutige junge Generation hat die welthistorische Aufgabe, aus diesem Engpass (Klimakrise, Pandemien, Kriege) mit Vernunft, d.h. mit Philosophie, herauszukommen. Es wird eine Revolution sein, man braucht ein neues Paradigma, eine komplett neu organisierte Weltgesellschaft. Es wird kein Spaziergang sein, allerdings die Alternative die Katastrophe ist. Es gibt also eigentlich keine Alternative, man muss diesen schwierigen Weg gehen.

Academic: Leonie Schmitt | Project Goup Number: 19, 20 & 21

Germany imports numerous agricultural products (such as soy, palm oil, coffee) from the global South. These are associated with high deforestation rates, biodiversity loss, unfair working conditions and human rights violations. Political actors like the German government and the EU are trying to make trade and production conditions more sustainable and social with supply chain laws. Likewise, companies and NGOs are working on solutions for sustainable and inclusive agricultural supply chains at local and global level. In the Opening Week, students will discuss how possible solutions to the problems in agricultural supply chains can look like and how different actors can contribute to this.

Most people on this planet live in cities and villages. This makes them the places that are often most affected by the implications of „turning points" such as climate change, migration, or financial crises. However, cities and villages are also unique places that can trigger „turning points" and utilize the windows of opportunities provided to create innovative solutions for achieving a more just and sustainable future. During the Opening Week, we will explore challenge that cities and villages face in these times of fundamental change, but also develop visions of what cities and villages of the future should look like and what solution paths can lead to these desired futures. We deliberately do not only look at cities, because many innovative approaches also emerge in smaller communities and for shaping numerous essential processes in our society, such as food production and consumption, in a more sustainable way the urban-rural nexus plays a crucial role.

Academic: Christine Heybl | Project Goup Number: 22, 23 & 24

How do cities and villages transform into greener, more sustainable, more livable places? Cities and villages have an enormous potential considering a sustainable mobility, renewable energy generation, a climate-friendly architecture, biodiversity and so on. But who are the actors, who’s got the power to initiate these changes?

Academic: Jan Müggenburg | Project Goup Number: 25, 26 & 27

As media of organization batteries are central in the areas of transport, communication, work, leisure and health in Digital Cultures. They contribute significantly to how we experience urban spaces: One the one hand batteries – from smartphones to electric wheelchairs to electric cars, batteries and accumulators – create new places of media consumption and promise a more sustainable and advanced digital future. They expand and make our power networks more flexible: they allow us to use digital devices in places that cannot be reached with cables or where a wired solution would not be practicable. On the other hand this development comes with a heavy price tag:  „Range anxiety“ – the everyday concern that our batteries will not last until the next charging station –  is something that we all experience everyday. In addition, there is the pressing question of how far-reaching the individual, collective, and environmental impacts of our increasing consumption of batteries will be.

Academic: Katharina Lehmann | Project Goup Number: 28, 29 & 30

The idea and the concept of sustainable development has arrived at the center of most societies in industrialized countries and beyond. Whereas sustainability has long been understood in three dimensions, the environmental, social and economic one, it is now becomming a matter of fact that the aesthetic dimension is dvelopping towards it´s fourth pillar. How does that articulate though, especially in urban design, architecture and the built environment in general? During the opening week we`ll have a look on key objectives of sustainable aesthetics and explore how they are already being expressed in various ways.

Academic: Lina Bürgener | Project Goup Number: 31, 32 & 33

What is behind the term "work" and what do we mean by "good work"? How do we envision good work in the future and how can we shape it to include sustainability criteria? What is our own contribution to change the way we work? During the Opening Week we will explore these and further questions and discuss our own perceptions of work as well as develop visions for good work in Lüneburg. The project group work is linked to the project "Lüneburg 2030+", a real-world laboratory to develop, test and implement sustainability solutions for real-world challenges in the city of Lüneburg. The project group results lead to a croncrete real-world experiment and will be presented and discussed in collaboration with the chamber of commerce.

Academic: Peter Pez | Project Goup Number: 34, 35 & 36

In der Geschichte gab es mehrere Wendepunkte im Verkehr und in der Mobilität, die z. B. das Eisenbahn- oder das Automobilzeitalter einleiteten und vorantrieben. Es ist zu erwarten, dass die zukünftige Entwicklung vor allem vom Luftverkehr geprägt sein wird. Es gibt aber auch einen Trend "back to the roots", denn die nicht-motorisierte Mobilität und die modernen öffentlichen Verkehrsmittel scheinen ihren Anteil am Modal Split zu erhöhen. Welche Visionen und Entwicklungen könnten in Lüneburg (oder Deutschland oder Europa oder weltweit) realisiert werden?

Academic: Teresa Pullano | Project Goup Number: 37, 38 & 39

The war in Ukraine is bringing the territorial dimension of politics back on our mental map. Since 1989 and in the era of increasing globalization, we’ve been told that territorial divisions did not matter anymore, that the world was becoming a village and that space was becoming increasingly unified and homogenous. The Ukrainian war and the pandemics reminded us of how space is structured, both in its institutional and material aspects, which still defines and conditions our individual and collective life. At present, we find ourselves in a paradoxical situation: the virus showed us that our world is more interconnected than ever, but it brought to light differences between centers and peripheries, between life in the city and life in the country. Through an analysis of changing forms of urban citizenship, we will discuss how space transformation at the urban, regional and global levels entails reshaping contemporary democracy and what can be done about it.

Academic: Ilsemargret Luttmann | Project Goup Number: 40, 41 & 42

This workshop will lead you to art collectives in African metropoles who work in multidisciplinary fields and who are socially engaged. You will discover film makers, fashion designers, performance artists, musicians, dancers etc. who do not only renew and mobilize their respective cultural heritage in order to get rid of western domination but who have a tangible impact on their direct social environment. By their collective form of organization they strive to reconquer and to reshape the urban social and physical space.

While artists often feel hesitant to align with entrepreneurial discourses, and while artistic fields often seem removed from 'normal society', artists and entrepreneurs have more in common than we'd think. For one, artists and entrepreneurs are interested in the novel. Their work can therefore often be located at turning points of social, economic, and societal nature. Furthermore, artists often work in precarious settings, making them a case of entrepreneurs out of necessity, while entrepreneurs in various industries increasinly aim to take aesthetic, creative, and artistic aspects into account as they develop and present their business ideas. What can we learn from artistic and entrepreneurial practcies when it comes to the identification and the understanding of social turning points? Let's explore the insights artists and entrepreneurs can offer into possible futures, alternative histories, or concealed presents, in order to reflect on the role of such practices in understanding and communicating turning points.

Academic: Steffen Pabst | Project Goup Number: 43, 44 & 45

The need for a more sustainable form of tourism is not new. However, especially since the covid crisis has hit the tourism economy even worse than most other sectors, the calls for new ideas in tourism has become even louder. We need to rethink tourism as a whole, as the old model of mass- and overtourism is not sustainable. In this project week we want to discuss new ideas and visions for tourists and tourist destinations alike.

Academic: Jacob Hörisch | Project Goup Number: 46, 47 & 48

Sustainable entrepreneurs are individuals who start a business in order to contribute to sustainable development of society. But how can a contribution of sustainable entrepreneurs to sustainable development look like? What are entrepreneurs able to contribute to sustainable development and what are they not able to contribute? In the project groups the students will discuss these questions along examples of entrepreurial contributions to sustainable development of society.

Academic: Alexa Böckel | Project Goup Number: 49, 50 & 51

The concept of the Circular Economy has arrived in the mainstream discourse around economic approaches, in politics as well as in the entrepreneurship community. However, social aspects as inequality, injustice and questions of power have not been included yet. In contrast to that, the concept of the Circular Society integrates criticism of growth, reflects power dynamics between the global north and south and supports value networks for the greater good. We will focus on the role of circular entrepreneurs to contributing both to the Circular Economy as well as to the Circular Society.

Academic: Jorge Guerra González | Project Goup Number: 52, 53 & 54

Irrespective if social integration, sustainability, ways out of conflicts, intergenerational issues, gender equality… every single issue we are worried about can be first understood and then (at least in theory) solved if you look for an emotional access of the situation.

Academic: Anne Breimaier | Project Goup Number: 55, 56 & 57

In this project group we will learn about artistic practices that questioned traditional modes of knowledge production or aimed at reorganizing academic practices since the 1960s until today. We will discover art works, events, and exhibitions – at Leuphana University and around the globe - that served as sites for creative experimentation and research and ask about their strategies and effects. We will address art as a practice that can change preconceived perceptions of our world and explore our own options as scholars to investigate, intervene and critique.

Academic: Michael Gielnik | Project Goup Number: 58, 59 & 60

Entrepreneurs are people who bring about (societal) change by taking action and creating something new. Importantly, it’s the people who are the main drivers of this process. Therefore, this project deals with the psychology of entrepreneurs and the principles that can result in (societal) change.

Academic: Sonja Neuschwander | Project Goup Number: 61, 62 & 63

A world without structure would amount to chaos. Therefore, the art world organizes itself through structures and networks. The agreement on common behaviors and values, which are to be pursued and determine the framework of action of the individual actors in a field. The ability to combine values represents the possibility of improving one's position within the power structure.
How could a turning point be implemented in these structures to ensure access to art?

Recently, we experience several turning points; at different levels of abstraction and in different time frames. In the public discussion about turning points, both researchers and activists play an particularly important role. They are often the ones who (want to) draw our attention to such crucial moments. Both groups differ but also face the same challenge of communicating turning points in ways that reach the public; not only people's thoughts, but also their actions. Accordingly, we will explore, compare, discuss, and critique the roles, responsibilities, and challenges of researchers and activists when it comes to turning points, and how to communicate and deal with them in promising ways.

Academic: Liselotte Hermes da Fonseca | Project Goup Number: 64, 65 & 66

The university is also described as a place of free thinking - with digitalization even as a borderless place. At the same time, we hear about the colonization of knowledge (Mignolo, among others). - Together, we will address these notions of knowledge under the focus of the turning point of digitalization and ask... What does it mean to know? How do we know that we know? Who does know? What does it mean to ask? And what do such questions have to do with our lives, our feelings, with us and society?

Academic: Alexander Freund | Project Goup Number: 67, 68 & 69

Science is no longer supposed to take place in an isolated “ivory tower”. In this workshop, you will take a look at the role(s) scientists play in our modern society. Of specific interest will be the differentiation of opportunities, demands and expectations which frame the work of contemporary scientists as well as the question about the interplay between “academia” and “practice”.

Academic: Christoph Brunner | Project Goup Number: 70, 71 & 72

For several decades, we are experiencing an upsurge of global crises, from warfare, famines, natural catastrophes, climate change to the deterioration of human rights and democracy. Academics and activists have engaged with these crises intensively, often with a good sense of foresight that nonetheless received little attention in mainstream political decision-making. Asking about new ways in which such crises can be felt and thus sensed (and not just conceptualized), this format explores current transitions in the ways in which artistic and activist or militant research transform what we understand as knowledge and research in academic contexts.

Academic: Lars Alberth | Project Goup Number: 73, 74 & 75

Sociologist Howard S. Becker suggests that people who join in a common task (a scientific experiment, a social issue, a hobby, a family meal, etc.) usually develop a specific perspective on the social stuff represented in their ongoing work. When asked why this is important or how they come to do what they do, people oftentimes use temporal imagery to talk about important markers that signify change for the world or issue they are engaged with: After they went through an event of some significance, they could not go on as before - they experienced a turning point! Together we want to investigate social activists – and how they conceive of turning points in in their world, society, collective life, project, or individual biography and how they make these turning points visible.

Academic: Chiara Stefanoni | Project Goup Number: 76, 77 & 78

The ecological crisis is deeply connected to animal exploitation in the context of agribusiness, yet talking about animal liberation often generates embarrassment and rejection. How can we talk about it to bring this issue and its urgency to the center? Or rather who can talk about it?Animal advocacy seems the most altruistic movement: a minority of kind-hearted humans fighting for defenseless and voiceless creatures. Is this true? Or do animals have a voice and fight against their oppression? If so, how can we listen to them to imagine and act for a fairer multispecies society?

Academic: Serhat Karakayali | Project Goup Number: 79, 80 & 81

The concept of a partisan, or intentionally biassed research methodology dates back to dawn of the international worker’s movement with Karl Marx’s “worker’s inquiry” and has evolved into a diversity of approaches and concept, ranging from “co-research” or militant investigation to feminist epistemologies. The partisanship of such methodologies conflicts with the common notion that science and research are neutral, that researchers should remain distanced from their research subject and findings must be “objective”. In contrast, activist researchers claim that science is hardly neutral anyway and that being partisan might even allow to understand certain objects of study better.

Academic: Lea Gathen | Project Goup Number: 82, 83 & 84

This project deals with concepts and ideas of mobility transition. We discuss the need for change in mobility patterns and the associated use of energy, using academic literature and scientific input. We engage with current research on the theoretical foundations and practical conditions for mobility transitions towards sustainability and low-carbon scenarios. Mobility transition as part of 'sustainability transitions' is a comparatively young field of research that studies how fundamental societal or socio-technical change occurs and how such change for sustainability can be instigated and maintained.