Cultures of Conflict brings together researchers from the social sciences, cultural studies, and the humanities who use the concept of conflict as a guiding perspective for their empirical and theoretical-conceptual work.
In this research area, conflicts are not merely understood as exceptions or disturbances; the very fact that they can recur again and again in certain cycles, and result from specific social constellations, points to the limits of such a notion. Likewise, the idea of latent conflicts, of long-lasting conflict constellations, and our knowledge of complex, direct, and indirect connections between different conflicts also points to a need for a more nuanced understanding of what conflict entails.
In contrast to the analysis of manifest conflicts—between groups, political organizations, classes, gangs, or warring parties—that are familiar from social science conflict research, this research area deals with questions concerning how the diverse, tension-laden problem areas of the present can be understood in terms of conflict theory. Beyond looking at open conflicts, students also study latent conflicts, structurally conditioned conflict constellations, and their connections to social crisis phenomena. Such conflicts are understood as culturally situated phenomena, and in this context, students also examine what should be considered a conflict in the first place, which conflicts are perceived as such, which ones are overlooked or made invisible, and in which cultures of conflict they are articulated.
Within this research context, students conduct fundamental research on conflict theory. But this is combined with a goal of contributing to society in terms of the intensification of sociocultural conflict dynamics that are readily apparent in many places at present. It currently brings together researchers, at different stages of their careers and with different research focuses, from disciplines including sociology, philosophy, political science, and educational science. This research area thrives on the disciplinary, methodological, and theoretical diversity its members bring to it. Regular colloquia and events are organized, and conflict-theoretical perspectives are introduced into university teaching. Last but not least, this research area serves as an incubator for joint research and publication projects.
Commodified Agency: Social Space and the Digital Value Chain, Prof. Dr. Volker Kirchberg, Apl.-Prof. Dr. Ulf Wuggenig, Institut für Soziologie und Kulturorganisation, seit 2022, Förderung durch das MWK
Alltag im Dissens. Eine Studie zum Gebrauch (imaginären) Rechts von Reichsbürger:innen, Prof. Dr. Andrea Kretschmann, Institut für Soziologie und Kulturorganisation, seit 2022, Förderung durch das MWK
Strukturen und Kontexte rechtskonformen Polizeihandelns. Eine qualitative Untersuchung zur Rechtsbindung am Beispiel des Streifendienstes der Polizei Niedersachsen, Prof. Dr. Andrea Kretschmann, Institut für Soziologie und Kulturorganisation, 2021-2022, Förderung durch die Polizeiakademie Niedersachsen
Integration durch Vertrauen. Bedingungen Vertrauensaufbaus geflüchteter Eltern mit 0 bis 5jährigen Kindern gegenüber frühpädagogischen Angeboten in Niedersachsen, Prof. Dr. Philipp Sandermann, 2019-2022, Förderung durch das Land Niedersachsen
Critical Art(ist)s and Urban Development – A collaborative study comparing German and Israeli Cities, Prof. Dr. Volker Kirchberg, Institut für Soziologie und Kulturorganisation, 2016-2020, Förderung durch das Land Niedersachsen
Kulturelle Diversität als kuratorisches Konzept. Strategien und Narrative der Inszenierung und Dekonstruktion auf transkulturellen PerformingArts- und Musik-Festivals, Prof. Dr. Volker Kirchberg, Institut für Soziologie und Kulturorganisation, 2014-2019, Förderung durch das Land Niedersachsen
Reconfiguring Anonymity - Contemporary Forms of Reciprocity, Identifiability and Accountability in Transformation – Teilprojekt: Making Visible. Performance, Art and Anonymity, Apl-Prof. Dr. Ulf Wuggenig, Institut für Philosophie und Kunstwissenschaft, 2015-2019, Förderung durch die VolkswagenStiftung
Die Stadt als Möglichkeitsraum, Prof. Dr. Volker Kirchberg (Co-PI), Institut für Soziologie und Kulturorganisation, 2015-2019, Förderung durch das Land Niedersachsen
Conducting research in conflictual fields can be challenging both in terms of research practice and research ethics. Researchers may suddenly become involved in conflict dynamics themselves or even be perceived as a conflict party. Especially in the context of fieldwork, researchers can be exposed to specific challenges that raise fundamental methodically and theoretically questions. By means of the working group “Research in Conflict” we want to establish an interdisciplinary platform that offers empirical and ethnographic researchers in conflictual fields the opportunity for dialog, exchange and (methodological) reflection. We understand the working group as an open forum for reflection on evident challenges in the contexts of current research projects and processes regarding matters of research ethics, practice and tactics. Topics may include, for example, questions of field access, the researchers’ positionality in the field or interactions with research participants, as well as ethical or security-related challenges to researchers and their research data.
The working group meets in two formats: On the one hand, there is the possibility of (digital) ad-hoc meetings to address current problems in empirical research. On the other hand, we organize (face-to-face) workshops in which we focus on specific topics.
The working group is organized by members of the research initiative “Cultures of Conflict” of the School of Culture and Society at Leuphana University Lüneburg and is open to empirical researchers of all qualification levels inside and outside the university.
If you are interested in participating in the working group, please send an e-mail to one of the two spokespersons:
Prof. Dr. Andrea Kretschmann (Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, andrea.kretschmann@leuphana.de)
Dr. Stephanie Schmidt (Universität Hamburg, stephanie.schmidt@uni-hamburg.de)