Wintersemester 2024/2025

The workshop will examine the political culture and self-awareness of the Jewish community in Germany from the late 19th century to the early years of the Nazi period. We will begin with an introductory discussion on modern Jewish historiography and present fundamental questions regarding the integration of Jews into the new European state during the era of emancipation. Following this, we will briefly review the history of Jews in Germany throughout the 19th century. The main discussion will commence in the last decade of the 19th century, a period marked by accelerated political activity among German Jews with the establishment of the Central-Verein deutscher Staatsbürger jüdischen Glaubens (CV) in 1893 and the Zionistische Vereinigung für Deutschland (ZVfD) in 1897. We will introduce both organizations, their positions, and the debates between them under the German Empire, followed by a discussion on the changes in their activities and positions during World War I. We will then address the situation of Jews in Germany and the activities of their organizations during the Weimar Republic. The second part of the workshop will focus on Jewish life in Germany during the early years of the Nazi regime, 1933–1938. We will describe the transformations in Jewish political culture under the Nazi dictatorship and the continued activities of Jewish political organizations during these years. We will address the establishment and activities of the Reichsvertretung der Deutschen Juden, highlight the role of the German-Jewish press during this period, and examine several position papers written by prominent Jewish figures of the time. The workshop will take place within the framework of the Research Training Group Broken Traditions? Jewish Literature, Philosophy, and Music in Nazi Germany. It will be led by Prof. Dr. Guy Miron and will additionally incorporate a session on archival work at Yad Vashem with Yael Robinson and Yuval Naor. Furthermore, the Research Training Group, including possible doctoral topics, will be presented by Prof. Dr. Kerstin Schoor, Prof. Dr. Christian Wiese, and Prof. Dr. Jascha Nemtsov.

While irregular migration is a highly controversial topic in Germany and other EU countries, it is undisputed that countries like Germany need migrants to fill jobs. In this seminar, we therefore want to look at the variety of mobility rights, practices and consequences from an intertwined perspective: What legal mobility options are there to migrate to Germany (and more generally to the EU) and what conditions and rights does this entail?  What options do migrants have to navigate these migration paths set by the receiving states and what impact does this have on the migrants and the sending states? In the seminar, we will therefore endeavour to change perspectives and link the German state's attempts to manage migration with the strategies of migrants and the effects of migration within the sending countries. We will discuss the entanglement of mobility rights, practices and consequences using the example of the Western Balkans Agreement for migration from outside the EU and internal EU migration using the example of migration from south-eastern EU countries such as Bulgaria and Romania. Note: The seminar may (partly) be offered as a 5-day "travelling seminar" travelling together to Sofia. The students would then receive a travel grant to cover the costs. For further information please write to: leutloff@europa-uni.de

Das Seminar untersucht das zeitgenössische Phänomen der Gamification des täglichen Lebens aus populärkulturhistorischer Perspektive. Gamification wird gemeinhin definiert als die Anwendung von Spielelementen in nicht-spielerischen Kontexten. Die Idee von Gamification ist es, verhaltenspsychologische Besonderheiten des Spiels zu nutzen, um Leute (Arbeitende / Verbraucher*innen / Anwender*innen) dazu zu bringen, Aktivitäten mit größerer Eigenmotivation und Engagiertheit auszuführen. Im Seminar wollen wir zum einen den multidisziplinären wissenschaftlichen Diskurs über Gamification, wie er seit den 2010er Jahren z. B. in der (Verhaltens-)Ökonomie, im Medien- und Softwaredesign und in der Soziologie geführt wird, betrachten, und daran eine Übersicht erlangen, in welchen Kontexten (z. B. Unternehmenskontexten, Werbung, Apps, Tourismus) Gamification eingesetzt wird und was für Aspekte oder Elemente des Spiels dabei übernommen werden. Diese Betrachtung wollen wir zum anderen in eine populärkulturhistorische Perspektive setzen, die nach dem Zusammenhang von Spiel, dem freien Handeln gesellschaftlicher Individuen und kultureller Entwicklung fragt. Dazu beschäftigen wir uns mit der Vorstellung des Kulturhistorikers Johan Huizinga, dass Kulturformen grundsätzlich aus dem Spiel heraus entstehen (1938), und mit u. a. auf dieser Vorstellung aufbauenden gesellschaftskritischen Theorien und Praktiken aus dem Umfeld der 1968er-Bewegung, die die Einführung spielerischer Formen ins täglichen Leben fordern, um die kulturelle Entwicklung so ganz den gesellschaftlichen Individuen in die Hände zu legen. Wie verhält sich das Phänomen der Gamification, wie es sich in der Gegenwart antreffen lässt, zu solchen kulturhistorischen Vorstellungen und Forderungen? Der Kurs ist als Lektürekurs ausgelegt, in dem besonderes Augenmerk darauf gelegt wird, die gelesenen Texte historisch einzuordnen und in Inhalt wie Form kritisieren zu lernen.

Epic Fantasy – that is, broadly speaking, Fantasy in the Tolkienesque vein – is a very popular and equally contentious genre. A great deal of people enjoy being spirited away to mysterious realms full of high adventure and earth-shattering battles. They consider these imaginary trips as wholesome and renewing experiences. At the same time, there is no lack of critics who accuse Epic Fantasy of being escapist, passivating, reactionary and sometimes even fascist. Arguably, video games are the medium in which Epic Fantasy flourishes the most and enjoys the highest standing both with fans and critics alike. In recent years, two titles have been published that are widely regarded as being the pinnacle of Epic Fantasy in video games: Elden Ring (From Software, 2022) and Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios, 2023). In view of their complexity, virtuosity and artistic richness it is often said that these two games should be studied – which is exactly what we will do in our class. The first part of the course will be dedicated to reaching a theoretical understanding about the genre of Epic Fantasy, drawing, among others, on the poetological writings of Tolkien himself. But for the most part, we will play either Elden Ring or Baldur’s Gate 3, depending on the student’s preferences. The students are asked to keep a gaming diary as a means of reflecting on their experiences with the game chosen. We will then share, discuss and analyse these experiences in class and thus hopefully gain some insights into the genre of Epic Fantasy and the intricate aesthetics of video games.