The University of Potsdam - A portrait
Profile
In Dialogue
Focus Area Unsettled Cultures
Photo: Th. Roese
In a world shaped by globalization and migration, individual cultures are no longer facing one another as closed systems. They are in motion; they meet and engage one another. The eccentricity and the specificity of cultural difference needs to be defended against absorption into "multiculturalism" while still maintaining the communication - but not the conflict - between cultures as a continuous challenge. The basis for this negotiation needs to be constantly worked out anew.
The Focus Area Unsettled Cultures has committed itself to a close investigation of the social and cultural dynamics of polyethnic societies in the past and in the present. It deepens the knowledge of different cultures while at the same time uncovering the potential for communication that lies in open encounters between people of varied backgrounds.
Dialog plays a central role as a space of negotiation. It is important to dissipate fear of and aggression towards the "other" and to facilitate a climate of mutual understanding and cooperation. Using their hermeneutic competences, the humanities and the research conducted in the focus area provide a valuable contribution by addressing current social problems. In doing so, the possibilities and limits of communication are shown and cultural differences are no longer demonized.
Accordingly, the focus area emphasizes teaching and learning methods in students' education, which enhance intercultural skills and relate knowledge of historical and global contexts.
"In a globalized world, peoples from different cultures and religions
come into increasing contact with one another. A deep knowledge of 'the Other' is a
precondition for living together constructively and without prejudice."
Prof. Dr. Dirk Wiemann,
Spokesperson for the Focus Area Unsettled Cultures
Photo: A. Klaer
