FRIAS Express May 2021
Dear FRIAS Community,
the university's summer term is well underway and we are looking forward to interesting research projects, new publications and events – ranging from our FRIAS Lecture Series on human rights to research on global history and new findings on supramolecular bonds. Find out more in this newsletter.
Enjoy reading and stay healthy!
Your FRIAS team
TOP NEWS
» Join the Discussion: Human Rights in Times of Crisis
What impact do economic and political crises have on human rights? Taking place on Tuesdays (5:00 p.m. CET), our new FRIAS Lecture Series Human Rights in Times of Crisis gives insights into different areas of human rights’ research. During the summer term, eight online lectures feature international scholars and expert speakers, including Julian Nida-Rümelin, former German State Minister for Culture and philosopher, Molly Land (University of Connecticut), Mathias Risse (Havard Kennedy School) and Alicia Ely Yamin (Harvard Law School). Join the discussion – the FRIAS Lecture Series is open to everyone who is interested!
To the program and registration
A further highlight will be the conference "Human Rights and Democracy" on 24 June, organized by the Connecticut/Baden-Württemberg Human Rights Research Consortium. Researchers and graduate students are invited to register before June 1st. German philosopher Wilfried Hinsch will holding the keynote speech on “Human Rights, Discrimination and Social Justice”.
To the program and registration
» On Social Media, Communications and Democracy
In June, the institute will organize a series of public panel discussions (in German) revolving around social media, democracy and research communication. Expert speakers include Paul Kirchhof, professor of law and former judge in the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany; Jan-Hindrik Schmidt, Senior Postdoc and researcher on digital interactive media and political communication at the Leibniz Institute for Media Research; Julia Wandt, heading the business unit Communications and Strategy in the Rectorate of the University of Freiburg; law professor and FRIAS Fellow Silja Vöneky and FRIAS Director Bernd Kortmann. The online discussions will be taking place on 9 June (6:00 pm CET) and on 22 June (12:00 pm CET), and will be livestreamed via the FRIAS YouTube channel.
» Behind the Scenes – Meet the FRIAS Team!
Recently, several new staff members have joined our institute’s team. As of April 1st, the FRIAS team is complete and preparing upcoming projects and events in full steam.
LOOKING FORWARD
» Spotlight on Global History
Focusing on the area of global history, the research group of the Balzan-FRIAS Project just started its work at the institute. Designed and directed by Balzan laureate and Distinguished Fellow Jürgen Osterhammel in conjunction with Stefanie Gänger (University of Heidelberg), the project aims at probing the intellectual foundations of global history. Find out more about the project here, and have a look at the FRIAS Reflections online lecture “What is a colony” by Jürgen Osterhammel.
» The Post-COVID World
Which elements of living with the pandemic will remain with us and leave their mark on society, education, business and politics? FRIAS Directors Prof. Bernd Kortmann and Prof. Günther Schulze sum up the expert views published in the anthology Jenseits von Corona in the magazine Deutschland Edition (available in 12 languages).
PEOPLE AT FRIAS
» Junior Fellow Eva von Contzen, who is a Tenure Track Professor of English Literature at the University of Freiburg and Principal Investigator of the project “Lists in Literature and Culture”, has rejected the offer of a professorship of later medieval literature at the University of Toronto and accepted the offer to remain at the University of Freiburg.
» FRIAS alumnus Prof. Dr. Henning Jessen will receive funding of almost one million euros from the VolkswagenStiftung for his research on phosphorylated metabolites over the next five years. Find out more here.
» Senior Fellow Prof. Dr. Azirah Hashim has been appointed to the position of Humboldt Ambassador Scientist by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Find out more about her appointment and new publication here.
LOOKING BACK
» The Power of Social Conduct in Academia
Why do we use terms alluding to family constellations in German academic institutions? And how does that shape power structures within universities? These topics were discussed at the online conference ALMA MATER, DOKTORVATER, taking place on 12 and 13 April. Prior to the event, we talked with the conference organizers: FRIAS Fellow and Tenure Track Professor Eva von Contzen (University of Freiburg), Dr. Eva Eßlinger (University of Munich) and Prof. Dr. Julika Griem, Director of the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities Essen.
Read the interview (in German)
LATEST PUBLICATIONS
» Nicolas Giuseppone and Andreas Walther (Eds.): Out-of-Equilibrium (Supra)molecular Systems and Materials (Wiley) 2021. More information
» Rahul Mishra, Azirah Hashim, Anthony Milner (Eds.): Asia and Europe in the 21st Century. New Anxieties, New Opportunities (Routledge) 2021. More information
» Javier Martínez-Torrón and Belén Rodrigo Lara (Eds.): COVID-19 y libertad religiosa (Iustel) 2021. More information
DIRECTOR’S CORNER
The most important piece of FRIAS news is that, with the beginning of April, the FRIAS team is complete. We are extremely proud and happy to welcome many new colleagues at our institute in Freiburg’s Albertstraße 19 - some on existing, some on newly created positions. By and by, we will introduce all of the newcomers to the FRIAS community. The challenge now will be the onboarding and, above all, the teambuilding process. After all, due to the pandemic, the FRIAS team is still mostly working remotely. We are extremely confident that within a couple of months both processes will succeed so that it will be a thriving, highly motivated FRIAS team that will meet and support the members of our current and the new Fellow generation.
Among the newly created positions, special mention deserve two positions responsible for establishing, coordinating and administering our new Young Academy for Sustainability Research funded by the Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation, which will officially kick off in autumn. Two full-time Junior Fellows and about a dozen postdoc academy members will work together and regularly meet at FRIAS for a three-year period. The Junior Fellows have just been selected, and the application period for academy members will be announced soon – we are looking forward to applications from early June onwards.
Apart from these new developments, we’ve been happy to return to our (still all-online) routine of Humanities and Social Sciences Colloquia (Mondays, 3-4 p.m. CET) and FRIAS Reflections (Wednesdays 3-3:30 p.m. CET). Moreover, the first week of May witnessed a well-attended start of our Human Rights (lunch) lecture series (Tuesdays 5-6 p.m. CET), which is approximating lunch time at least on the US east coast, since the Harvard Law School and the Human Rights Centre of U Conn are our main partners in this lecture series.
Most important for our minds and hearts, however, is that our optimism concerning the return to a more normal life at FRIAS and in the city of Freiburg in the months ahead is growing by the week. Given all the positive trends especially in Freiburg and its neighbouring areas (with low, steadily falling incidence rates and continuously rising vaccination rates), all of us at FRIAS are hoping to return to in-person meetings soon. It will make SUCH a difference! May many of our readers see equally bright prospects for their life and work conditions, or even enjoy the return to (a near) normality already!
With best regards,
Bernd Kortmann, FRIAS Director
