ORGANIZATION

Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities (Kulturwissenschaftliche Institut KWI)

May 8, 2019 Scott Fletcher Bowlsby
May 2, 2019 Scott Fletcher Bowlsby
September 17, 2017 Scott Fletcher Bowlsby
November 30, 2016 Scott Fletcher Bowlsby

The Institute of Advanced Study in the Humanities (Kulturwissenschaftliche Institut, KWI) is an interdisciplinary research college for humanities and cultural studies in Essen.

Mission and Purpose

The KWI strives to offer North Rhine-Westphalia's cities and regions with a place to share and discuss the results of ambitious cultural research.[1] As part of a three-university netowrk, it supports cooperative, interdisciplinary research in the humanities, social and cultural sciences and collaboratives with regional, national and international partners. The KWI also promotes civic education through its outreach programmes, public events, co-operations with cultural institutions and media partners.[2] 

Origins and Development

The Institute was founded in 1989 by the North Rhine-Westphalian Minister President Johannes Rau. Rau was succeeded as director on April 1, 2018 by the literary scholar Julika Griem.[3] 

Organizational Structure, Membership, and Funding

As an interuniversity college of the Ruhr University Bochum, the Technical University of Dortmund and the University of Duisburg-Essen, the institute works with the universities' scientists and other partners in the North Rhine-Westphalia and abroad.[4]

Specializations, Methods and Tools

As part of the University Alliance Ruhr (UAR) and its multi-layered institutional structure, KWI invites open discussions of contemporary working conditions and their social consequences. A special role is given to young colleagues, for whom the KWI is available as a meeting place and discourse arena. 

With its recent change in leadership, the KWI re-organized its research into four new fields: 

i. Cultural science research: the role of language, symbols, images and media in the self-description and organization of science 

ii. Cultural and literary sociology: how convincingly combined methods and theories can be used to obtain data and insights with which philological and sociological questions can be linked. 

iii. Science communication: analysis of contemporary mediation problems in the face of the challenge of populist skepticism about science. 

iv. Teaching laboratory: develops new humanities and cultural studies formats and types of events, which can also be further modified at other universities as prototypes for research-oriented teaching.[5]

As well, various research areas have been successfully established at KWI including, among others, participatory culture and communication culture.[6]

Major Projects and Events

The Institute has led several participatory research studies in the Ruhr region. Projects like Demoenergy , EnerTransRuhr, Energy Transition North Rhine-Westphalia, the Ruhr Region's Energy Transition Framework , and Essen's Climate Initiative have successfully brought citizens into the design and implementation of Germany's transition to clean energy. KWI is also a project partner on Participedia, sharing insights into its work on Germany's participatory culture.[7]

Analysis and Lessons Learned

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Publications

As a research organization, KWI publishes numerous academic, peer-reviewed journal articles. The News section of their site also offers summaries of their scholars' research and work.[8]

See Also

Developing a Framework for the Ruhr Region's Energy Transition

Energy Transition North Rhine-Westphalia (2015-2017)

Climate Initiative Essen: Building an Active Climate Culture

EnerTransRuhr: Cultural Mapping of the Ruhr Region Energy Transition

DEMOENERGY - The Transformation of the Energy System as the Engine for Democratic Innovations

References

[1] “Über Das KWI,” Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut Essen (KWI), accessed May 2, 2019, https://kulturwissenschaften.de/ueber-das-kwi/.

[2] “Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut Essen (KWI),” Facebook, accessed May 2, 2019, https://www.facebook.com/pg/kwi.essen/about/?ref=page_internal.

[3] “Über Das KWI,” Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut Essen (KWI), accessed May 2, 2019, https://kulturwissenschaften.de/ueber-das-kwi/.

[4] “Über Das KWI,” Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut Essen (KWI), accessed May 2, 2019, https://kulturwissenschaften.de/ueber-das-kwi/.

[5] “Über Das KWI,” Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut Essen (KWI), accessed May 2, 2019, https://kulturwissenschaften.de/ueber-das-kwi/.

[6] “Forschungsbereiche Am KWI,” Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut Essen (KWI), accessed May 2, 2019, https://kulturwissenschaften.de/forschungsbereiche-am-kwi/.

[7] “Partizipationskultur,” Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut Essen (KWI), accessed May 2, 2019, https://kulturwissenschaften.de/partizipationskultur/.

[8] “Aktuelles,” Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut Essen (KWI), accessed May 2, 2019, https://kulturwissenschaften.de/aktuelles/.

External Links

Official site (German): https://kulturwissenschaften.de/

Notes

Lead image: Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut Essen (KWI)/Facebook, http://bit.ly/2Wo9iI8