Past seminars and lectures

To get an idea of our course offerings, you can browse through the seminars and lectures offered in previous semesters here.

Beyond Clichés – Intercultural Communication (Soft-Skills Training)

This course is taught in English. It is open for all students at Johannes Gutenberg University.
Participants attend an intense training in intercultural communication where they reflect their cultural backgrounds and learn how it shapes their perceptions in international contexts. At the end, participants have not only learned to engage professionally and confidently in intercultural communication but also expanded their international network.
The course will be held on two or three Saturdays during the winter semester. The exact dates have not yet been set. Read more

Seminar: International Career Planning

This course is offered by SoWi?So! and is part of the "Certificate for International Competence" program. If you wish to participate in the certificate program, you are required to enrol in this course.The seminar is aimed at students who wish to pursue an international career. It offers practical insights into various international professional fields and provides students with professional support, networking opportunities and personalised mentorship to enhance their career planning in an international work environment. The key components of the course are profile building, practice talks and a mini-mentoring. Read more

Seminar: Psychology of Political Relations

The seminar will be held by Dr. Olesia Zvezdova and aims at giving an overview of the various psychological aspects of political relations, political leadership, conflict and cooperation, psychological influence implementation and methods of countering it.
The course is designed for regular students and international exchange students from the social sciences and neighboring disciplines. Read more

Lecture: Diversity and Media in Israeli Society

Israel is a multicultural society diverse through ethnicity, migration, religion, politics, economics, gender, geography, and more. These characteristics are issues for inequality and enmity as well as celebration and cultural enrichment. In this course, it will be explored Israeli society, the fundamental issues, the current events, and the historical roots of a young and vibrant society shaping its present and debating its future.
The course is taught in English and is open for all students at Johannes Gutenberg University. Read more

Workshop: War and Justice – Is there anything just about war?

The workshop is designed for students in the social sciences and related disciplines who are interested in political theory. Insights into just war theory will be provided and questions about Ukraine, Russian involvement, and Western aid will be discussed. Legal and political issues related to the Ukraine conflict will be the focus. Your own questions and contributions to the discussion are welcome. Read more

Seminar: The world at 8 billion - is there a sustainable future for a growing population?

At 8 billion, world population is still growing, albeit at a diminishing pace. Global population growth is projected to peak at 10.4 billion during the 2080s. In the meantime, most growth is expected to take place in the poorest countries, most of them in Sub-Sahara Africa. Is there a sustainable future for a growing global population?

The course is designed for regular students and international exchange students from the social sciences and neighboring disciplines. Read more

Lecture: Media and Politics in the Holy Land

The course aims to examine the fascinating interconnected world of Israeli media and Israeli politics. With five national elections in the past three and a half years, more than a dozen political parties comprising a diversity of left and right, conservative and liberal, Jewish and Arab, religious and secular, it could be argued that Israelis are currently debating their most fundamental beliefs and ideas, or indeed are they? In this course, we will explore the system, the players, the issues, and the ongoing events in Israeli politics as they unfold. Moreover, we will examine the Israeli media and the role it is playing in the current political upheavals and occurrences. Read more

Seminar: Assessing and critically reflecting on digital media: A literature review

The seminar serves to research and discuss literature on the topic of "critical reasoning" in digital media. Theoretical conceptualizations of critical reasoning as well as empirical studies of the phenomenon will be presented in the seminar. Participants will be asked to work on a subtopic according to their interest and present their findings in one session. Related topics include: digital media consumption, critical evaluation and reflection of content, research literacy, and trust in media. Read more

Seminar: The Absence of „race“ in German discourses on Bildung

The German school system evaluates students not only according to performance criteria, but also in an irritatingly constant way according to their ethnic origin. In Dr. Yaliz Akbaba's seminar, you will examine the lack of attention to "ethnic origin" in German educational discourses. The seminar aims to develop the political literacy of student teachers in order to make them change agents for a more democratic school. However, the course is explicitly open to students of all disciplines, including incoming students. Read more

Vorlesung: Media, Social Constructs, and Israel´s Political System by Israel professor Yossi David

Israeli society is diverse in terms of nationality, ethnicity, geography, religion, religiosity, economy, etc. The aim of this course is to give an introduction of the socio-cultural fragmentation of Israeli society today and to explore the roles of media (technologies and discourses) and social constructions in shaping and modifying the relations between different groups in the society. The course addresses the theoretical and practical issues arising from the fragmentations and diversity of Israeli society. Read more

Seminar: Media and public opinion in times of the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis: Israel in a comparative perspective by Israel professor Yossi David

Media discourses, technologies, and public opinions play significant roles in promoting a democratic culture, behavior, and society. Therefore, media establish, serve, and bring forth new spaces for information flow. One of the primary roles of the media in democratic societies is publicizing essential issues surrounding policy-making and human rights, especially in times of national or regional crises (e.g., natural disasters, wars, terrorist attacks, pandemics). Focusing on the social, political, and cultural implications of the COVID-19 crisis, the aims of this seminar are to comparatively examine the role of media and public opinion in these times. Read more

Seminar: Language, Culture and Nationality

This course examines historical and contemporary debates concerning the link between language, culture, and nationality. The course begins with an overview of the main historical and cultural contexts where the cultural-linguistic link has been emphasised and analysed in nationalist and anticolonial political thought. Next, we will examine the main philosophical arguments and case studies behind the two opposing notions of language as (1) a vehicle of culture, and (2) an instrumental device for conveying information. Finally, we shall look at contemporary debates concerning linguistic justice and the state promotion of national majority and minority cultures in liberal democracies. Read more

Seminar: New media, new challenges: Digital media and the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel

This seminar aims to examine the role of new media technologies in the context of authoritarian closed communities, with a specific focus on the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel. The seminar will focus on the social, political, and cultural implications of digital media in the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel today, including digital media's political power and various roles, especially its role in forming safe spaces and reframing the community's boundaries. To address these aims, the seminar will focus on mapping the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel from a historical and contemporary perspective, understanding the relationship between religion and state in Israel, and focusing on the important role of technologies in general and media technologies in particular in the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel. Mehr Infos

Seminar: A global history of human rights

Human rights are often thought of as universal, meaning that they equally address and apply to all people around the world. Further, they are often understood as having fixed and clear legal meanings that are defined and enforced by international institutions, such as the United Nations. However, a historical examination reveals the varied contexts in which they figure. This course will look at the intellectual underpinnings of the notions behind human rights, the geopolitical contexts in which they were institutionalized, the activism by marginalized peoples to gain greater recognition in the rights-based frameworks, and some critique of work done in the name of human rights. By historicizing the development of human rights discourse and practice, this course aims to shed light on the current challenges facing the global efforts to obtain and protect human rights. Mehr Infos

Seminar: New Media and Political Change in Israel

The aim of the course is to examine the role of new media technologies among different groups and in political and social movements in Israel. The seminar will focus on the social, political, and cultural implications of digital media in Israel today, including the political power of digital media, its role in political conflicts, and the various roles of digital media. How do media help or hinder the creation of new leadership in specific communities? How are media used to promote political change? How do different groups react to new media? What are the risks of the use and overuse of digital platforms? Mehr Infos