College UA Ruhr: FEATURES | College for Social Sciences and Humanities

FEATURES

The FEATURES section is a digital space for miscellaneous editorial content illuminating the College’s research activities. It accommodates academic articles, essays, reviews, and blog posts, as well as interviews and portraits. The purpose of this format is to provide insights into research at the College, display different perspectives within the social sciences and humanities on current debates, and reflect the variety of research fields. The section also spotlights individual researchers with their projects. The authors and contributors are regularly College members and Senior Fellows.

Latest Posts

#interview

Sule Egya speaking at a conference, holding a microphone

How Environmental Issues are Connected with our Social Worlds

Sule Egya took up the research professorship 'Public Social Sciences and Humanities: Key Societal Debates' in April 2026. In this interview, he explains how environmental issues are connected with colonial history and global imbalances. He also elucidates how he intends to engage the public in debates about current societal issues.

AI in Science Communication: Undermining Trust and Reproducing Stereotypes?

How do young people perceive and react to AI-generated scientific content? Do AI-generated images of scientists reinforce stereotypes? Maximilian Krug and Valentina Nachtigall conducted two studies to explore the role and effects of using generative AI in science communication.

collage of photos; left: a UN helicopter and the UN flag; right: photo of Rashed Uz Zaman giving a talk

How Norms Take Shape in United Nations Peacekeeping: The Case of Bangladesh

Focusing on Bangladesh and Nepal as two of the largest contributors to UN peace operations, Rashed Uz Zaman examines how peacekeeping norms influence local political, legal, and military structures. In this interview, he relates how these international norms are negotiated within national institutions and how they are reshaped through practice.

collage with 3 photos from the workshop 'Multisensory Approaches' showing different presenters and participants

Multisensory Approaches in Archaeology: Exploring Egyptian, Near Eastern and Aegean Palaces of the Bronze and Iron Age

Multisensory archaeology focuses on sensory dimensions of archaeological sites, artifacts, and landscapes to reconstruct past human experiences. A workshop organised by Uroš Matić and Constance von Rüden in June 2025 explored the potential of multisensory approaches for the study of Egyptian, Near Eastern and Aegean palaces of the Bronze and Iron Age. This post features video recordings of the…

Therapeutic Encounters: Social and Ethical Implications of AI Chatbots in Mental Healthcare

The symposium ‘Therapeutic Encounters with Chatbots’, which took place at the College for Social Sciences and Humanities on 1st July 2025, brought together international researchers and practitioners from different disciplines. They discussed the current state of chatbot technology in mental healthcare, implications of its use, as well as future imaginaries. In this review, the organisers Benjamin…

World Champions of Forgetting. Remorseless American Exceptionalism

"Memory culture has metamorphosed into a forgetting culture, made in the USA." In this essay, William Donahue proposes a covert connection between the long-standing American suppression of civilian and non-combatant ‘collateral damage’ in military campaigns of the past, on the one hand, and the current willingness to countenance massive civilian deaths in contemporary conflicts, on the other. This…

Imran Sabir sitting on a public bench in the city centre of Essen, looking at the camera, holding a newspaper in his hands. In the background there are buildings and trees.

The Sociology of Public Sitting: What Essen’s Benches Reveal About Intergenerational Relationships

"If you want to understand society, don’t read theory. Watch people striving for a shady spot at 3 pm on a bright sunny day." – Sociologist Imran Sabir observes seemingly mundane activities around public benches in Essen, revealing the social fabric and dynamics behind them in this humorous blog post.