Events

At the College for Social Sciences and Humanities, academic events in various formats take place on a regular basis. You will find lectures, conferences, workshops, or panel discussions linked to different fields of research within the social sciences and humanities. Open science formats addressing the general public are also part of the portfolio.

Most events are planned by resident researchers and Senior Fellows, organised with support from the College’s event coordinator. Moreover, the College hosts select events offered by other members of the University Alliance Ruhr working in the social sciences and humanities.

The following list provides an overview of upcoming and past events at the College.

Next Event

Workshop
  • #Workshop
collage; background: a lightbulb filled with a handful of soil from which a small plant is growing

Global Sustainability Governance Workshop 2026: Towards Transnational Planning in the Age of Ecological Crisis

02/11/2026 - 03/11/2026, Essen

This two-day workshop explores the potential of different forms of transnational planning for leveraging transformative change. It fosters interdisciplinary dialogue on aspects such as transnational dynamics, the interaction of states, or the role of international organisations.

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Conference
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East Asian Statecraft under Pressure: Resilience and Adaptation

11/11/2026 - 12/11/2026, Essen

Organiser: Institute of East Asian Studies IN-EAST, University of Duisburg-Essen

This conference seeks to shed light on the rapidly evolving dynamics of destabilisation, strategic adjustments, and resilience in China, Japan, Korea, and beyond by bringing together diverse perspectives and disciplines.

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Workshop
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Economic Growth and Planetary Boundaries: The State, Democratic Economic Planning and Security

23/11/2026 - 24/11/2026, Essen

Organisers: Matthias Kranke (College for Social Sciences and Humanities) & Halliki Kreinin (University of Tallinn, Estonia), DKN Working Group 'Rethinking Sustainable Development through Post-Growth'

This interdisciplinary workshop brings together scholars to reflect on the future possibilities of post-growth transformations, focusing thematically on the state, democratic economic planning and…

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Workshop
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Sweat as Method. Explorations of the 'Lower Senses'

26/11/2026 - 27/11/2026, Essen | hybrid

What forms of knowledge emerge when sweat is not only an object but an epistemic operator? What can sweat reveal about bodies, atmospheres, and relations that remains inaccessible to distanced observation? This workshop explores sweat as a paradigmatic phenomenon through which the 'lower senses', particularly smell and touch, come into focus.

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Talk
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The Impact of Mining on Vulnerable Communities

08/12/2026, Essen

The film Where We Used to Sleep documents how the few remaining inhabitants of the former Romanian village of Geamăna are struggling with environmental degradation. Following the screening of the film, director Matthäus Wörle and environmental humanities scholar Eunice Ngongkum will discuss about the inspiration for the film and the impact of mining on vulnerable communities.

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Workshop
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Digital Transformation and Wealth Dynamics in Africa: Pathways to Inclusive and Sustainable Rural Futures

11/12/2026, Essen | hybrid

Digital transformation is reshaping African economies, but inequalities in access to digital technologies remain. This interdisciplinary workshop brings together scholars, students, policymakers, and development practitioners from Africa and Europe to examine how digital transformation influences wealth accumulation, social inclusion, and sustainable rural futures.

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Newsletter

Past Events

Workshop
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collage of three different clippings from journals published in the 19th century

Editing Journal Literature: Possible Approaches and Aporias | Journalliteratur edieren

23/09/2025 - 24/09/2025, Essen

Literary texts published in journals are embedded in a medial continuum. They are often serialised and participate in a pluralistic form of authorship characteristic of journalistic practices. This workshop initiates a discussion between journal literature research and editorial philology – with a focus on 19th-century literature, for which first publication in newspapers or magazines was almost…

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Workshop
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Pronouns and Action Formation / Ascription in Interaction: A Usage-Based Approach

11/09/2025 - 12/09/2025, Essen

Organisers: Jens Lanwer, Nathalie Bauer, Felix Bergmann, Karola Pitsch (University of Duisburg-Essen)

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Workshop
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International Workshop of Embodied Interaction & Embodied Intelligence [EI]^2

21/08/2025 - 22/08/2025, Essen

Organisers: Karola Pitsch (University of Duisburg-Essen), Akiko Yamazaki (Tokyo University of Technology), Keiichi Yamazaki (Saitama University)

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Workshop
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collage of two photos; on the left: person seen from the back who drags a trolley suitcase; on the right: a close-up of three hourglasses with coloured sand trickling down

Methodological Complexities in Cross-Cultural Life-Course Research

14/07/2025, Essen | online

How do temporality, gender, class, and familial interdependencies shape life trajectories in Germany and Pakistan? In this workshop, scholars and students will discuss theoretical and empirical challenges in research on youth transitions, delayed adulthood, and evolving family forms from a cross-cultural perspective.

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Workshop
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abstract illustration reminding of a "time machine", a spiral of different metal elements and numbers like on a clock

Ageing Materialities: Perspectives, Praxis and Possibilities

04/07/2025, Essen | hybrid

This workshop explores ageing as an interactional process and discusses the material and discursive practices that shape mid-to-later life. How do new technologies and digitalisation affect cultural conceptions of life course, later life and agency? This and related questions will be illuminated from different perspectives at the intersection of ageing studies and science and technology studies.

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Workshop
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collage: left: graphs on a digital screen; right: a large book shelf with several lightbulbs hanging in front of it

New Perspectives in Economics, Education and Social Sciences

03/07/2025, Essen | partly hybrid

This workshop will bring together renowned scholars to explore transformative ideas across economics, education, and interdisciplinary social sciences. Topics include the history of economic thought, socio-economic disparities in childcare enrolment, legal institutionalism, institutional reforms and gender, and the role of neoclassical economics in education.

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Symposium
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Therapeutic Encounters with Chatbots: The Social and Ethical Implications of Artificial Therapeutic Agents

01/07/2025, Essen | hybrid

This symposium will focus on chatbots in talk therapy. Developers, sociologists and philosophers will discuss the sociotechnical imaginaries, design assumptions and challenges that guide the creation of these chatbots. How can communication between humans and chatbots be designed to promote mental health and well-being?

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Workshop
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collage of two pictures: a photo of three EU flags on the left, a photo of a map showing Central Asia with a shadow of a plane on the right

The EU-Central-Asia Relations: Dynamics and Perspectives

25/06/2025, Essen | hybrid

This workshop will critically and comparatively examine the European Union’s and Central Asia’s bilateral and multilateral relations. Contributors will discuss regional and cross-regional challenges, interregional interdependence and connectivity, as well as soft and smart power issues.

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Conference
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illustrative graphic composed of small geometric forms in various colours

Queer AΦ Europe | Queer Analytic Philosophy: Social Concepts and Categories

16/06/2025, Essen | hybrid

Analytic philosophy is able, at its best, to untangle large and seemingly ineffable questions. Social ontology and conceptual engineering aim to analyse ordinary concepts and categories, such as gender, race, sexual orientation, identity, as well as social emotions. This conference presents work in analytic philosophy that focuses on the nature and properties of the social world.

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Workshop
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collage of two photos; left: photo of an open notebook with blurbs of "hello" in different languages; right: photo of a classroom from the back, with three rows of chairs and desks

Heritage Language Education and Policy

05/06/2025 - 06/06/2025, Essen

This workshop aims to compare US and German approaches to bilingual education and heritage language teaching. It explores similarities and differences in order to identify common research areas and potential solutions for future generations’ language maintenance within the context of schooling and policies.

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Events in 2025   Events in 2024 

Contact us

Event Coordination

Laura Ziewitz

Event Coordinator

Phone: +49 201 183 - 6545

E-mail: