Interventions

From January 14 to 16, 2026, the workshop "Envisioning (un)democratic futures" at the University of Gothenburg gathered international researchers from Sweden, Italy, Germany, Great Britain, Finland, Romania, and Argentina to discuss new approaches in the study of populism, illiberalism, and authoritarianism. The event was organized by the Research School FUDEM and supported by a research grant from the Riksbankens Jubileumsfond.The contributions presented there made it clear that we must move away from simplistic notions about right-wing populist actors: Instead of a crude rejection of modernity and science, we are observing a sophisticated appropriation of progressive concepts aimed at restructuring the existing social order according to (eco-)nationalist and moral ideas.

Why research-based learning?
Research-based seminars are an important part of the teaching program at our Institute for Social and Cultural Anthropology. As professors and lecturers, we consider these teaching formats particularly valuable. Why?

Does the German energy transition really suffer from transformation fatigue? No, but its lacking the right participation formats. Particularly in the east German mining districts people are tired of bullshit.

In our new contribution to the volume The New Key Concepts in Affective Societies (Routledge 2026), I develop the concept of “Sensory Care” together with my anthropological colleagues Anita von Poser and Edda Willamowski, as well as our long-term clinical partners from the Vietnamese specialist outpatient clinic in Berlin. We use this term to describe an approach that understands care as an affective interplay of bodies, memories, and sensory environments, extending far beyond linguistic exchange alone.

On June 18th 2025 the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg hosted Michael Rothberg as part of the ANTON WILHELM AMO LECTURES series.