Upheavals and turning points - cultures and mentalities

Exclusive insights into the works of renowned authors, discussion and reflection offer participants the opportunity to actively participate in a dialog about the social upheavals and their representation in literature. Topics such as growing up and the socialization of people in the GDR, the reunification period or East Germany as a migration society are the focus. The lecture series sheds light on them from a literary and academic perspective.

Literary passages by well-known authors such as Jana Simon, Grit Lemke, Sabine Michel and Prof. Dr. Holger Lengfeld will be read aloud, commented on and discussed. The process of their creation will play a central role. In the encounter between science, literature and civil society, processes of change from the 1990s onwards, as well as current social transformations, can be clarified and analyzed. In addition, Dr. Daniel Kubiak and Dr. Özgür Özvatan from Humboldt University Berlin will record a live podcast on the topic of "East Germany and migration society in Berlin and Brandenburg". The audience will be able to set the focus of the content by submitting questions.

The event, entitled "Upheavals and turning points - cultures and mentalities: Social Transformation Processes in Literary and Scientific Perspective" is presented by the Chair of Social Services for Structurally Weak Regions at the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg (BTU). The innovative format, which is somewhere between a classic seminar and a lecture series, is being offered as part of a visiting professorship by Prof. Dr. Werner Thole.

In the year 2024, which is characterized by local elections, state elections in Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia as well as elections for the EU Parliament, "Upheavals and Turns - Cultures and Mentalities" promises an opportunity for critical and multi-perspective reflection and discussion on social change.

The event is being held in cooperation with the Bunte Bahnhof in Cottbus. Admission is free.

All dates at a glance

Beginning every Tuesday, 6 p.m. at the Bunte Bahnhof Cott bus (except 28 May 2024: BTU main campus Cottbus)
Moderation: Prof. Dr. Alexandra Retkowski, Prof. Dr. Werner Thole and Claudia Arndt

May 14, 2024
"The" other life - memories of growing up in the GDR - or: Why, "when the GDR state is criticized, people often feel criticized too"
Speaker: Sabine Michel, director and author

May 21, 2024
From WK, work collectives and the Dadaist "FMP" - growing up in a "new" city
Speaker: Grit Lemke, director and author

May 28, 2024
Social cohesion & social networks in Germany
Officer: Prof. Dr. Holger Lengfeld, Institute of Sociology, Leipzig University
ATTENTION: VenueBTU main campus Cottbus, central lecture building, Konrad-Wachsmann-Allee 3, 03046 Cottbus

June 11, 2024
"East Germany post-migrant" - East Germany and migration society in Berlin and Brandenburg
B.O.M. meets Brandenburg - LIVEPODCAST
Officers: Dr. Daniel Kubiak & Dr. Özgür Özvatan, Humboldt University of Berlin

June 25, 2024
"Under pressure" - Germany in times of change
Speaker: Jana Simon, writer and journalist

July 9, 2024
Times of change are times of upheaval - the social sphere is reshaping itself
LESEBÜHNE Cottbus & panel discussion with: Prof. Dr. Alexandra Retkowski (BTU) Stefanie Lindner (BTU) Prof. Dr. phil. Heike Radvan (BTU) Prof. Dr. Birgit Behrensen (BTU) Ulrike Müller (director, author)