"Dann machen wir es halt selber!"About the Complexity of Civil Society Co-Production in Peripheral Rural Communities (Working Title)

The work examines (unplanned) peripheral effects in rural Brandenburg as a result of administrative and territorial reforms since the reunification of 1990. The goal is to better understand civil society's scope for action in shaping rural quality of life. Using a peripherally located community as an example, a impact-oriented research design is operationalized. Through methods of participatory action research, the complex and sometimes conflicting internal perspectives of civil society co-production are made visible and analyzed using the conceptual perspective of Communicative Constructivism. As a result, the study provides diverse insights into the common good-oriented and collaborative negotiation of rural futures.

LANDCULTURES: Participation – Future (LAKUTEZU) *As part of the Federal Program for Rural Development and Regional Value Creation (BULEplus), BMEL funds LAKUTEZU as one of 22 projects under the funding initiative "Faktor K – Research on the Factor Culture in Rural Areas." In LAKUTEZU, based on an inter- and transdisciplinary examination of practices in rural actor networks in contemporary cultural production, success conditions for the sustainable development of rural areas will be identified. LAKUTEZU has three goals: (1) Identifying success conditions for successful cultural practices and social participation in rurally shaped transformation spaces; (2) Developing application-oriented recommendations for the successful integration of cultural practices into the common good-oriented and actor-centered development of rurally shaped transformation spaces; and (3) Advancing actor-centered forms of critical rural research with a focus on the role of art and culture. The working hypothesis of this study is that, under certain conditions, creative, artistic, and cultural actors can be progressive agents of social participation and transformation because they possess competencies to mobilize the potentials of their environment and innovatively address challenges. For this reason, they also have a special significance for rural development, although their contribution has not been adequately illuminated in this context.

Starting with a mapping of various actor networks in contemporary cultural production in the Oder-Spree district (LOS) in Brandenburg, various models of success are identified, which will be tested in the second project year in additional observation areas (Land Brandenburg and Rudolstadt-Saalfeld district in Thuringia). Parameters for application-oriented approaches and success models will be fed back from the comparison. These will be tested in the third year of research on practical examples of contemporary cultural production in LOS. www.lakutezu.land

Future Narratives of Small Towns:

The scientific goal of this PROCOPE-funded project by DAAD, involving young researchers and established scholars from BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg and Université Clermont Auvergne, is to compare emerging future narratives about small towns in France and Germany. The aim is to contextualize them historically in their respective contexts to distinguish similar and different developmental paths. Additionally, the project aims to examine the formation of local territorial narratives and question their impact (or lack thereof) on urban development, local development practices, and the conflicts arising in this context. In other words, the objective is to gain new insights into discursive urban practices with a focus on small towns in the new/post-pandemic context. These questions will be explored through case studies in selected regions of both countries, particularly in Auvergne (France) and Lausitz (Germany) - the locations of the participating university institutes - using various thematic approaches.

Bereskin, E. und Muth, C (2023) Über ein Leben in geplanter Ungewissheit, in: Landkreis Oder-Spree/Förderverein Burg Beeskow (Hg.) Vom Kommen und Gehen. Kursbuch Oder-Spree, Beeskow, Verlag Berlin-Brandenburg.

Bereskin, E., Jüttner, M. und Muth, C. (2021) Den Wandel leben, in: Landkreis Oder-Spree/Förderverein Burg Beeskow. (Hg.) Vom Essen und Trinken. Kursbuch Oder-Spree, Beeskow, Verlag Berlin-Brandenburg: 104-111.

Bell, S., Fisher, A. Muth, C. (Unveröffentlichtes Manuskript) The uses of the past: changes and challenges for the future, in: Fisher, A., Bell, S., Capresi, V., Maia, M-H., Pallini, C. (Hg.) The 20th Century Modernist Reinvention of the Rural Landscape, London, Routledge.

Muth, C. und Bereskin, E. (2020) Case-Studies from Brandenburg: The Reconceptualization of Modernist Structures in Post-Socialist Rural Regions, in: Pottgiesser,U ., Jaschke, F., M. Melenhorst, M. (Hg.) 100 Years Bauhaus. What Interest Do We Take In Modern Movement Today?, Lemgo.

Die Neukonzeption modernistischer Strukturen und Planungsprinzipien in postsozialistischen ländlichen Regionen, zusammen mit Emily Bereskin, auf der 16. DOCOMOMO-Deutschland / 3. RMB-Konferenz 100 Jahre Bauhaus: Welches Interesse haben wir heute an der Moderne?, Berlin, März 2019.

Muth, C., Bereskin, E., Capresi (2018) THE RURAL TRANSITION — Analyzing the development of the landscape before and after German reunification in 1990: The case study of the LPG in the southern Oderbruch, Brandenburg, in: Online proceedings der MODSCAPES_Conference, Tartu, 2018.

THE RURAL TRANSITION. Analyzing the development of the landscape before and after German reunification in 1990: The case study of the LPG in the southern Oderbruch, Brandenburg, MODSCAPES2018 conference & Baltic Landscape Forum Tartu, Juni 2018.

2023 Conceptualization and coordination of the democracy project "Über die weißen Elefanten im Dorf." In collaboration with Sophia Trollmann. Sponsored by the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb).

2022 Co-coordination of the summer academy "Spiel, Stadtplatzgestaltung und Partizipation in Puerto Rico," Department of Urban Planning, BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg. In collaboration with the University of Puerto Rico and Taller Creando sin Encargos. Winner of the DesignBuild PROJECT competition by the Sto Foundation.

2020 Conceptualization and coordination of the project "Helden aus der dritten Reihe." Funded by the Oderbruch Museum Altranft.

2019 Conceptualization and coordination of the summer academy "Dorfladen plus," Department of Design and Urban Planning, TU Darmstadt. In collaboration with Baucircus. Winner of the DesignBuild PROJECT competition by the Sto Foundation.