We live in times of multiple crises and uncertainties, at least that is the tenor of current political and scientific discourse. These discursive crisis scenarios are sometimes contrasted with futures that address cultures of cohesion and community. Although such approaches offer orientation, they are not sufficient to adequately understand the cultural dimensions of current crisis and conflict dynamics. The workshop will not only look at the cultural-symbolic level of conflict and crisis phenomena, but also at how diagnoses of conflict and crisis and, accordingly, how dealing with conflicts contribute to the confirmation, problematization and generation of symbolic orders. Another field of interest is the question of whether and how conflict dynamics can be shaped and dealt with, especially in cultural forms of expression and practices of cultural mediation. The three-day workshop will be divided into three topics: “Cultural conditions and constitutions of conflicts”, “Forms of addressing conflicts culturally”, and “Dealing with conflicts in cultural expressions”. The conference will alternate between lecture blocks and discursive formats in order to initiate a cross-disciplinary dialogue and explore possibilities for joint research initiatives. The interdisciplinary and international composition of the contributions takes account of the necessary multi-perspectivity.
International workshop at Bielefeld Center for Interdisciplinary Research, 30.09.–02.10.2025
Conference chairs: Prof. Dr. Saskia Bender, Prof. Dr. Katja Hoffmann, Prof. Dr. Paul Mecheril, Prof. Dr. Joachim Michael, Prof. Dr. Johannes Voit (Bielefeld University)