ZIN-Brown Bag Lectures, Summer term 2024: „Digging for Diversity”

During the summer term 2024, the Center for Interdisciplinary Sustainability Research once again organises its annual public and interdisciplinary lecture series. This year, it is dedicated to the overarching theme of "Digging for Diversity", asking various scientific disciplines for their perspective on the role of diversity within socio-ecological transformations. The lecture series, formerly known as "ZIN-Brotzeitkolloquium", will be held in English this year as the "ZIN Brown Bag Lectures". As an "open class", it will also be possible for students from partner universities of the Ulysseus European University Alliance to attend virtually. (The ULYSSEUS network comprises eight European universities from different regions that collaborate and build ties in different areas of higher education, including research, student affairs, and public engagement activities, among others.)

During each of the five lecture dates, two ZIN-members will give lectures on different facets of the topic of diversity from their respective disciplinary perspectives. Students from all disciplines at the University of Münster and students from the seven partner universities as well as interested members of the public are cordially invited to attend the lectures, which will take place at lunchtime on five Thursdays from April to June. The lectures will be broadcasted via Zoom from lecture hall F4 (Fürstenberghaus, Domplatz 20-22) and can also be attended in person. Each event will start at 12.15 pm CET.

This year, the "ZIN-Brown Bag Lectures" are additionally organised in cooperation with both  SUNRISE LAB and LATERNE research projects, whose central aim is to research and test - among others through so-called "real-life experiments" - how universities can become more sustainable. The lecture series is part of such a real-life experiment that researches inter- and transdisciplinary teaching in the context of socio-ecological transformation.

No prior knowledge is required to follow the lectures! All information about the lecture series (including an overview of the program and access data for the current date) can be found here (see below). We also share information about the "ZIN-Brown Bag Lectures" via our accounts on LinkedIn (@Zentrum für interdisziplinäre Nachhaltigkeitsforschung) and Facebook (@ZIN.unimuenster).

Here you can find the Zoom access data with which you can participate virtually in lectures - on the day of the lecture itself.

Access data to join the ZIN-Brown Bag Lectures on June 27th 2024:

https://uni-ms.zoom-x.de/j/68268380743?pwd=wbctM2NayW66gz9cJ8ja4Y5vfS0ZKn.1

Meeting-ID: 682 6838 0743

Kenncode: 182117

ULYSSEUS Academic Offer Registration

If you are joining as student, academic, or non-academic staff from one of our Ulysseus partner universities, please send an email with the following information to ulysseus.academic.offer@uni-muenster.de to register for the event:

• Name
• Home University
• Country of Residence
• Citizenship
• Student ID - Status (student, academic, non-academic)
• Level of Study (high school, bachelor, master, doctorate)

Since the summer term 2016, ZIN has been organizing the so-called "Brotzeitkolloquium", a lecture series based on the American Brown Bag Lunches. The successful series of events will now take place again in the summer term 2024 - in English, for the first time, and hence under the title "ZIN Brown Bag Lectures".
The lecturers - all of them members of the ZIN - will shed light on various aspects of the overarching theme of "Digging for Diversity" from different disciplinary perspectives. 

The lecture series is addressed to students from all disciplines at the University of Münster as well as students from partner universities in the ULYSSEUS university network and interested members of the public. It therefore requires no prior knowledge . All lectures will take place in hybrid form, in presence in lecture hall F4 (Fürstenberghaus, Domplatz 20-22) and on Zoom. We will publish the Zoom links to the lectures on this website on the day of the lecture itself (see above).

1st event in the „ZIN-Brown Bag Lectures” series: “Diverse People, Diverse Knowledges”

On Thursday, 18.04. at 12:15 p.m. CET, the "ZIN Brown Bag Lectures" will start with short lectures by political scientist Julia Wiethüchter and landscape ecologist Dr. Cornelia Steinhäuser on the topic "Diverse People, Diverse Knowledges".

What are the individual lectures about? You can find out in these abstracts:

• ”Understanding alternative ways of knowing our world” (Julia Wiethüchter): There are more ways to look at the world and to produce knowledge than the predominantly Western way that has been considered “universal” for a long time. As Reiter (2018) put it bluntly, “the knowledge produced by white males from only five countries has lost its legitimacy to explain the whole world by formulating universal statements about human behavior and interaction”.  This is not to say that Western science does not have its place in offering explanations, merely that it is not equipped to be the sole source of viewing and understanding our world. The concept of the pluriverse opposes the dominant position of Western science and imagines a world view that equally recognises diverse approaches to understanding reality. This presentation aims to introduce ways of knowing from various places in the world that allow us to consider alternative conceptualisations of the past and the future. This thinking ‘outside the box’, this digging a little deeper to find knowledge that is not as readily propagated has special significance in a just socioecological transformation.
• “Harvesting Diversity: the Cultivation of Varied Knowledges through Farming and Gardening in Diverse Communities” (Dr. Cornelia Steinhäuser): Individuals exhibit a multifaceted identity influenced by diverse factors such as culture, profession, interests, and beliefs, shaping their interactions within various social groups. Within specific communities, individuals engage in nuanced negotiations of behavioral norms, values, and linguistic meanings, thus also developing different kinds of knowledge. The talk will examine three case studies in Germany, Argentina, and Italy in which people have developed diverging and shared understandings of their relationship to their landscape, community, and themselves through farming and gardening. The discussion emphasizes pre-linguistic and aesthetic exchanges as vital elements in community formation and knowledge exchange. By recognizing and comprehending this intricate interplay, societies can cultivate empathy, inclusivity, and a deeper appreciation for the rich tapestry of human experiences, fostering meaningful connections and collective understanding across diverse communities

The event will take place in lecture hall F4 (Fürstenberghaus) and online (access data see above). No prior knowledge is required. You are welcome to bring a small lunch! Information on this and the other events of the "ZIN-Brown Bag Lectures" can also be found on the poster for the event series as well as on LinkedIn (@Zentrum für interdisziplinäre Nachhaltigkeitsforschung) and Facebook (@ZIN.unimuenster).

2nd event in the „ZIN-Brown Bag Lectures” series: “Diverse Beliefs, Norms, and Value Systems”

On Thursday, 02.05. at 12:15 p.m. CET, communication scientist Prof. Dr. Sigrid Kannengießer and psychologist Simin Ziegler will give short lectures on the topic of "Diverse Beliefs, Norms, and Value Systems" as part of the "ZIN-Brown Bag Lectures".

What are the individual lectures about? You can find out in these abstracts:

• “Diverse Media Practices striving for Sustainability” (Prof. Dr. Sigrid Kannengießer): How do different actors use digital media to contribute to sustainability? This question is in the core of the presentation which discusses results from different empirical studies that analyzed media practices with which different actors use digital media to contribute to sustainability (that will be defined as socio-ecological-economic justice).  In the focus are practices that either focus media as technologies or those that use media as content. Examples of the former are the repairing of media technologies or the production of fair digital devices, examples of the latter are the encryption of content or the production of media content that advertises for sustainability.  In the presentation, these different media practices and the norms and values that are inherent in these practices are reconstructed as well as the ambitions of the actors to use online media for the formation of different movements striving for sustainability. Thereby, it is argued that the empowerment of digital media users is in the core of the action – on the one side regarding an informed and competent appropriation of digital media on the other side regarding the enabling of networking among like-minded people.
• ”Employees’ values in the context of organizational sustainability efforts“ (Simin Ziegler): People and their behavior will certainly play a crucial role toward reaching a sustainable future. Consequently, the topic of how individuals’ diverse values, beliefs and norms shape pro-environmental behaviors attracts continuous attention in environmental psychology. Employees values, for example, may influence how they judge their organization’s environmental efforts and perceived value-fits. This talk will provide an overview about psychological research and concepts to model such relationships with a focus on the work context.

The event will take place in lecture hall F4 (Fürstenberghaus) and online (access data see above). No prior knowledge is required. You are welcome to bring a small lunch! Information on this and the other events of the "ZIN-Brown Bag Lectures" can also be found on the poster for the event series as well as on LinkedIn (@Zentrum für interdisziplinäre Nachhaltigkeitsforschung) and Facebook (@ZIN.unimuenster).

3rd event in the „ZIN-Brown Bag Lectures” series: „Biodiversity and Bio-Cultural Diversity”

On Thursday, 16.05. at 12:15 p.m. CET, landscape ecologist Prof. Tillmann Buttschardt and microbiologist Prof. Bodo Philipp will give short lectures on the topic of "Biodiversity and Bio-Cultural Diversity" as part of the "ZIN-Brown Bag Lectures".

What are the individual lectures about? You can find out in these abstracts:

• ”Diversity und Resilience in landscape scale” (Prof. Tillmann Buttschardt): What makes landscapes less vulnerable to external change? What role do diversity and synergies play in this? Predictably, the changes that have already occurred in the climate system will bring about many challenges as well as extreme events. Our living environment must therefore be resilient or - where this is not the case - regenerated. The talk section sheds light on the background and emphasises the value of diversity. What does it mean to consider diversity not only at the organism or habitat level but also at the landscape scale?
• ”Invisible and countless: the diversity of microorganisms and their function for ecosystems” (Prof. Bodo Philipp): When talking about biodiversity we usually think of animals and plants. However, the diversity of microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi is even greater, and for most of the species we do not exactly know what they are doing in the environment. Microorganisms are everywhere and their fascinating metabolic capabilities keep our ecosystems in equilibrium. This seminar aims at illustrating this enormous diversity of microorganisms and their importance for our past, present and future lives.

The event will take place in lecture hall F4 (Fürstenberghaus) and online (access data see above). No prior knowledge is required. You are welcome to bring a small lunch! Information on this and the other events of the "ZIN-Brown Bag Lectures" can also be found on the poster for the event series as well as on LinkedIn (@Zentrum für interdisziplinäre Nachhaltigkeitsforschung) and Facebook (@ZIN.unimuenster).

4th event in the „ZIN-Brown Bag Lectures” series: “Diverse Lifestyles, Work, and Livelihoods”

On Thursday, 06.06. at 12:15 p.m. CET, political scientists Dr. Pia Mamut and Lea Becker and business information scientist Prof. Tobias Brandt will give short lectures on the topic of "Diverse Lifestyles, Work, and Livelihoods" as part of the "ZIN-Brown Bag Lectures".

What are the individual lectures about? You can find out in these abstracts:

• “Diverse Lifestyles, Work, and Livelihoods: Shared responsibility for 1.5°C lifestyles” (Dr. Pia Mamut, Lea Becker): In order to shift to 1.5° lifestyles, i.e. radically sustainable and inherently diverse lifestyles that enable societies to achieve or come close to the climate goal of the Paris Agreement, we need to better understand the complex relationship between 1.5° lifestyles and their structural preconditions as well as the associated responsibilities or attributions of responsibility. In the past, policies have often encouraged personal behavioural change and thus individual responsibility without sufficient consideration of the structural contextual conditions. Conversely, many social actors and citizens see "the politicians in Berlin" as being responsible for shaping the relevant framework conditions. The latter, in turn, often seems to lack the democratic legitimisation to create such framework conditions. This complex web of reciprocal attributions of responsibility increasingly leads to ineffective political strategies and ultimately to a collective flight from responsibility. This presentation aims to shed light on the complex relationship between 1.5° lifestyles and their structural barriers and potentials, drawing on research findings from the EU1.5° Lifestyles project. The presentation emphasises the importance of individual and collective efforts to overcome structural barriers to 1.5° lifestyles and argues for a balanced approach that requires a shared responsibility of all societal actors.
• “Diverse work in the digital economy” (Prof. Tobias Brandt): In this talk, I will touch upon some critical issues surrounding how the digital age is transforming our understanding of work and employment. Fundamentally, the digital economy is characterized by a boost in entrepreneurship and the simultaneous emergence of a handful of dominating tech giants. At the same time, digital technologies have loosened the grasp of time and place on how, when, and where we work. Collectively, these phenomena have challenged the classical notion of (self-)employment and work, giving rise to a multitude of diverse work identities and realities, such as digital nomads, influencer, and gig worker.

The event will take place in lecture hall F4 (Fürstenberghaus) and online (access data see above). No prior knowledge is required. You are welcome to bring a small lunch! Information on this and the other events of the "ZIN-Brown Bag Lectures" can also be found on the poster for the event series as well as on LinkedIn (@Zentrum für interdisziplinäre Nachhaltigkeitsforschung) and Facebook (@ZIN.unimuenster).

5th event in the „ZIN-Brown Bag Lectures” series: „Diverse Arenas of Political and Social Participation and Learning”

On Thursday, 27.06. at 12:15 p.m. CET, political scientists Prof. Antonia Graf and Tomma Wagner and educational scientists Prof. Christian Fischer and Dr. David Rott will give short lectures on the topic „Diverse Arenas of Political and Social Participation and Learning” as part of the "ZIN-Brown Bag Lectures".

What are the individual lectures about? You can find out in these abstracts:

• “Transformative Learning: Structural requirements and implementation options in schools” (Christian Fischer & David Rott): Transformative learning requires diverse approaches and methods that open up fields of action for learners in which they can further develop their own thinking and actions. The aim of transformative learning is to change routines of thought and action. The lecture will present the scientific background with a view to a meta-architecture of transformative learning that can be used to implement corresponding programmes in schools. Phenomenon-based learning is presented as an example of how it is implemented at a grammar school in the Münsterland. Insights are given into the accompanying empirical research, which deals with issues such as critical thinking and the global competencies of students.
• „Including the excluded. Questions of representation in mobility related citizen participation” (Antonia Graf & Tomma Wagner): Vulnerable groups face a twofold challenge with regard to democratic participation in sustainable mobility transitions: on the one hand, socio-demographic factors limit their access to (sustainable) mobility options (transport poverty); on the other hand, their voices are less heard in the debate on mobility transition. The presentation aims to identify requirements for citizen participation that meet the challenges of this ‘double exclusion’. We conceptualize ‘democratic representation’ with the help of democratic theory. Drawing on interviews with professional participation organizations, experiences from everyday participation practices are elicited, due to the requirements of groups vulnerable to exclusion. As a result, we expect a series of practice-relevant recommendations that should help to break the negative feedback loop of social exclusion and transport poverty by bringing together participation practice and democratic theory.

The event will take place in lecture hall F4 (Fürstenberghaus) and online (access data see above). No prior knowledge is required. You are welcome to bring a small lunch! Information on this and the other events of the "ZIN-Brown Bag Lectures" can also be found on the poster for the event series as well as on LinkedIn (@Zentrum für interdisziplinäre Nachhaltigkeitsforschung) and Facebook (@ZIN.unimuenster).