History of the Department of Psychology in Münster
The history of the Department of Psychology at the University of Münster already begins as early as 1783. In this year, the philosopher Ferdinand Überwasser (1752-1812) refered to himself as "Professor of empirical psychology and logic". His position was created by Franz Freiherr von Fürstenberg shortly after the official opening of the university in 1780. The reformer, Franz von Fürstenberg, considered psychology to be science that should be taught in every school and university. It was then in 1919 that the first experimental psychology department of the Dept. of Philosophy of the WWU was founded by Prof. Dr. Richard Hellmuth Goldschmidt (a student of Wilhelm Wundt). Since 1942 Münster has its own separate psychological institute. Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Metzger was the first appointed director of the "Institute for Psychology and Pedagogy".
Wolfgang Metzger was a student and assistant of the Gestalt psychologist, Max Wertheimer, who was considered - along with Wolfgang Köhler and Kurt Koffka - to be one of the original founders of experimental Gesalt pyschology. For this reason, psychology in the city of Münster has received a strictly empirical and experimental orientation since that time in the tradition of the Berlin School of Gestalt Theory. In 1942 Metzger was also the only professor of the department. Today, in comparison, the Wilhelm's University of Münster in Westfalen has one of the largest training centers in the field of psychology in Germany. ... The entire history of our discipline can be read under the following link:
Find out more: History of Psychology at U Münster
Contemporary Art
The psychology department has received two works by important artists in recent years: Andreas Karl Schulze and Peter Telljohann. The works of both artists are site-specific wall installations that were created especially for the Fliednerstraße 21 building. The 63-meter-long wall frieze from Andreas Karl Schulze entitled "P SYSYPP S YP P" is made of 1400 colored cotton squares. It is located in the library of Psychology (opening times from Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ). The work „IM EIGENEN FELD“ (In Field of Its Own) by Peter Telljohann consists of eight wooden panels that are painted with shellac and color pigments (304 x 560 cm). It is located on the mezzanine of the foyer and can be visited during the general opening hours of the building (Monday to Friday 7:30 a.m. to 9:45 p.m.). Both works are now part of the art collection of the University. Their purchase was made possible through the support of the University Society and a private sponsor.
