Blog

In a process-based multimedia workshop, Francesca Ceola and Simone Rueß aimed to ground broad, abstract concepts of translocality, transnationalism and hybrid, space-oriented cultural structures. A constantly changing room set-up with three parts challenged participants to think creatively and imaginatively. Thinking with the audio-visual work "Liquid Homes" by Camilo Bravo Molano and the keynote lecture by Prof. Dr. Magdalena Nowicka, participants from various disciplines were invited to explore the spatialities of migrants, transnational affect, and translocal homes - both individually and collectively, and with the help of graphic prompts, language and performative explorations.

For certain types of work, it is necessary to immerse yourself in it entirely and not think about anything else for a period of time – the writing process for a dissertation or habilitation is surely one of them. It was precisely for this reason that twelve doctoral and postdoctoral students and associated doctoral candidates from the SFB retreated for a few days of intensive work in Klein Glien, Brandenburg…

How does socio-spatial segregation shape the experience of urban space? In this blog post, Nicolas Zehner reflects on a recent research trip to Cape Town by taking a closer look at the intricate relationships between queer dating, Pokémon Go, and urban transportation. Although seemingly unrelated, these forms of urban sociality are all intimately linked through structural inequality.

In this blog post, Simon Pohl and Linda Hering offer insights into their experiences and takeaways from the workshop held in November at the CRC: “Varieties of Refiguration,” organized by Stefan Kirchner and Nina Baur. While Simon plunges into the discussion of how to extend the theory of refiguration, Linda identifies salient throughlines connecting contributions from the wide range of topics presented at the workshop.

Care can be understood in different ways depending on the social-political context in question. What for some may seem like a lack of care, for others is just a different way of caring. By researching environmental/urban education activities with children, the author seeks to relate children´s autonomy regarding urban issues in Berlin to care practices. This blog article shows some of the first reflections of Joana Martins' field work in Berlin as a visiting fellow at CRC.

How does spatial theory inform spatial practice? What can we, as practitioners, gain from reading a scientific paper? The following lines are a personal reflection on our recent CRC 1265 working paper on multiple understandings of rurality and its links and parallels to the practice of Gyaw Gyaw, a locally-run architectural NGO located at the rural Thai-Myanmar border.

This blog post aims to reflect on the ways in which the decolonization of knowledge can be actively pursued through the co-production of research. It focuses on examples from the author’s own research activities in the field of cultural anthropology in a historically marginalized district of Dakar (Senegal). The blog post also discusses the challenges posed by research co-production in terms of methodological issues of validity and legitimacy, as well as challenges that endangered the field research (e. g., power relations among the research participants, the tendency to gain individual control over the project, gender biases that implicitly shape the design and implementation process).

The 2024 annual conference of the Collaborative Researcher Center (CRC) 1265 Re-Figuration of Spaces brought together research at the intersection of space and conflict. It tackled the question of how […]