Blog | Europe

CRC 1265 researcher Eric Lettkemann unravels the intriguing dynamics between digital technology and public spaces. Uncovering contrasting approaches to the of hybrid reality game Pokémon Go, from cemetery bans in Germany to seamless integration in Tokyo, he discusses the social implications and future challenges of such locative media as we navigate an evolving world where the digital of physical increasingly overlap.

The environmental movement of Turkey has three decades of history. A culture of resistance was transferred from the first women's ecological resistance that attracted attention in the Bergama peasant movement to today's struggling women.[1] One of the areas of resistance discussed in this article is the Mount Ida (Kazdağları) Resistance, which is one of the most reported ecological struggles in the press in recent years in Turkey. [2]  Global companies came to this significant area, within the borders of Turkey's Marmara and Aegean regions, to search for gold with cyanide and destroy some regions with the state's approval. Resistance temporarily stopped the destruction and cutting of trees in the area.

This blogpost explores how counterpublic spaces act as intrinsically intersectional spaces shaped by power, history and emotion. In his celebrated 2019 book Afropean: Notes from Black Europe, Johny Pitts sets off by train from Sheffield on a five-month journey across continental Europe. Pitts’ mission seeks to explore the everyday life of black European experiences, beyond the “standoffish academic vernacular” (2019: 5) and to look for instances of “reverse colonialism” that highlight the long-term social and cultural presence and influence of blackness on European culture.

One likes to show guests something special, and depending on what they find interesting, the places usually selected range from museums, shopping malls, historic city centers, impressive nature reserves to the latest 5-star restaurant. In contrast, our visiting scientists from Chile are interested in how fruit production in Germany differs from that in their home country. For this reason, we, the CRC project A03 “Goods and Knowledge II” in cooperation with the DFG project “Apples and Flowers”[1], visited a fruit farm together with our guests Beatriz Bustos [2] , Patricia Retamal and Raúl Contreras.

Olena Kononenko has been a guest researcher at the CRC 1265 since mid-May 2022. With Lucie Bernroider and Sarah Etz, she spoke about Kyjiw’s past, present and future, similarities and differences between Kyjiw and Berlin, her experiences at the CRC 1265 and her hopes for future returns – to both Kyjiw and Berlin.

Der Verfall europäischer Demokratie in rechtspopulistische Autokratie wurde zu Recht als reaktionäres Resultat einer spannungsreichen Konfrontation zwischen einer neuen Logik globaler Vernetzung und einer alten Logik nationaler Territorialität gedeutet. Sei es Klimawandel, Covid-19 oder Migration – der gefühlt machtlosen Auslieferung an komplex-unsichtbare Abhängigkeit, Ansteckung und ‚Unterwanderung‘ setzen rechtspopulistische Bewegungen ein idealisiertes Trugbild nationaler Gemeinschaftsstärke, moralischer Zweifellosigkeit und Reinheit entgegen. Es ist ein raumsoziologisch bedeutsamer Konflikt zwischen einer vernetzten Logik entgrenzter Verbreitung und einer territorialen Logik repräsentativer Reinheit.

Die Verkehrswende in Berlin scheint zum Greifen nahe und der Radverkehr erlebt seit Jahren einen rasanten Bedeutungsgewinn in Wissenschaft, Politik, Planung und Kultur. Der Beitrag greift aktuelle Entwicklungen des Radverkehrs auf und ordnet diese in den Kontext verkehrs- und stadtpolitischer Debatten ein. Es geht um die Frage, welchen Beitrag ein inklusiv gestalteter Radverkehr für die Verkehrswende und die lebenswerte Stadt leisten kann, und welche Herausforderungen sich dabei stellen.

From October 2019 till February 2020 Letteria G. Fassari was Visiting Fellow at the Collaborative Research Centre 1265. In this interview conducted at the end of her stay, she gives insights into her time at the CRC and her impressions of the city of Berlin.