Veranstaltungen

Doctoral and postdoctoral researchers are invited to the IRS Spring Academy, an interdisciplinary space dedicated to critically examining and discussing their projects and positionalities in engaged urban research. mehr Info

This talk examines the railway living areas of colonial Zimbabwe as contested spaces where colonial authorities sought to regulate African domestic life, and where African women, largely excluded from formal employment, nonetheless shaped communities through labour, economic agency, and everyday negotiation. mehr Info

Derek Hyra (American University) is a scholar and an activist. How do the two roles go together? In his keynote, Hyra will share his experiences working as a professor and researcher of housing, urban politics, and race, who advocates for more equitable neighborhood development. He will discuss how to navigate the threshold between academia and activism and offer advice for early career researchers. mehr Info

Can research truly serve communities — or does it risk becoming extractive, even when well-intentioned? Isabelle Anguelovski (BCNUEJ/ICREA) tackles this tension, drawing on her work on climate and housing justice in Barcelona, Boston and beyond. She will share concrete examples of participatory methods and grassroots partnerships — and reflect honestly on the trade-offs between academic expectations, activist commitments, and ethical responsibility. mehr Info

Can research that sides with social movements still be credible science? And do activists actually want scholars involved? This panel tackles both questions at once. Isabelle Anguelovski, Derek Hyra, Jacob Stringer and Miguel A. Martínez — moderated by Lisa Vollmer — reflect on the promises and pitfalls of activist scholarship. They will also address the question, what the global rise of authoritarianism means for this kind of work. mehr Info

Das 19. Werkstattgespräch legt seinen Fokus auf das zivilgesellschaftliche Engagement für den Erhalt von Bauten der Ostmoderne der DDR. In Vorträgen wird sowohl auf den Umgang mit der Ostmoderne zurückgeblickt als auch auf aktuelle gesellschaftliche Interventionen von Bürger*innen in Dresden und Berlin eingegangen. mehr Info

Wer heute durch den Berliner Tiergarten spaziert, sieht Botschaftsgebäude, breite Straßen und viel Grün. Wie aber war das um 1900? Eine neue digitale Karte macht erstmals sichtbar, wo Millionäre im Deutschen Kaiserreich lebten – in Berlin und weit darüber hinaus. mehr Info

Local and community-led handmade fashion practices offer grounded alternatives to mass production and disposability. Drawing on Valuing the Handmade project, this talk shares findings from craft ecology mapping across Naarm/Melbourne and Meanjin/Brisbane. mehr Info

Where does finance come from? How can maps uncover hidden patterns of finance? Why does the hierarchy of financial centres and power change so slowly? These questions are at the core of the IRS lecture by Darius Wójcik mehr Info