The Gekko sets a precedent
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The Doctoral College of Humanities and Cultural Studies (GeKKo) at the University of Kassel is currently organizing an event entitled "Das GeKKo macht Schule". Our aim is to make current research from the fields of German linguistics and literature, philosophy, Romance studies, English studies and theology accessible primarily to middle and high school students and to demonstrate a connection between the - often very 'unrealistic' sounding - academic content and the reality of life: vivid, communicative, up-to-date and exciting. Research therefore does not remain exclusively theoretical, but can be experienced in practice.
The format of the event is as variable and wide-ranging as the content and can be adapted to the needs of the respective teaching situation in consultation with the teachers: Lectures with a high proportion of interaction or discussion, small group work or even one-day projects (possibly as part of a project week) are possible from our side.
Thematically, the content can be integrated into different contexts of the curricula. For example, a philosophical contribution on the cognitive abilities of animals can be integrated both as a starting point for moral considerations in ethics lessons and under anthropological auspices in religious education lessons. The topic of "youth language" can be just as fruitful in German lessons from a linguistic point of view as it can be in politics lessons from a youth cultural perspective. A detailed description of our projects can be found on our homepage.
General questions about the project: gekkofb2[at]uni-kassel[dot]de (Miriam Langlotz)
If you have any questions about the individual lessons, please contact the address given in the short description.
We are open to suggestions from schools and are happy to answer any questions.
Lessons offered:
The literary industry
Implementation: Anna-Carina Meywirth
(Modern German Literary Studies)
Keywords: books, literature, media, economy, advertising, publisher, author, bestseller
Duration: 90 minutes
Material required: Projector, laptop, copies
How do books get onto bestseller lists?
Who decides what is displayed in the windows of bookstores? How much does it cost and who pays for it? In the literary world, nothing is left to chance. In order to find answers to questions like these and to clarify what 'the literary industry' actually is, we need to take a closer look at the complicated interplay between authors, publishers and the media. Working in small teams of detectives, we need to uncover what happens at book fairs, for example, or why each of us falls for the ingenious sales mechanisms of the book trade or the Internet.
Humans and other animals
Implementation: Martin Böhnert
(Theoretical Philosophy)
Keywords: cognition in animals, thinking, anthropology, interdisciplinarity, behavior, epistemology
Duration: 90 minutes
Material required: Beamer, laptop (PowerPoint), speakers
What is a human being? What distinguishes humans from animals? Can animals think? Based on initially intuitive answers to these questions, we try to structure and systematize them using a rough outline of philosophical positions. These will then be discussed and critically reflected on in a discussion based on current behavioral biology studies (in the form of short videos, some in English). Ultimately, the question arises as to how we actually know what we think we know here. And is this all a philosophical question at all?
The aim of the discussion-oriented contribution is, on the one hand, to gain insights into the cognitive abilities of animals and to reflect on various boundaries between humans and animals. On the other hand, it also aims to provide brief insights into (some) working methods of philosophy: From refining questions, to deepening our understanding of certain concepts such as "thinking" or "language", to reflecting on what we actually call "knowledge" and how we obtain it.
The article offers points of contact in the context of the discussion of different concepts of humanity (religion), preliminary considerations on ethical conventions (ethics, philosophy), but also fundamentally an interdisciplinary approach between the humanities and natural sciences (biology).
Anyone who talks about people who run amok is also always talking about themselves
Implementation: Paul Reszke
(German Linguistics)
Keywords: language - thinking - acting, language reflection, media reflection and analysis, language and violence, constructivism
Duration: 45 minutes (lecture and discussion) or 90 minutes (lecture, joint analysis and discussion)
Material required: Beamer, laptop (PowerPoint) - can also be brought along
The question arises after every school shooting: How could this happen? The answers are as varied as the people who answer them. But where do they get their knowledge from, where do the experts get it from, where does everyone else get it from? What influence do the media have on our thinking and, above all, on how society deals with this phenomenon? What does "amok" actually mean, who coined this word and when, and how has it changed?
The article aims to show how a detailed and diverse analysis of texts also sharpens our view of society and its actions: Which laws are passed and why? Who is considered an "expert" on a topic? How do which newspapers report on the phenomenon? Typical working methods of cultural studies-oriented linguistics will also be shown.
The contribution offers points of reference in the context of the discussion of different concepts of humanity (ethics) as well as considerations on the interaction of language, thought and action (philosophy, German). The content will be discussed and adapted depending on the school level: It is primarily about language, not about rampages.
Latest news
Planned GeKKo conferences in Hofgeismar:
Summer semester 2020:
Not applicable!
WiSe 20/21:
October 16/17, 2020
SoSe 2021:
April 23/24, 2021