Statements
The university is becoming more international. We experience it as a great enrichment that students from all over the world study in Kassel - and that they share their world view and experiences with us. In any case, our student body and university staff are diverse and unite people from a wide range of backgrounds and affiliations. We experience this diversity as an enrichment in everyday university life. At the same time, we are shocked that our students are increasingly telling us that they are the target of racist attacks. In an escalating social crisis, right-wing forces are creating a political mood with misanthropic attitudes - and declaring people who do not fit into their crude world view to be enemies. Against this backdrop, the question arises as to how we can better protect members of the university affected by racism from attacks - and what we can do together to stop anti-human political forces.
Racism is not a new phenomenon - neither on German streets nor at German universities. Rather, racism is part of everyday life. According to the National Discrimination and Racism Monitor, more than 22 percent of the population have experienced racism themselves. The spectrum of racist experiences ranges from derogatory comments and institutional inequality to physical violence. Universities are not exempt from these phenomena. A survey by the German Center for Higher Education Research and Science Studies shows that more than a quarter of students have experienced sexist or racist discrimination themselves during their studies and almost half (46%) have observed discrimination against others. Against this background, many universities have expanded and professionalized their anti-discrimination work in recent years. We expressly welcome this step.
However, the extent of racist discrimination and violence experienced by students, staff and visiting academics at the University of Kassel on university campuses and in everyday life is still unknown. There is much to suggest that there is a need for further action and that racism has a negative impact on everyday university life. Since 2023, our (international) students have reported cases in which they were insulted and spat at in Kassel city center because of their appearance. They did not dare to report such cases because they were afraid of police authorities and did not know who they could turn to at the university.
We take these reports seriously and see an urgent need for action. Racist acts, statements and assaults against our students, staff and visiting academics require us to take a closer look and assume responsibility in different roles and in different places.
As members of the Department of Political Science, we do not want to keep the issue quiet, but instead resolutely oppose racism. We take a stand in public debates and stand up for a democratic society. We listen when we hear about racism and assure those affected of our practical support. We intervene when we observe violence and discrimination and take a diversity-sensitive stance ourselves.
As teachers, we provide information about racism and related theories, debates and empirical findings. At the same time, it is important to us to protect those who are affected by racism and discrimination. We ensure a good culture of discussion in our events and rooms and, as the first point of contact for those affected, can provide information about the counseling infrastructure.
As researchers, we are aware of the need for a solid data basis. We therefore suggest that the university conducts a survey on experiences of racism at the university, on campus and in public spaces. We also expect the university's internal documentation of racist incidents to be continuously reviewed and improved with the involvement of those affected and their needs.
As members of the university, we are committed to expanding the structures for advising and supporting those affected. We encourage the promotion of racism-critical skills among employees, for example as part of further training. The university is jointly responsible for guaranteeing the safety of its members on campus and beyond. This is not the sole responsibility of the university management. We therefore also call on the university public to show civil courage and solidarity and to share information about existing anti-discrimination work at the university with (new) colleagues and students.
As members of the city society, we call on the city administrationto take measures to create an open-minded and non-violent climate in Kassel. An international and diverse university can only exist in a place that is politically and culturally open and takes responsibility for this. We therefore call on the city council to adopt an anti-racist stance. Campaigns such as the call for civil courage on KVG public transport are effective in this regard.
Teaching-consensus
Against the backdrop of right-wing extremist and anti-democratic activities at the University of Kassel, the Department of Political Science published a statement in July 2021 reaffirming the central importance of free and critical scholarship and thought for enabling democratic conditions.[1] This commitment to free scholarship, democracy, freedom, equality and anti-discrimination also gives rise to the obligation to resolutely oppose authoritarian, racist, anti-semitic and anti-feminist statements and practices. It is only through such resolute opposition to anti-emancipatory forces that spaces can be created in which an equal, reflective, open, problem-oriented and critical examination of social conditions is possible.
This also places demands on our teaching. The following key points should serve as a guideline for our common approach in our courses and they represent a basic consensus for our teaching at the University of Kassel. In addition, we as a department would like to actively participate in the development of appropriate university-wide offices and structures for the documentation and analysis of right-wing extremist and anti-democratic activities.
With the following points, we to try to meet the above-mentioned requirements for a democratic society:
1. anti-discrimination
We do not tolerate misanthropic and discriminatory behavior or statements in our courses. We consider it our duty to support students who are particularly affected by social inequality and discrimination. This means that faculty can be approached in confidence at any time and students can point out such discriminatory behavior. In cases where such behavior is practiced by faculty, we encourage students to contact other members of the department or other (counseling) offices of the university.
2. open and respectful exchange in the seminars
In our courses, we endeavor to facilitate an open, constructive, and collaborative exchange of knowledge among ourselves. This entails the integration of diverse perspectives and the creation of a shared learning environment. A shared learning process also means that there can be different levels of knowledge, which is why we advocate a constructive approach to "mistakes". At the same time, there are clear boundaries regarding discriminatory statements and behavior in the courses. (see point 1).
3. development of common manners in the seminars
In the courses, it is our intention to establish a consensus regarding the norms of conduct and behavior with the students. As a starting point, we may consider the question of how a conducive and inclusive seminar atmosphere can be created in which all participants feel at ease with their differences, as well as a sensitivity to various forms of exclusion, discrimination, and devaluation. This also encompasses the phenomenon of "silencing," which refers to the denial and suppression of (discriminatory) experiences and perspectives. Additionally, a joint discussion could be held on how to respond to and address discriminatory and inhumane conduct within the seminar setting.
4. support for student initiatives
We explicitly endorse students' efforts to challenge group-related misanthropy and discriminatory behavior. As faculty, we recognize the necessity of collective action to counteract such tendencies.
5. reference to anti-discrimination at the University of Kassel
In addition, the seminars may include references to the advice services and statutes for anti-discrimination at the University of Kassel.
Anti-discrimination statutes of the University of Kassel:
University's understanding of discrimination:
Advice services:
Kassel, Abril 2024, Department of Political Science
[1]https://www.uni-kassel.de/fb05/fachgruppen-und-institute/politikwissenschaft/aktuelles/stellungnahmen-der-fachgruppe
For free science in a democratic society
Due to current and past activities of anti-democratic and extreme right-wing political forces on the campus of our university, as well as the fact that students of our department have become aware of such activities, we have decided to publish a statement in which we clearly declare our support for free science in a democratic society and name its defense as our common task. As we are by no means the only ones who are confronted with the occurrence of anti-democratic tendencies in the university context and who are concerned about appropriate ways of dealing with them, we take up the very good statement of the colleagues and students at the University of Marburg from February 2019 (Statement of the Institute of Political Science of the Philipps University of Marburg from February 2019). We think that they succeeded in getting to the core of important aspects, which we can endorse without reservation and thus want to show our solidarity with their statement:
In recent years, we at the Department of Social Sciences have been confronted with actions from the extreme right at the university and in the city of Kassel. We observe a greater visibility of students engaged in new right-wing groups, both at our department and in our seminars. We see this presence in the context of a right-wing shift in the German public, especially parliamentary, debates and in social media, where racist, anti-Semitic, anti-feminist, and anti-democratic positions are becoming more prevalent and influential. Increasingly, these positions translate into subtle discrimination, verbal attacks, and violent assaults against all those who do not fit into a right-wing, ethnic, or even fascist worldview. The increased visibility of authoritarian right-wing actors and the shift to the right in public discourse in Germany as well as in other European and non-European countries jeopardize the chances of establishing democratic and egalitarian societies. Universities are not immune to these developments. Socially critical academics, for example, from the fields of gender and postcolonial studies, are increasingly becoming targets of radical right-wing campaigns in Germany. In Hungary, the government has effectively abolished gender studies. In Austria, Italy, Turkey, and Poland, too, gender studies are coming under pressure from radical right-wing governing parties. We take this social constellation as an opportunity to point out that free science and democratic society are fundamentally dependent on each other. A constructive dispute is part of democracy. However, inhuman and fascist positions cannot be part of such a dispute. Democracy cannot be reduced to procedures. As a collective self-determination of free and equal people over their fate and history, it is fundamentally incompatible with ideologies of inequality and misanthropy that devalue, exclude, and disenfranchise individuals or groups. As a way of life, it is based on material and ideal conditions that enable people to be different without fear and yet to meet in equality.
Universities play an important role in creating these democratic conditions. As members of the University of Kassel, we take our responsibilities seriously. We reaffirm our commitment to strongly oppose authoritarian, racist, anti-Semitic, and anti-feminist statements and practices, and we are committed to democracy, freedom, equality, and anti-discrimination. We defend the critical examination of social relations of nature, power, and domination as a fundamental component of the freedom of research and teaching. In this sense, we call upon the members of the University of Kassel-students, lecturers, researchers, and other colleagues-to take a stand against ideologies of inequality and to confront the actions resulting from these worldviews with civil courage.