The shift away from fossil fuels and raw materials is more than just a technical transformation—it is fundamentally changing the way we live together. The Käte Hamburger Kolleg “Raw Material Worlds” is developing forward-looking research about the transition to a post-fossil era. As an international research college, we are the first to examine this epochal upheaval in its entirety. From a global perspective, we investigate how people embed raw materials—from extraction through use to circulation—in social and cultural contexts, and how social orders emerge from this.
Our research approach: Thinking about transformation together with people
A socio-ecological transformation can only succeed if it promotes cultural change and is anchored in the everyday lives of institutions and the general public. The research group develops guiding knowledge for the path toward a sustainable future. The guiding principle is that genuine change must build on established meanings—and that fears of change must be taken seriously.
Networking & Knowledge Transfer
The research group brings together leading research in the humanities and social sciences at the University of Kassel in close collaboration with:
- the Centro de Estudios Latinoamericanos (CELA)
- the Kassel Institute for Sustainability
- the documenta Institute
Dialogue with Society: The Transfer|Forum
Knowledge arises through exchange. Our own Transfer|Forum promotes direct dialogue with regional stakeholders, civil society, schools, and artistic networks. In cooperation with the SDG+ Lab (funded as part of the federal-state initiative “Innovative University”), we are exploring new ways of exchanging knowledge:
- CitizenLabs for jointly exploring questions about the future
- Public debates and discussion forums
- Artist talks and experimental artistic formats
Image: Generated by AI