Democracy, Digital Technology, Ecology: Public Lecture Series in the Winter Semester
Image: Chris Dodge CC BY-SA 2.0.Worlds of Raw Materials: Outlines of the Future
The Käte Hamburger Kolleg “Worlds of Raw Materials,” in cooperation with the SDG+ Lab and the Staatstheater Kassel, is dedicated to addressing the challenges of the post-fossil fuel era. Experts will discuss how the transformation in the raw materials sector is affecting the economy, politics, technology, and society. The series begins on October 22, 2026 (Thursday, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.) at the TiF – Theater im Fridericianum with a lecture by Prof. Dr. Hans-Jürgen Burchardt and Dr. habil. Hannes Warnecke-Berger, as well as presentations by the Neues Wissenschaftstheater.
More info: uni-kassel.de/go/Rohstoffwelten-Ringvorlesung
Kassel Lecture Series Against Right-Wing Extremism
In memory of the racially motivated murder of Halit Yozgat, the University of Kassel has been organizing an annual public lecture series against right-wing extremism since 2012. The winter semester 2026/27 will be organized by an interdisciplinary team from the University of Kassel in collaboration with HAWK Holzminden. Under the title “Young, Dynamic, Far-Right? New and Old Far-Right Youth Cultures,” researchers and practitioners will examine current and historical trends in far-right youth subcultures.
The series kicks off on October 19, 2026, at 6:15 p.m. in the Campus Center (Moritzstraße 18, Lecture Hall 6). The lectures will take place every Monday from 6:15 to 7:45 p.m.
More info: uni-kassel.de/go/Ringvorlesungen-Rechtsextremismus
Forum on Nature Conservation and Biological Diversity
The Department of Landscape and Vegetation Ecology will address pressing issues in environmental and species conservation—including wetland conservation, invasive species in water bodies, and the EU Restoration Regulation. To kick off the series, Stefan Stübing will speak on October 26, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. at the Natural History Museum (Ottoneum) about wetland conservation in the Wetterau region. The remaining public events will also take place at 7:00 p.m. at the Ottoneum. The lecture series is a collaborative project between the University of Kassel (Research Group on Landscape and Vegetation Ecology), the North Hessian Society for Natural History and Natural Sciences (NGNN), and the Kassel Museum of Natural History.
More info: uni-kassel.de/go/Naturschutz-Biologische-Vielfalt
ITeG Lecture Series: Digital Society – A Task of Design
The Scientific Center for Information Technology Design (ITeG) at the University of Kassel and the German Informatics Society (GI) invite you to a public lecture series on the design of the digital society. Researchers from various disciplines will explore how technology, people, and society intertwine. The series kicks off on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. with a lecture by PD Dr. Samuel Greef titled “Governance in the Age of Algorithms and GenAI: Between Control Euphoria and Technocratic Dystopia.” The series will take place in person at ITeG (Pfannkuchstraße 1, Kassel); participation is also possible online via Zoom.
More info: www.uni-kassel.de/go/ringvorlesung-iteg
TRACES Lecture Series
Starting October 20, 2026, the Transdisciplinary Research Center for Exhibition Studies (TRACES) invites the public to attend lectures every Tuesday at the TRACES Research Station on Lutherplatz. Organized as a collaboration between the University of Kassel and the Kassel Art Academy, the series views exhibitions as interdisciplinary spaces for action and sites of knowledge production. International guests from the fields of art, design, curation, and academia will offer insights into their practices and open up new perspectives on exhibition-making. Anna Schimkat will kick off the series on October 20 at 6:00 p.m. with the lecture “Hearing Through Space: On Sound, the Public Sphere, and the Politics of Listening.”
More info: uni-kassel.de/go/Traces-Vortragsreihe
Shaping the Future: Sustainability from Interdisciplinary Perspectives
How can sustainable transformation be achieved? In the lecture series organized by the Kassel Institute for Sustainability, researchers from the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering will explore pressing questions about the future. To kick off the series on November 10, Prof. Dr. Kathrin Teissinger will speak on the topic “Understanding Nature, Shaping the Future—How Biodiversity Research Contributes to Socio-Ecological Transformation.” The public sessions will take place every Tuesday starting November 10, from 6:15 to 7:45 p.m., at UNI:Lokal (Wilhelmstraße 21, Kassel) (the sessions on October 27 and November 3, 2026, are for university staff only).
More info: uni-kassel.de/go/Ringvorlesung-Zukunft-gestalten
Research Network for Social Law and Social Policy (FoSS)
How are social law and social policy evolving in times of social upheaval? The Research Network for Social Law and Social Policy (FoSS) addresses current political and academic debates in its public events. The series kicks off on October 22, 2026, at 6:15 p.m. at UNI:Lokal (Wilhelmstraße 21, Kassel) with a discussion on anti-feminist movements, far-right gender ideologies, and their influence on the education sector. The free lectures and discussion sessions take place at various locations; online participation is usually also available. Please register in advance by emailing FoSS@hs-fulda.de.
More info: uni-kassel.de/go/FoSS-Programm
Institute for Applied Resignation
If you feel like giving up in light of the state of the world: Where can you learn to do so professionally—and with whom? An answer to this question is provided by a monthly series in the foyer of the TiF – Theater im Fridericianum (Karl-Bernhardi-Straße), organized in cooperation with the SDG+ Lab at the University of Kassel. Together with researchers from the university, the series explores emotions such as grief, fear, and loneliness, as well as their social dynamics. Admission is free for students.
Upcoming dates in the TiF foyer (all at 8:15 p.m.): October 22, 2026 (Episode 2: Grief), November 12, 2026 (Episode 3: Anxiety), December 10, 2026 (Episode 4: Loneliness).
More info: www.sdgpluslab.de/veranstaltungen
An overview of the dates for all public lecture series in the 2026–27 winter semester can be found at: https://www.uni-kassel.de/uni/aktuelles-aus-der-universitaet/oeffentliche-veranstaltungen/ringvorlesungen.html