"Worlds of Raw Materials—Cultures in Transition" Research Center Opens in Kassel

At the same time, the University of Kassel’s new research center welcomed its first international visiting scholars, who will begin their collaborative research in Kassel in October. The focus in the first few years will be on the energy transition. Research will examine the far-reaching changes this transformation will bring to the use of raw materials, how they are extracted and processed, and what impacts they have on nature and people. 

The current shift toward a post-fossil future goes far beyond the question of which energy sources and technologies will replace coal, oil, and gas. The replacement of raw materials by new ones does not in any way eliminate the structures and inequalities of the fossil fuel era. The research group examines how new worlds of raw materials are emerging: how they are integrated into the economy and politics, what social practices develop around them, and what ideas, narratives, and cultural meanings are associated with them.

That is why art and culture are indispensable to the research group’s work. The research group brings together perspectives from the humanities and social sciences with artistic forms of research to examine the transformation of raw material worlds from various angles. The opening event brought this interdisciplinary approach to life: Following the welcome remarks and a presentation of the research group, an artistic intervention took place in the theater hall. 

Among the first seven international fellows from the humanities, social sciences, and the arts—who will conduct joint research in Kassel until July 2027—are: Kathleen Ditzig (National Gallery Singapore), who examines the connections between oil, philanthropy, and aesthetics in the contemporary art world. Joan Grandjean (Université Rennes 2) explores counterfactual and decolonial perspectives on Arab art history. Rose-Anne Gush (Graz University of Technology) examines Europe’s first lithium mine as a site of contemporary raw material extraction and its global interconnections. Andrea Angourakis (Ruhr University Bochum) is developing computer-aided models of historical energy transformations. Robert Frau (Technical University of Freiberg) is examining the potential significance of the European Coal and Steel Community for today’s European raw materials law. Jesús Alejandro García (UC Berkeley) uses Colombia as a case study to examine why workers in fossil fuel industries resist the phase-out of coal, oil, and gas. Jeta Mulaj (Toronto Metropolitan University) explores the relationship between stability and instability in capitalism from a philosophical perspective.

Press Contact: Nick Houde and Florian Bremer
nicholas.houde[at]uni-kassel[dot]deflorian.bremer[at]uni-kassel[dot]de