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Annual Theme

Whether “Dwelling”, “More or Less” or “Guilty Pleasures” – the annual themes of the KWI bring events, research projects and teaching formats of the KWI and the UA Ruhr together under a common heading for the duration of two semesters. The topics are deliberately open: They emphasize a dynamic that endeavours to cast cultural studies perspectives on phenomena that are not always obvious and yet—or therefore—possess broad social relevance.

Our annual themes thrive on exchange and participation. Fellows and members of the UA Ruhr are most welcome to contribute their own events and concepts to actively shape the current theme.

Current annual theme

Guilty Pleasures

Whether in the form of exclusive cruises, ridiculously cheap flights, binge watching, procrastination, or a love for plastic pop: guilty pleasures are ubiquitous. As familiar as it is by now, considerations of this strange mixture of enjoyment, shame, and regret are often mired in knee-jerk reflex. The KWI annual theme for 2024/25 thus aims to […]

Guilty Pleasures

Vergangene Jahresthemen

Mehr oder Weniger | More or Less

Mehr oder Weniger | More or Less

If insecurity is the signature of the present, “more or less” conveys a feeling of general uncertainty. Unanticipated events and phenomena that are difficult to control seem to be on the rise, with the climate crisis, the Covid pandemic, and above all the “turning point” of the Russian attack on Ukraine. Phenomena are also becoming […]

Wohnen | Dwelling

Wohnen | Dwelling

DWELLING – BETWEEN SHELTER AND DESIGN More and more, the “four walls” of people’s own homes – if they have homes – are becoming projection surfaces for societal developments as well as literary and artistic production: fears of downward social mobility in light of exploding rent prices, increased interest in interiors during lockdown coinciding with […]

ANGST+ | FEAR+

ANGST+ | FEAR+

Between instinctive panic reaction, threatening basic emotion, pathologically defined disorder, innovation drive or longed-for state of pleasant shivering. This wide spectrum of individual and social dimensions offers ample reason to explore fear from a cultural studies perspective through a series of formats during the corona pandemic in 2021. We look forward to stimulating diverse contributions […]