Welcome to the Panel on Planetary Thinking
"In times of crisis it is all the more evident that we have to say goodbye to narrow patterns of thought. The "Panel on Planetary Thinking" at the Justus Liebig University of Giessen overcomes the boundaries between disciplines and expands these in the sense of a planetary overall perspective. I am glad that the participating researchers are thus taking a closer look at the topic of "sustainability", which we have very consciously included in the Hessian Higher Education Pact 2021-2025. Among the higher education policy goals, it explicitly states that "Sustainability, in view of scientifically proven knowledge about the transgression of planetary boundaries, should play an important role in the actions of every university (planetary thinking)." (Angela Dorn, Hessian Minister for Science and Art)
News
26 January 2023 - Planetary Lecture Dr. Kira Vinke - "Sturmnomaden" (german)
The Panel on Planetary Thinking, the DFG Research Group MeDiMi (Human Rights Discourses in the Migration Society) and the Environmental Law Practitioners Seminar of the Justus Liebig University Giessen invite you to attend our upcoming Planetary Lecture:
Lecture
Dr. Kira Vinke: „Sturmnomaden“. Der Klimawandel verlangt eine neue Migrationspolitik
Time: January 26, 2023, 6-8 p.m.
Location: University main building, 3rd floor, seminar room 315.
Durch den Klimawandel dehnen sich Wüsten aus, werden Küsten überspült und reißen Bergrutsche Dörfer und Stadtviertel weg. Dadurch schränken sich die Lebensräume für Menschen weiter ein, eine massive Klimawanderung ist die Folge. Kira Vinke hat mit ihrer Pionierarbeit zu den Sturmnomaden auf die Notwendigkeit einer Politik hingewiesen, die Klimawandel und Biodiversitätsverlust als Fluchtgründe anerkennt und sich dem Thema der globalen Migration neu stellt.
Dr. Kira Vinke is the director of the Center for Climate and Foreign Policy at the German Council on Foreign Relations and co-chair of the German government's Advisory Council on Civilian Crisis Prevention and Peacebuilding. Her research topics include climate impacts, violent conflict, and civil crisis prevention, particularly in South Asia, the Sahel, and the Pacific. Previously, she worked as a consultant for the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) and as a consultant for the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Asian Development Bank. She is also involved in the board of trustees of World Vision Deutschland e.V., as a member of the association of the German section of Action against Hunger, and in the Development Service and Humanitarian Aid Committee of Bread for the World.
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Bast, Chair of Public Law and European Law at JLU and spokesperson for the MeDiMi research group, will open the discussion on Dr. Kira Vinke's lecture with a commentary on "Climate Migration and the Humanization of Refugee Law".
Please note that the lecture will be held in German.
Das Resort (2022). A Film by Mathias Kessler
The short film "Das Resort", directed by our Fellow Mathias Kessler was made under the impressions of the first Covid-19 lockdown. Adapted from a script by screenwriter Ron Kanecke and translated into German by Chiara Juriatti, the film tells of the nameless narrator's search for his father in a world where humans have been silenced by a virus. For a more in-depth description of the film, please see this report.
Reflections: Planetary Materials-Workshop Series 18 October - 12 November 2022
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This year, our fellow Claudia J. Ford’s workshop series “What Earth is Made of” took place on Oct. 18th, and Nov. 10th & 11th, 2022. The series reflected on James Lovelock’s Gaia hypothesis from an indigenous perspective to deepen our understanding of planetary materials and their constellations through art and science. The series connected indigenous ideas about ecology with the climate crisis and engaged the participants in storytelling through all of the senses – hands on farm labor, film, creative writing, lectures, listening, dialog, and an exhibition of climate change and planetary materials inspired visual art. A detailed report of the event series can be found here.
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23 November 2022: Guest Lecture by Claudia J. Ford “Writing Nature: Justice, Identity & Environmentalism in American Multicultural Literature" at University Klagenfurt
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On 23 November 2022, our Fellow Claudia J. Ford was invited to the University Klagenfurt to give a lecture on "Writing Nature: Justice, Identity & Environmentalism in American Multicultural Literature". Among other things, she spoke about the literary representation of ecological injustice and discussed with the participants the potential of literary texts to communicate the voices of ethnic minorities in connection with ecological challenges to the public. |
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17 November 2022: Live Feature with Frederic Hanusch on the TV Show “Scobel – Zukunft gestalten” (Transforming the Future, 3sat)
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The evening of Nov 17th, our scientific manager (currently fellow at The New Institute) Frederic Hanusch appeared live within a TV-feature: The German channel 3 Sat invited him as a guest to discuss future forms of living in conversation with Imke Woelk (architect & artist), Stefan Brunnhuber (economist & psychiatrist), and Gert Scobel (journalist & philosopher) at the show “scobel – Zukunft gestalten”. The show reflects on transforming the future in light of current planetary challenges. This episode, the round of guests debated on the interrelationship between democracy and climate policies, the effectiveness of “rights of nature” approaches in connection to transforming cities, and on the psychological challenges involved in changing our habits and renouncing our privileges. You can watch the full show on the 3sat Media Database. |
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08 November 2022: "Eigener Koordinator für Raumfahrt": FAZ article by Claus Leggewie about the conference "Hessen in Space" and challenges of sustainable space travel (german)
Claus Leggewie reports in his article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of 08.11.22 about the conference "Hessen in Space". In the one-day program, various experts came together to talk about the involvement of the state of Hesse in today's space research and to reflect on the associated opportunities and challenges. One of the central themes was the declaration of intent to use spaceflight not only to better understand and protect the planet but also to make spaceflight itself more sustainable. In his commentary, Claus Leggewie puts the idea of space travel as an "astronaut-ecological complex" in relation to current discourses around planetary crises. He argues for its increasing decoupling from the economy and the defence industry.
02 November 2022: "Der Wald als Mitakteur? Das Fallbeispiel einer planetaren Politik": Publication of the Panel in the Politischen Vierteljahresschrift
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On 02 November 2022 an article by Frederic Hanusch, Liza Bauer, our Fellows Claudia Hartl and Clemens Finkelstein, and Claus Leggewie appeared in the PVS issue The Planetary Political(e) Thinking. "The forest as co-actor? The Case Study of Planetary Politics." sheds light on how forests can be understood as active participants in 'planetary forest politics' and asks about the political science consequences of such an understanding. This collaborative article brings together the work of the panel and its first Fellows in the Planetary Scholars & Artists in Residence Program, whose focus during the summer semester was on the planetary material 'wood'. |
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Nov 10 & 11, 2022 - "Narratives of Environmental Knowledge in the Anthropocene" & "Sacred Feminine Birthing the New" - Responses to "What Earth Is Made Of"
We are delighted to announce the participation of two expert scholars in our Workshop-Series: Dr. Ayşe Dayı and Dr. Matthias Klestil will kindly be giving responses as part of our Planetary Materials Workshop-Serie „What Earth is Made Of”.
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Matthias Klestil delivered a response titled "Narratives of Environmental Knowledge in the Anthropocene" following Claudia J. Ford's James Lovelock Memorial Lecture. He is Postdoctoral Assistant in American Studies at the University of Klagenfurt, Austria. He received his PhD from the University of Bayreuth, Germany, and was Bavarian Fellow at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. In his doctoral thesis he examined the interplay of mankind and nature and explored African American texts from an ecocritical perspective. Klestil’s first book Environmental Knowledge, Race, and African American Literature is forthcoming with Palgrave Macmillan (2023); his recent publications include scholarly articles on Colson Whitehead and Ted Chiang’s short fiction. Klestil’s current research project focuses on narrative theory, the Anthropocene, and contemporary North American fiction and film. |
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Dr. Ayşe Dayıs contribution "Sacred Feminine Birthing the New" responded to Claudia Ford's Artist's Talk during the opening of the "Planetary Origin Stories exhibition" (Nov. 11, 5:30 p.m.). She is a psychologist, medical sociologist, healer and mindfulness trainer. After receiving her PhD from Penn State University, Ayşe worked over 15 years in universities in the U.S., Turkey, France, Switzerland and Germany, teaching and conducting research on women´s sexual/reproductive health rights. Her latest publication is the book “The Politics of the Female Body in Contemporary Turkey Reproduction, Maternity, Sexuality” which she co-edited with Drs. Alkan, Yarar and Topçu (2021, IB Tauris). In 2020, Ayşe established Orca Dreams: Platform for Mindful Living (www.orca-dreams.com) where she provides education and consultation on holistic health and mindfulness to individuals and organizations around the globe. In this platform Ayşe integrates her academic and activist knowledge on health with her mindfulness knowledge and practice to support individuals, groups and institutions through the great transformation of consciousness experienced by GAIA and ourselves. She will facilitate a women’s healing circle Remembering & Honoring my Sacred Feminine February-March 2023 at VHS-Mitte, Berlin. |
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Oktober 18 and November 10 - 11, 2022 - Planetary Materials Workshop "What Earth is Made of"
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Planetary Materials Fellow Claudia J. Ford's workshop series will take place on October 18 and November 10 and 11. Ford's work focuses on our relationship to planetary materials. As a scientist and artist, it is important to Ford that participants experience their own relationship to the Earth with all their senses. Accordingly, the series kicks off with the excursion to Gladbacherhof on October 18, where the experience of agricultural work will lead us to reflect on our relationship with food and its production. The events on November 10 and 11, broaden the focus and direct attention to experiencing one's own relationship with nature in the context of society and the current climate crisis. What role can James Lovelock's Gaia Theory and a relational understanding of our Earth play in this setting? In addition to exploring scientific aspects in a lecture and film screening, participants will also be invited to engage creatively with the question in a writing workshop on climate grief and a vernissage with collages on "Planetary Materials." We cordially invite all interested parties to join us at one or more events of this exciting program. Here you can find more information about the individual events and registration.
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November 10, 2022 | Recognizing the 'Resource' as an Active Partner: Report on the Planetary Colloquium Perspectives on the Rights of ›Nature‹
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In the face of the ongoing loss of biodiversity on the planet, more and more voices are calling for an entrenchment of solid rights of 'nature' within Western legal systems. In our planetary colloquium, questions about whether, how, and why the planet's myriad animal, plant, microbial, and other inhabitants can shape human politics were debated on. A more detailed report can be found here.
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A recording of the hybrid event will be available for streaming on our Youtube Channel shortly.
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October 27, 2022 - Excursion to the museum Sinclair-Haus
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On Oct. 27, the Panel visited the Sinclair-Haus, a museum funded by the Kunst und Natur foundation, to see the international exhibition Eternal Ice. The exhibition displayed selected works of contemporary artists who showcased the cultural, political, social and other interrelationships in light of the global ice melt; its effects on local indigenous communities and on the world climate as a whole. The exhibition sent us on a sensorial experience through visual and auditory means that included embroidery, photography and video installations. It showcased work which included (but not limited to) the embroidery work of the Swedish Sámi artist Britta Marakatt-Labba that recounted the (his)stories of Lappish reindeer herders in the far north, a short video collaboration, Rise: From One Island to Another between the Marshall Islander poet Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner and the author Aka Niviâna from Kalaalit Nunaat (Greenland). Our special thanks go to Madelaine Heck for providing us with a thought-provoking guided tour of the exhibit! |
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25. Oktober 2022 - DocTalk x MoMa Clemens Finkelstein "Environmental Control: Seismicity as Design Technique in Wilhelmine Germany"
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DocTalks x MoMA Clemens Finkelstein and Lydia Xynogala https://doctalks.net | register: Eventbrite Clemens Finkelstein (Princeton University / Universität Hamburg)
Our Fellow Clemens Finkelstein will give a lecture on "Environmental Control: Seismicity as Design Technique in Wilhelmine Germany" at MoMa on October 25 at 4:00 pm. The lecture investigated seismicity as collaborative design principle between geophysicists and architects in building so-called "Erdbebenwarten" (earthquake observatory). For further information on the event series, visit https://doctalks.net. To register, please go to Eventbrite. |
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Oktober 18, 2022 - Excursion report: Community Farm Day @ Gladbacherhof
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On Oct. 18, the kickoff event for our Fellow Claudia Ford's workshop series "What Earth is Made of?" took place. The event series serves to rethink the human relationship to the earth and its materialities by combining diverse perspectives from applied fields, science, and the arts. In the first workshop, the focus was on one of the most fundamental relationships between humans and the environment - namely food production and nutrition. To this end, our excursion took us to the Gladbacherhof farm, which combines organic farming and research: on the productive organic farm, research is conducted in cooperation with the JLU to further develop sustainable concepts for organic farming.
The day started with a tour of the newly built dairy cattle research barn, where fully automated milking machines and a fully automated feeding and cleaning system are intended to enable both the study of climate gas emissions in organic farming as part of the Green Dairy project and, in terms of animal welfare, a greater degree of self-determination for the animals.
After a lunch prepared by Veganatural with the farm's own products, the group heard scientific presentations on various topics. In addition to considerations on decision-making criteria for farmers in dealing with sustainable technologies, new approaches in agroforestry and a plea for more care in agriculture were discussed. There was also a tour of the on-site laboratory facilities.
Lastly, the agroforestry techniques discussed in the lecture could be seen in application as Philipp Weckenbrock showed the group around the agroforestry area of the farm. Agroforestry uses a specific planting strategy in an attempt to arrange multiple levels of food production into a single cohesive system. Specifically, the farm's experimental setups are designed to examine the productivity of mixed systems between trees and traditional agricultural crops such as cereals or potatoes. Although they have not been widely used in practice, agroforestry systems promise some advantages, such as greater resilience and resistance to climatic changes, erosion, and increased water storage capacity of the soil.
The field trip allowed us to gain in-depth insights into a fascinating combination of research and agricultural practice in organic farming.
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October 7-12, 2022 - Claus Leggewie at the Austrian Acedemy of Sciences, the Maison Heinrich Heine and the conference "Rethinking the Interplay of Civic Engagement and Institutional Politics"
At a conference of the Austrian Academy of Sciences on "Historical Comparison. Gain of knowledge and battle zone" on October 7, 2022, Claus Leggewie gave a lecture entitled "'You can't compare this!' On the Usefulness and Disadvantage of History for Diagnosing the Times" on the question of the fascist development of the Putin regime.
On October 10, at the Maison Heinrich Heine in Paris, he discussed with Prof. Malika Rahal, director of the Institut d'histoire du temps présent (IHTP), and Thomas Wieder (Le Monde) the "Chances of a French-Algerian-German Triangle."
On October 11 and 12, he participated in the conference "Rethinking the Interplay of Civic Engagement and Institutional Politics" of a European research group and gave a presentation on climate councils in France.
September 5th, 2022 - Welcome to the second term of the Planetary Scholars & Artists in Residence Program!
| After a short summer break, we are excited to welcome the second round of PLANETARY MATERIALS - fellows to our Hub! Matthew Wilson and Claudia Ford will devote the winter term to exploring different questions about our relationships to planetary materials: For example, considering our relationship to soil, what role do its components play in current as well as future practices of agriculture? What has the past taught us, and what challenges do drought and other climatic changes pose to the present? How do biochemical processes of food production affect the DNA of different life forms? And how can we describe the origins of continuously evolving conceptions of ecological processes and systems? How do origin stories about humans and ecosystems from indigenous cosmologies differ from the ones told in cultures from Western countries, and how might they cross-fertilize? The workshops of the fellowship term will take place November 10-12, and will be centered around the common theme of James Lovelock's 'Gaia Theory'. Through a variety of activities - an interactive visit to Gladbachhof, a film screening and writing workshop, and an exhibition of collages on PLANETARY MATERIALS - our fellows will explore the question of what lessons 'Gaia' provides for current societies in light of escalating planetary crises. More details will follow shortly. |
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