Research Communication Series: Culture Matters!
Why Culture Matters
To mark the double anniversary of the GGK and the GCSC, we invited our community to develop and realise creative science communication projects that bring cultural research into dialogue with broader publics. Under the theme “Culture Matters”, the Anniversary Idea Slam encouraged members to explore new ways of making research visible, accessible, and relevant beyond academia.
The projects presented here reflect the diversity, creativity, and collaborative spirit of our Center. Through public engagement, artistic interventions, walkshops, film screenings, and other participatory formats, they highlight the role of cultural studies in addressing societal questions, fostering dialogue, and creating spaces where knowledge can be shared, experienced, and discussed. Together, they demonstrate how research can resonate beyond disciplinary and institutional boundaries.
The projects
 |
Peripherialising Giessen: An interactive Capoeira Walkshop by GIOVANA DE SOUZA POSSIGNOLO How do movement and embodied practices shape our experience of urban space? Combining cultural studies perspectives with Capoeira, this interactive walkshop invites participants to explore Gießen from its margins and reflect on center–periphery relations, spatial belonging, and the politics of movement. Through collective movement and dialogue, the city becomes a space for rethinking how we perceive and inhabit urban environments. Please find more information on the event here. |
 |
‘The sun here, is the sun there’ – A Sound-installation by ALMA SIMBA How can sound make cultural heritage audible and accessible? This sound-installation explores the connections between memory, history, and cultural identity through sound-based storytelling and listening practices. Bringing together research, artistic expression, and public engagement, the project creates new ways of experiencing and discussing cultural heritage across communities and generations. The Sound Installation will take place on the 2nd floor area in the GCSC-building (Otto-Behagel-Str. 12, 35394 Giessen) soon (tba). |
 |
`The Vis-ability of Suffering’ – A Short Film Series by the Working Group AG MOVING IMAGES Whose suffering becomes visible—and whose remains unseen? Bringing together short films by emerging filmmakers and perspectives from cultural and media studies, this one-day film festival explores the politics of visibility, embodied experiences, and the ethics of representation. Through screenings and discussion, the event creates a space for dialogue between artists, researchers, and local communities. Please find more inforamtion on the event soon here (tba). |
 |
Walkshop on 'Urban Ugliness – The Deconstruction of a Giessen Stigma' by the GGK & RESEARCH AREA 7: Global Studies and the Politcs of Space How do we perceive and engange with urban space? This interactive walkshop invites participants to critically explore the cultural meanings attached to Giessen’s stigma as an “ugly” city. Through dialogue with local actors and reflections on everyday urban environments, the project examines how aesthetic judgments shape experiences of place, belonging, and urban identity to jointly deconstruct this stigma. Please find more information on the event here. |