DFG approves second funding period for the Research Training Group "Practicing Place"

The Research Training Group "Practicing Place" is one of ten Research Training Groups nationwide that were extended until March 31, 2030, as announced today by the DFG. The current, first funding phase had a volume of around 3.8 million euros. The second phase has a similar funding amount. The extension is a great success for the KU, says KU President Prof. Dr. Gabriele Gien. This is the first research training group at the KU that is funded by the German Research Foundation. According to Gien, its approval and establishment was an important milestone for the University on its way to membership in the German Research Foundation. In addition, the group has provided important impetus in the field of fundamental research in cultural studies. "The fact that the DFG has now granted us a second funding period is not only an honor for the team at the research group and the young researchers, but also renewed proof of our scientific reputation."

With its research on space and place, the Research Training Group addresses a topic that is highly relevant in view of globalization processes, migration movements, ecological catastrophes, geopolitical confrontations, social polarization and cultural differentiation. "In a time of multiple crises, in which the world is also increasingly networked and means of communication no longer know any borders, places and their meanings are becoming more relevant", says Eichstätt sociologist Prof. Dr. Robert Schmidt, who has been the spokesperson for the Research Training Group since 2023. The aim is to view places not as static, fixed entities, but as dynamic systems that are constantly changing. In their projects, the young researchers analyze how places are created and perceived through specific practices – for example through mapping, experiencing or storytelling. "Places are not just physical locations or 'the one home', but rather complex systems that are characterized by communication and emotions", says Schmidt. Power relations also play a role in every practice of localization, because concepts such as appropriation or exclusion make it clear that places are also constantly renegotiated and reproduced in social and cultural contexts. 

Up to date, questions relating to places and localization have primarily been approached in isolated contexts within the individual disciplines using respectively applicable methods. However, it is precisely the mixture of social, political, artistic and literary aspects that requires an interdisciplinary approach. Within the research training group, the range of subject areas involved reaches from literary and cultural studies over sociology, philosophy and geography to art history. This ensures that different perspectives are involved in the investigation of places. The subjects of history, archaeology and theology are also among the cooperation partners.