Knowledge exchange in research

Cooperative and co-creative research

Knowledge exchange in research should be understood as the dialog-oriented exchange between members of the faculty and actors from the worlds of art, culture, and society. Interdisciplinary cooperation is equally anchored inside and outside of academia in the Faculty of Humanities’ understanding of knowledge exchange. Researchers

• are involved in numerous cooperative, transdisciplinary research alliances and thus influence the University’s research profile in interfaculty research cooperation projects;
• make important contributions to societal debates and practical applications within the framework of externally funded research projects, both individually and in alliances;
• take up questions that scholarship poses to society as well as ones that society poses to scholarship; and
• promote dialog with society through numerous cooperations with cultural institutions, theaters, and museums in the city in the form of joint exhibitions, lecture series, and events as well as through participation in public knowledge exchange activities at Universität Hamburg.

Cultural Heritage

The faculty sees another central aspect of knowledge exchange in the critical reflection on the past and the present in the sense of initiating and shaping future societal processes of change, which are made visible through research in the area of Critical Heritage and in both academic and non-academic formats and cooperation projects with non-university places of learning such as theaters, museums, or cultural institutions in the city of Hamburg and the world.

In addition to a number of individual projects, Cultural Heritage is also a central aspect of manuscript research in the Center for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC) and the Cluster of Excellence Understanding Written Artefacts. Manuscript research goes hand in hand with the study and preservation of cultural heritage and with the role that written artefacts play in creating and preserving cultural identity for future generations.

Scholarly dialog and visibility

To promote scholarly dialog, members of the faculty are involved in numerous cooperation projects with cultural institutions, theaters, and museums in the city in the form or joint exhibitions, lecture series, and events. They also participate in Universität Hamburg’s public knowledge exchange activities to speak about their current research issues and scientific findings and to explain their importance for everyday life.

The publications by members of the Faculty of Humanities (monographs, journals, and anthologies) provide the basis of the knowledge exchange process. Research results are also published in online portals, data repositories, and blogs.