Knowledge exchange in teaching

Knowledge exchange in teaching should also be understood as a dialog. As such, it takes place at the interface between scholarship and practice. Knowledge exchange in teaching creates added value for everyone involved by enabling students to use the skills and knowledge they acquire to develop problem-solving strategies to help shape change and innovation in society.

Cultural education and social commitment

The exchange of knowledge and qualification of graduates and early career researchers through cooperation with cultural institutions, research-based learning, and study projects, in which innovative basic research is closely linked with fields of application, can be regarded as one of the most efficient knowledge exchange paths. The interplay between teaching and knowledge exchange, especially in the areas of cultural education and civic responsibility, is a special feature of the Faculty of Humanities. Under the premise of improving knowledge exchange between the University and civil society and making an appropriate contribution to addressing central challenges and future issues of Hamburg’s urban society, the faculty has dedicated the project Promoting Civic Commitment through University Teaching (EngföLe) to the task of promoting voluntary, civic participation by integrating social commitment into the curriculum, a mandate that has, until now, rarely been pursued at Universität Hamburg.

Inter- and transdisciplinary approach

Studium Generale

In addition to promoting social commitment, reflective access to knowledge cultures and critical self-reflection are important goals of a humanities degree. For this reason, the faculty has firmly anchored the Studium Generale in its bachelor’s program, with the goal of familiarizing students with forms of knowledge and scholarly traditions from other faculties, thus expanding their awareness. The faculty offers students a comprehensive inter- and transdisciplinary curriculum of lectures, seminars, and projects to provide them with a critical and reflective general education.

Liberal Arts and Sciences

The new Liberal Arts and Sciences bachelor’s program expands on this mission. This program in Hamburg is distinct for its manifold possibilities for cooperation with the University’s core research areas and other universities as well as media and cultural institutions in the city. The aim is to offer first-year students an interdisciplinary and methodologically innovative degree program that addresses the global challenges of the twenty-first century and, at the same time, raises their awareness about historical developments. Innovative and project-oriented instruction provides students with the fundamental ability to think from multiple perspectives and make intellectual connections while also giving them an opportunity to put theory into practice.