26. und 27. Februar 2019

Be­reits 1989 hat Hel­ga No­wot­ny kon­sta­tiert, dass die „Um­welt­schlei­fen mensch­li­chen Han­delns zu Zeit­schlei­fen wer­den, die auf die Ge­gen­wart zurück­wir­ken“. Das war am Ende des Kal­ten Krie­ges bzw. an der Schwel­le ei­ner Auflösung der Drei­tei­lung des Glo­bus in eine Ers­te, Zwei­te und Drit­te Welt. In die­sen Übergängen for­miert sich auch die Idee der „nach­hal­ti­gen Ent­wick­lung“, mar­kiert durch den Brundt­land-Be­richt Un­se­re ge­mein­sa­me Zu­kunft (1987). In­zwi­schen wer­den Ver­gan­gen­heit, Ge­gen­wart und Zu­kunft un­ter dem Be­griff An­thro­pozän ins Verhält­nis ge­setzt und be­kom­men in­fol­ge des Nar­ra­tivs der gre­at ac­ce­le­ra­ti­on ei­nen his­to­ri­schen In­dex, der von der nor­ma­ti­ven Aus­rich­tung an Kli­ma- oder Ent­wick­lungs­zie­len ge­setzt wird.
Im Lich­te der Er­kennt­nis­se des In­ter­na­tio­nal Geo­s­phe­re Bio­s­phe­re Pro­gram­me und des In­ter­go­vern­men­tal Pa­nel on Cli­ma­te Chan­ge ha­ben in­zwi­schen vor al­lem Na­tur­wis­sen­schaft­ler ein neu­es Ge­schichts­bild for­mu­liert, das die Ge­gen­wart in eine sol­che Zeit­schlei­fe ein­wi­ckelt. Da­nach ist die Ge­gen­wart die Fol­ge von geo­lo­gisch oder at­mo­sphärisch se­di­men­tier­ten Hand­lun­gen, die wie­der­um mit­tels Com­pu­ter­si­mu­la­tio­nen in die Zu­kunft fort­ge­schrie­ben wer­den, um auf die­se Wei­se in der Ge­gen­wart zu Hand­lungs­emp­feh­lun­gen zu führen und da­mit die Zeit­schlei­fe zu schließen. Pla­ne­ta­ry boun­da­ries, li­mi­tier­te car­ry­ing ca­pa­ci­ties und erschöpfte car­bon bud­gets pro­gnos­ti­zie­ren eine kul­tu­rell be­reits vielfältig an­ti­zi­pier­te End­lich­keit, die im ra­di­ka­len Wi­der­spruch zur einst un­ab­seh­bar of­fe­nen Zu­kunft der Mo­der­ne steht und an Mo­ti­ve aus der Apo­ka­lyp­tik er­in­nern. An­de­rer­seits mo­bi­li­sie­ren Nach­hal­tig­keits­dis­kur­se ge­genwärtig auch uto­pi­sche Po­ten­zia­le ei­ner ganz an­de­ren Zu­kunft, die teil­wei­se auch auf älte­re Zu­kunfts­bezüge und –mo­del­lie­run­gen re­kur­rie­ren. Vielfälti­ge Ak­teu­re auf dem Feld ver­su­chen le­ver­age points zu iden­ti­fi­zie­ren, die tief­grei­fen­de Sys­tem­verände­run­gen trig­gern sol­len. Nach­hal­tig­keits­dis­kur­se eröff­nen in­so­fern neue Fra­ge­fel­der, die die Zeit­ge­schich­te und Phi­lo­so­phie in be­son­de­rer Wei­se her­aus­for­dern. Die An­nah­me die­ser Her­aus­for­de­rung kann zu Er­kennt­nis­ka­te­go­ri­en führen, die Ver­gan­gen­heit, Ge­gen­wart und Zu­kunft in neu­er Wei­se mit­ein­an­der in Be­zie­hung set­zen und Zukünfte be­den­ken können, die so­wohl er­wart­bar er­schei­nen als auch an­ders sein sol­len.
In die­sem Sin­ne un­ter­sucht der Work­shop Zeit­re­gime, Zu­kunfts­bezüge und die Be­deu­tung von Ge­schich­te über­haupt im Kon­text der Nach­hal­tig­keits­dis­kur­se der letz­ten Jahr­zehn­te und fragt, in­wie­fern an die­sen Denk­for­men und Prak­ti­ken eine Ver­schie­bung der „Zeit­lich­keit der Ge­schich­te” (Rein­hart Ko­sel­leck), neue Zeit­lich­kei­ten bzw. eine Epis­te­mo­lo­gie der His­to­ri­zität be­ob­ach­tet wer­den kann. Uns in­ter­es­siert die epis­te­mo­lo­gi­sche Her­aus­for­de­rung und kom­ple­xe Re­kon­fi­gu­ra­ti­on von Zeit­lich­keit in der Ge­gen­wart als Auf­ga­be des theo­re­ti­schen und me­tho­di­schen Um­gangs mit Ge­schich­te in den Ge­schichts­wis­sen­schaf­ten. Zu­gleich se­hen wir in die­ser epis­te­mo­lo­gi­schen Her­aus­for­de­rung ein Grund­la­gen­pro­blem der Nach­hal­tig­keits­wis­sen­schaf­ten auf­grund ih­rer re­fle­xi­ven Nor­ma­ti­vität und der in sie ein­ge­las­se­nen prag­ma­ti­schen Zu­kunfts­bezüge.
Der Work­shop in Lübeck geht die­sen Fra­gen im For­mat ei­ner in­ter­dis­zi­plinären Round­ta­ble-Dis­kus­si­on nach.

PROGRAMM

Round­ta­ble Dis­kus­si­on mit Chris­ti­an Ge­u­len, Rüdi­ger Graf, An­dre­as Fol­kers, Ste­fan Ay­kut, Man­fred Lau­bich­ler, Mar­ti­na Heßler, Frank Uekötter, Bal­das­sa­re Sco­la­ri, Wer­ner Krauß, Sa­bi­ne Hof­meis­ter, Oli­ver Leis­tert, Ste­fan Wil­ler, Da­ni­el Lang, Lisa Cronjäger, Es­ther Mey­er, Ma­ria de Eguia Hu­er­ta.

Or­ga­ni­siert von Cor­ne­li­us Borck, Chris­toph Reh­mann-Sut­ter, Chris­ti­na Schües (In­sti­tut für Me­di­zin­ge­schich­te und Wis­sen­schafts­for­schung IMGWF, Uni­ver­sität zu Lübeck), Gre­gor Schmieg und Isa­bell Schri­ckel (Cen­ter for Glo­bal Sustaina­bi­li­ty and Cul­tu­ral Trans­for­ma­ti­on, Leu­pha­na Uni­ver­sität Lüne­burg).

Die Ver­an­stal­tung be­ginnt am 26.2.2019 um 14 Uhr und en­det am 27.2. um 14 Uhr.

Der Work­shop ist öffent­lich. Aus Platz­gründen wird um An­mel­dung ge­be­ten (schri­ckel@leu­pha­na.de).

On the 4th of February 2019, CCP‘s cultural theory wing had organized a small workshop on the intricacies of planning, governance and finance. Consultant Érik Bordeleau, member of the Berlin-based Start-Up ECSA (Economic Space Agency) and the Montréal-based research consortium sense lab (senselab.ca) introduced the participants to his recent research into the social logic of finance, governance and planning with a deep dive into cultural theory, blockchain parlance, speculative philosophy and economics.

The workshop entitled „50 Shades of a Network Derivative“ introduced the participants to the complex relations of time, finance and risk.

Taking crypto-economics as a starting point, it became evident that programability has returned as a hot topic in planning and governance. But this time the return of fantasies of control encloses sovereignties of small kingdoms, such as cryptocurrencies. „We can now all program our own small kingdoms“ says Bordeleau. The invention of value as a parameter of programming introduced a missing link into the networked cultures of today.

During the workshop the participants, comprised of CCP members and students from Leuphana, discussed theoretical statements and quotes taken from a large variety of literature that Bordeleau had pooled before.

The workshop was organized by the project ‘Complexity or Control? Paradigms for Sustainable Development (CCP)’, Leuphana University Lüneburg and Arizona State University, which is funded by the Volkswagen Stiftung and the Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kultur.

September 11^th, 12^th and 13^th 2018

From the evening of the 11^th September 2018 to 13^th September 2018 the Agenda Setting Workshop – Transdisciplinary Research and Sustainability within an Intercultural Orientation took place at the Leuphana University Lüneburg. The workshop was organized by the project ‘Complexity or Control? Paradigms for Sustainable Development (CCP)’, Leuphana University Lüneburg and Arizona State University, which is funded by the Volkswagen Stiftung and the Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kultur.

The workshop aimed at creating a space for joint exploration of ways of understanding and transforming transdisciplinary research and sustainability. The rationale behind this event was to challenge a westernized perspective of researchers and policy makers. Therefore, a very heterogenous group of people in terms of knowledge(s) area(s), methodologies, (work-) cultures and place of origin(s), amongst others, was invited to jointly explore concepts, perspectives and methodologies as well as possible forms of collaborative research work in the future.

The 22 participants came from 12 countries, including Mexico, Bolivia, Zimbabwe, Nepal or Kenia. The workshop benefited from the Td Summer School 2018 [link], which took part the previous week and which offered 15 scholarships for participants from the Global South. Some of them took part in the workshop as a side event of the Td Summer School.

Beyond sharing and developing a culturally sensitive look to transdiciplinarity research and sustainability, the workshop ended with concrete agreements on working steps for the formed working groups. These will conceptually and methodologically explore transdisciplinarity, sustainability and interculturality in established collaborative formations that shall be further strengthened and accompanied by CCP the coming months.

Leuphana University of Lüneburg is pleased to invite you to the 6th Td Summer School in Lüneburg, Germany in September. As a follow up of the ITD Conference 2017 (www.leuphana.de/itd-conference-2017) this year’s Td Summer School is focussing on transdisciplinary research at the science | society inteface within an intercultural orientation. It takes place at Leuphana University from September 2-11, 2018 (Td Training Module: Sep 2-7, Special Training Module: Sep 10-11).

As a side event we will run a workshop on transdisciplinary research and sustainability from Sep 11-13. The aim is to develop an agenda for continuous collaborative research between different world regions to further develop epistemological and methodological foundations and practices of transdisciplinary research and sustainability.

For more information see: www.leuphana.de/td-training

Td_SummerSchool_2018

Leuphana University, Workshop on: Systemic boundaries in sustainability and transdisciplinary knowledge/action systems
February, 22nd

The CCP team gathered with invited scholars from the Faculty of Sustainability at Leuphana and the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies in Potsdam (IASS) for a one-day workshop to discuss systemic boundaries in sustainability and transdisciplinary knowledge/action systems.

We explored different epistemic, normative, and practical approaches to complexity or complex systems in sustainability contexts. Throughout presentations and discussions we covered topics in axiomatic order theory, thermodynamics, dynamic norms in societal systems, historical epistemology, history of climate science, dimensions and boundaries of sustainability sciences, computational history of sustainability, local energy transitions, and transdisciplinary critique. The CCP team will keep working with these issues.

We will apply our findings on the one hand to a computational exploration of the history of sustainability on a global-scientific scale and to sustainability sciences on a local scale in Lüneburg. On the other hand we will use the workshop’s outcomes as an analytical tool to describe current trends in international climate governance and in national and local sustainability policies.

Our goal was to identify some important formal characteristics under conditions of complexity and to understand the dynamics of these features in specific non-formal settings. Our main method can be summarized as a form of historical epistemology. The idea of complex systems’ boundaries worked as our boundary object integrating individual perspectives on elements in formal theory as well as empirical biophysical, societal, and scientific systems.

Bonn, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
November, 06th – 09th 2017

Esther Meyer and Isabell Schrickel spend some inspiring days at the 23rd Climate Conference of the UNFCCC in Bonn. For them the increasing overlappings between the climate change and sustainability communities was particularly interesting. It was especially exciting to observe how new actor-networks evolve around new understandings of problems and values in the field and how they claim political agency.

Lüneburg, Dezember 2017

Nachhaltigkeit – Immer noch normativ oder funktioniert sie schon?

Die Normativität von Nachhaltigkeit wird oft als Hindernis zu ihrer Umsetzung diskutiert. Schmieg et al. zeigen, dass Normen komplexe Systemfaktoren sind, deren Erfassung eine neue Forschungsperspektive erfordert.

Der erste gemeinsame Forschungsbeitrag von Complexity or Control? Paradigms for Sustainable Development wurde in der Zeitschrift Sustainability Science veröffentlicht. In diesem Beitrag zeigen wir, dass die wissenschaftliche Untersuchung der systemischen Rolle von Normen in den heterogenen Kontexten der Nachhaltigkeit eine grundlegend neue Forschungsperspektive erfordert. Wir analysieren Nachhaltigkeit als ein komplexes System von techno-wissenschaftlichen und ethischen Normen. Im Ergebnis zeigen sich bestimmte, sogenannte ‘dynamische Normen’ als beachtliche Triebkräfte für wissenschaftliche, politische, wirtschaftliche, soziale, kulturelle und individuelle Akteure. Im systematischen Vergleich von drei zentralen Nachhaltigkeitsdokumenten des Jahres 2015 untersuchen wir die Eigenschaft von Normen, wichtige Prozesse der Nachhaltigkeit zu beschleunigen und zu verlangsamen. Die drei 2015er Kerntexte sind das Pariser Klimaabkommen, die Sustainable Developments Goals und die Umweltenzyclica Laudato Si’ von Papst Franziskus. Insbesondere schließen wir, dass die explizite Berücksichtigung von Normen eine neue Perspektive in der Modellierung von Systemdynamiken erfordert. Um ein neues Forschungsfeld als Verschränkung von Ethik und Systemwissenschaft in erster Annäherung abzustechen, entwickeln wir ein einfaches konzeptuelles Modell von Systemdynamiken der Nachhaltigkeit unter Beachtung von Normativität. Daran schliesst sich ein Plädoyer für einen kritischeren Umgang mit Normen in überkommenen Modellen aus dem Bereich der Nachhaltigkeit an, die in aller Regel unkritisch auf techno-wissenschaftliche Beschleunigung von Prozessen nachhaltiger Entwicklung zielen. Für Nachhaltigkeit fundamentale kulturelle und soziale Phänomene entgleiten dadurch bisher dem wissenschaftlichen Verständnis.

Schmieg, G., Meyer, E., Schrickel, I., Herberg, J., Caniglia, G., Vilsmaier, U., Laubichler, M., Hörl, E., Lang, D. J., 2017. Modeling normativity in sustainability: a comparison of the sustainable development goals, the Paris agreement, and the papal encyclical. Sustainability Science, pp 1-12. Artikel einsehbar über Springer.

Lüneburg, ITD Conference 2017
September, 11th – 15th 2017

Leuphana University Lüneburg and the Network for Transdisciplinary Research of the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences co-organized the International Transdisciplinary Conference 2017 – Intercultural Endeavours, that took place at the new Zentralgebäude at Leuphana University Lüneburg between September 11th and 15th.

Gregor Schmieg and Esther Meyer contributed with their talks to the session on Philosophical Perspectives on the ‘Problems’ of Transdisciplinarity.

As Klein (2014) has noted, the “discourse of problem solving” is a time-honored way of characterizing transdisciplinary research and practice; however, the notion of problem can all too easily be taken for granted. This session focused on investigating what it means to talk about problems within transdisciplinarity. Using philosophical tools of diagnoses, analysis, and critique, the contributors in this session evaluated the notions of problem and problematic, offering insights that emphasize epistemology and reflexivity and recommendations that respect the complexity of transdisciplinarity.

Esther gave a talk on discursive contextualizations of problems in transdisciplinary sustainability science aiming to find explanations for reproducing patterns of problem understandings in the research field. With her discourse analytical PhD project she wants to open up for a theoretical discussion and substantive elaboration on how problems can be conceptualized in td sustainability research.

Gregor contextualized the td research field and it’s focus on problems within the broader historical context of modernity. By linking td’s problem orientation to the general role normativity plays in scientific approaches – pointed out by Nietzsche – Gregor sketched out a critical perspective on td research as a more than merely scientific endeavor.

Another contributor was Jan C. Schmidt, associated to Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, Department of Social Sciences, Unit of Social, Culture and Technology Studies, and member of the strategic board of ITd Conference 2017 representing, among others, the td net.

The session, including a discussion, in the very well-filled seminar room, was moderated by Michael O’Rourke, Michigan State University, Department of Philosophy, Director of the Toolbox Project, that investigates philosophical approaches to facilitating interdisciplinary research (http://toolbox-project.org/).

The CCP perspectives got positive and helpful feedback from within the community of transdisciplinary sustainability science.

Lüneburg, ITD Conference 2017
September, 11th – 15th 2017

Leuphana University Lüneburg and the Network for Transdisciplinary Research of the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences co-organized the International Transdisciplinary Conference 2017 – Intercultural Endeavours, that took place at the new Zentralgebäude at Leuphana University Lüneburg between September 11th and 15th.

The CCP team cooperated in the following fundamental roles and formats:

Organization:

• Strategic Conference Board: Ulli Vilsmaier (core team), Daniel Lang
• Organization Team: Ina Dubberke
• Extended Organization Team: Jeremias Herberg, Guido Caniglia, Esther Meyer

Session Moderation and Organization:

• To control or not to control? Social and epistemic dilemmas of control
  Jeremias Herberg (Organization & Moderation)

• Brokering beyond education
  Jeremias Herberg (Moderation)

• Social dependencies in transformative transdisciplinary research
  Esther Meyer (Moderation)

• Climate Change and transdisciplinarity
  Isabell Schrickel (Moderation)

• Modes and impact of transdisciplinary research – concepts, methods, processes and case-based evidence
  Matthias Bergmann, Alexandra Lux, Lena Theiler, Thomas Jahn, ISOE – Institute for Social-Ecological Research, Frankfurt a.M., Germany; Martina Schäfer, Emilia Nagy, Center for Technology and Society, Technische Universität Berlin, Germany; Stephanie Jahn and Jens Newig, Research Group Governance and Sustainability, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany, Judith Kahle and Daniel J. Lang, Institute for Ethics and Transdisciplinary Sustainability Research, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany (organization)

• Transformational learning in transdisciplinary processes
  Daniel Lang (Moderation)

  Talks:

• Transdisciplinary research topographies
  Ulli Vilsmaier

• Transdisciplinarity sustainability studies between deliberation and technocracy – mapping of a bipolar field
  Jeremias Herberg

• Controlling for evidence. What role can experiments play in transformational sustainability science?
  Guido Caniglia

• A philosophical perspective on reflexive problem solving and transdisciplinarity
  Gregor Schmieg

• Problems of transdisciplinary Sustainability Sciences. An approach to diagnoses Esther Meyer
• Learning from diversity – integrative principles for transdisciplinary research
  Philip Bernert, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Institute of Ethics and Transdisciplinary Sustainability Research, Germany, Marie Josefine Hintz, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Institute of Ethics and Transdisciplinary Sustainability Research, University College London, The Bartlett School of Architecture, United Kingdom, Judith Kahle, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Institute of Ethics and Transdisciplinary Sustainability Research, Germany, Jana Koltzau, Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany, Dagmar Moelleken, Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany, Julius Rathgens, Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany, David Abson, Project Leverage Points for Sustainability Transformation, Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany, Daniel J. Lang, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Institute of Ethics and Transdisciplinary Sustainability Research, Germany, Henrik von Wehrden

• Place-based transdisciplinary research for sustainability transformation: the case of Transylvania, Romania
  Andra Horcea-Milcu, David Lam, Daniel Lang

• Does transdisciplinarity improve academic and societal research outcomes? Empirical results from a large-N comparative study
  Stephanie V. Jahn, Judith Kahle, Jens Newig (Lüneburg, DE), Matthias Bergmann (Frankfurt a.M., Berlin), Daniel J. Lang, (Lüneburg, DE)

Abstracts, see http://www.leuphana.de/fileadmin/user_upload/PERSONALPAGES/_uvwxyz/vilsmaier_ulli/files/ITD17_booklet_26.9.17.pdf

Plenary Discussion:

• Opening Panel: Polylog on transdisciplinary research and education as intercultural endeavours
  Ulli Vilsmaier (Coordination & Moderation)

• Panel on research integration and implementation – commonalities and differences between diverse communities:
  Ulli Vilsmaier (Discussant)

• Panel on teaching and learning in transdisciplinary environments. Preparing the next generation for navigating between different environments:
  Daniel Lang, Esther Meyer (Panelists)

Video documentation of the plenary sessions, see http://www.leuphana.de/zentren/methodenzentrum/konferenzen-veranstaltungen/itd-conference-2017/live-streams-chats.html

or

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvna7tMNVD9v0yBx8xcVVyd-JXDWvRGQc

Special Meetings:

• Modes of sustainability related research in comparison (MONA) – final symposium: Daniel J. Lang, Institute for Ethics and Transdisciplinary Sustainability Research, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Jens Newig, Institute for Environmental and Sustainability Communication, Research Group Governance and Sustainability, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Judith Kahle, Institute for Ethics and Transdisciplinary Sustainability Research, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Stephanie V. Jahn, Institute for Ethics and Transdisciplinary Sustainability Research & Research Group Governance and Sustainability, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Matthias Bergmann, ISOE – Institute for Social-Ecological Research, Frankfurt a.M., Germany
• Leuphana-KLASICA Workshop of the Knowledge, Learning, and Societal Change Alliance – Fostering collective behaviour change toward sustainable futures: models, narratives and experiments
  Ilan Chabay, Head of International Fellowships, Incubator, and the Knowledge, Learning, and Societal Change International Research Alliance at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Germany and Daniel J. Lang, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany

Documentation of the Special Meetings, see http://www.leuphana.de/zentren/methodenzentrum/konferenzen-veranstaltungen/itd-conference-2017/special-meetings.html

• Excursion: City of the Future – Lüneburg 2030+

Daniel J. Lang, Annika Weiser, Antje Seidel

• Forum for Young Researchers Engaging with Transdisciplinarity

Esther Meyer (organization), Daniel Lang (expert)

Diese Diashow benötigt JavaScript.

 

For a retrospective view of the conference, please follow this link.

Berlin, Humboldt University, Remote Control Conference
June, 29th – 30th 2017

Isabell Schrickel gave a presentation on climate mediation – shifting scales of atmospheric intervention.

The escalating explicitness and inversion of the notion of environment is one of the most exciting cultural, technological and scientific endeavors in the 20th and 21st centuries. This inversion is also in many ways a pre-condition for the large-scale development of practices and technologies of remote control discussed during the workshop. The scientific exploration of the atmosphere made great contributions to this environmental inversion, at the latest with the discovery of a planetary scaleanthropogenic climate change. However, attempts to investigate the history of this exploration from an interventionist perspective are still rare. I use the opportunity of the workshop to discuss both historical and contemporary targets of atmospheric intervention through the lens of remote control, because it allows us to embed some of the recent debates on climate change policies in a broader context of control thinking and to highlight some of the problems and asymmetries involved. I compare the more laboratory-inspired atmospheric experiments to control spatially distant atmospheric environments in the mid of the 20th century with the recent visions of climate or geoengineering and the temporal scales and complexities involved. This comparison will hopefully contribute an analysis of the changing scope of atmospheric intervention and the shifting scales of remote control.