SOCIETAL CHALLENGES
Virtual Lecture Series & Early Career Networking Hour
In these times of climate change, pandemic, forced migration and increasing economic and political alienation, crisis talk is ubiquitous. While the world’s problems are unquestionably urgent, the current discourse of emergency risks aggravating them by privileging quick but ineffective reaction over the calm, reflexive analysis that is a necessary first step in combatting the woes besetting us. The objective of this lecture series is to provide an antidote to impulsive disaster talk through perceptive academic analysis. Outstanding researchers within the Aurora University Alliance will give engaging online lectures during the 2021–2022 academic year on cutting edge research within two broad domains, Sustainability & Climate Change and Culture: Diversity & Identity.
Each lecture will be followed by a virtual social hour for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers which will allow them to network with peers across the Aurora Alliance and start building the research teams that will deal with the challenges of the future.
Take the opportunity to meet your peers as well as renowned researchers from the Aurora partner universities. Expand your network and maybe even start new collaborations in your research area!
Programme Academic Year 2021/22
Sustainability & Climate Change
| 13 October 2021, 17:00–18:30 CET | Circular innovation and sustainable entrepreneurship Prof. Dr. Ir. Bart Bossink (Sustainability and Innovation, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) |
| 18 November 2021, 17:00–18:30 CET | Insect declines in the Anthropocene: Framing is everything Prof. Dr. Jeff Harvey (Animal Ecology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) |
| 17 February 2022, 17:00–18:30 CET | Places to intervene in a system in crisis: Paradigm shift through Wellbeing Economy and Ecocide Law Prof. Kristín Vala Ragnarsdóttir (Sustainability, University of Iceland) |
| 23 March 2022, 17:00–18:30 CET | Measuring sustainable development Doc. Mgr. Miroslav Syrovátka (Development & Environmental Studies, Palacký University Olomouc) |
| 7 April 2022, 17:00–18:30 CET | Climate policy and glacier change: the long-term legacy of being late Dr. Fabien Maussion (Atmospheric and Cryospheric Sciences, University of Innsbruck) |
Culture: Diversity & Identity
| 27 October 2021, 17:00–18:30 CET | Ignorance, ritual, abuse, and competition: The politics of Holocaust memory in the 21st century Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Dirk Rupnow (History, University of Innsbruck) |
| 11 November 2021, 17:00–18:30 CET | Have you ever loved someone without housing? Houselessness and fundamental rights in a welfare state Dr. Luisa Schneider (Social and Cultural Anthropology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) |
Postponed | Historical and Literary Perspectives on Pandemics: The Need for a Gendered Response Prof. Dr. Patricia Plummer (Postcolonial Studies, University of Duisburg-Essen) |
| 24 March 2022, 17:00–18:30 CET | Is there something new in ‘neo-nationalism’? Right-wing populism in historical perspective Prof. Guðmundur Hálfdánarson (History, University of Iceland) |
| 19 April 2022, 17:00–18:30 CET | Decolonial approaches to laïcité as a mode to re-think contemporary Islamophobia Prof. Nadia Kiwan (French and Francophone Studies, University of Aberdeen) |
Organisation
The lectures will take place on Zoom and the networking sessions on the interactive Wonder platform. You can register for individual dates or the entire series. Only registered participants will recieve the login information by email. You will receive a certificate for your participation afterwards.
Registration
The registration is possible under the following link:
Lecture series at a glance
AURORA Pilot Domains
Sustainability & Climate Change
Culture: Diversity & Identity Part 1
Culture: Diversity & Identity Part 2
More Pilot Domains will be covered with lectures in the coming academic years.
Organizers
Dr. Toby Erik Wikström, University of Iceland &
Dr. Estefania Velilla, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Supported by: Graduate Center Plus, University of Duisburg-Essen
Funding
These activities are part of the EU co-funded AURORA Alliance project, more specifically they are part of WP 4.2.
Contact
Dr. Toby Erik Wikström, University of Iceland tew[at]hi.is
Dr. Estefania Velilla, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam e.velillaperdomo[at]vu.nl
Simon Kresmann, University of Duisburg-Essen simon.kresmann[at]uni-due.de
AURORA Early-Career Activities 