FocusLMU: A window to academia

On 12 December 2015, at the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP 21) in Paris, 195 countries and the European Union adopted a treaty to ideally limit the average global temperature rise to 1.5°C. On 1 January 2016, the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which are to be achieved by the end of 2030, entered into force. Since then, however, the question “Will the international community manage to take the necessary path toward sustainability?” has been raised.

LMU hereby invites you to a public event that will tackle this topic from many dimensions: In the first event of the new FocusLMU series, three LMU scholars will be shedding light on the necessity and opportunities for greater sustainability from different perspectives. The landscape historian Prof. Dr. Sonja Dümpelmann from the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society will be providing examples where attempts to change the direction of societies in past crises were made and where sustainable solutions to major challenges were thereby sought. In order to prove the need to change course, the epidemiologist Prof. Dr. Katja Radon will be elucidating the results of her research which exemplify and demonstrate how the conduct of one generation can impact their grandchildren’s entire genetic code. Lastly, Prof. Dr. Ann-Katrin Kaufhold, a legal expert in constitutional and administrative law, will be presenting the opportunities for maintaining the target of 1.5°C as based on climate lawsuits and instruments of the regulation for sustainable finance.

The event will be hosted by LMU’s Vice President for Teaching and Studies Prof. Dr. Oliver Jahraus.

Video (in German, optionally with English subtitles)

Until a few years ago, “artificial intelligence”, or AI for short, was a somewhat nebulous term describing the complex of new digital capabilities and machine learning. It has now become a part of everyday life and is increasingly shaping professional, private and socio-cultural environments via tangible applications. As part of the FocusLMU lecture series, Prof. Dr. Björn Ommer, Chair of AI for Computer Vision and Digital Humanities, will talk about how these applications will change our lives, and what opportunities, possibilities and dangers they hold. In his talk, he will discuss the fields of application of artificial intelligence and how AI will shape the future of society.

Communication scientist Dr. Maximilian Eder, an academic researcher in the Volkswagen Foundation-funded project “Responsible AI for Local Journalism”, will shed light on the effects that the use of artificial intelligence is already having, especially in the field of journalism, and the resulting consequences for democratic discourse.

Finally, Prof. Dr. Jelena Spanjol, Director of the Institute for Innovation Management at LMU, will provide an insight into the importance of artificial intelligence for future markets. The event will be hosted by LMU’s Vice President for Teaching and Studies Prof. Dr. Oliver Jahraus.

Video (in German, optionally with English subtitles)

An image of the bourgeois nuclear family, generally marked by the combined effort to marry for love, live together in a household with biological children, and assume traditional gender roles, has established itself in European societies since 1800. Contrary to this image, family structures are currently going through dramatic change, and an ever-increasing diversity of lifestyle choices are becoming available - it’s high time we took a look at the family in transition from different disciplines. During FokusLMU, LMU researchers will present findings from current projects and discuss the imaginative construct of the family, empirical evidence on its transformation, and the legal possibilities and limits to protect the family.

Prof. Dr. Susanne Lüdemann, Professor of Modern German Literature and General Literary Studies, will address the wide range of imagery surrounding the family, from classical dramas developed by ancient societies all the way to today’s contemporary family sagas.

Prof. Dr. Paula-Irene Villa Braslavsky, Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies, will present social science findings on developments currently happening in family structures and examine new forms such as co-parenting.

Prof. Dr. Anatol Dutta, Professor of Private Law, Private International Law, and Comparative Law, will examine past and upcoming reforms in family law, which lawmakers want to use in order to respond to and influence changes in family forms.

The event will be chaired by Prof. Dr. Susanne Reichlin, Professor of Late Medieval and Early Modern German Literature.

Video (in German, optionally with English subtitles)

Language has always evolved in response to social processes. For instance, a third gender option beyond the binary gender norm of ‘female’ and ‘male’ was enshrined in German civil registration law in 2018 following a ruling by Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court. At the same time, linguistic changes such as the use of ‘gender stars’—not least in journalistic media—have stirred intense political and social discussions. Researchers can bring a measure of objectivity to such debates and clarify that there is no one-size-fits-all solution for respectful coexistence between all social groups. Instead, it is important to take a closer look and incorporate the findings of various disciplines.

Prof. Dr. Anatol Stefanowitsch, Professor for the Structure of Contemporary English at Freie Universität Berlin, assesses the current state of our language regarding gender equality and illustrates the language system’s ability to find solutions.

Prof. Dr. Paula-Irene Villa Braslavsky, Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies at LMU, broadens the focus to more fundamental questions, such as the significance of gender in shaping perceptions and social dynamics.

Finally, Prof. Dr. Carsten Reinemann, Professor of Communication Studies with a focus on political communication at LMU, scrutinizes attitudes toward the issue and the role played by politics and the media.

The event will be moderated by Prof. Dr. Sarah Schimke, Professor of German Linguistics at LMU.

Video (in German, optionally with English subtitles)

As a result of the UK’s exit from the EU, but also due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequences of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, conversations surrounding the supposed trend of deglobalization and whether “globalization has hit a wall” have been on the rise lately.

Three researchers at LMU Munich will shed light on this complex topic from various points of view. Based on data as well as historical and current examples, they will delve, among other things, into the question of whether the idea of deglobalization is analytically viable at all.

Prof. Dr. Claudia Steinwender, Professor of Economics specializing in Innovation and Foreign Trade, will be looking at the topic from an economic perspective and presenting her insights gleaned from analyzing data on international trade in goods and services.

Prof. Dr. Eveline Dürr, Professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology, will talk from a cultural science perspective and provide examples of endeavors made by different societies to reverse the impacts of globalization. Using Aotearoa New Zealand and Latin America as her example, she highlights inequalities dating back to colonialism and discusses their consequences on ecosystems and cultural identities.

Against the background of a historical and humanities perspective, Prof. Dr. Roland Wenzlhuemer, Professor for Modern and Contemporary History, asks whether it’s even possible to reverse globalization and introduces a new term into the debate with the idea of “global dis:connectivity”.

The event will be moderated by Prof. Dr. Arndt Brendecke, Professor of Early Modern History at LMU Munich.

Video (in German, optionally with English subtitles)