Veranstaltungsverzeichnis

Veranstaltungsverzeichnis

School of Educational and Social Sciences Click here for PDF-Download

Winter semester 2026/2027 19 Seminars
VAK Course Number Title Type Lecture
Preliminary studies
Advanced courses
Practical course
Colloquium
Research group
Workgroup
Project group
Council conference
Internship
Language course
Subject didactics
Excursion
Tutorial
Committee 		SWS Semester weekly hours Teachers Degree
1.01.802 Learning Design (Schwerpunkt Bildungsmanagement und Mediendidaktik)
  • Thursday, 10:00 - 12:00, Weekly (from 15.10.26)

Description:
This seminar will cover the main phases of instructional design in e-learning from a theoretical perspective but mainly from a practical projection through project work, following a research-based learning approach. During this process, you will be able to design and develop a concept for an e-learning course and develop it, choosing from a broad range of digital tools you will try out during the seminar. This course is expected to be conducted largely through hands-on exercises with laptops/tablets, although a theoretical and critical perspective through analysis and discussions will be present as well. The course will be in English, but the seminar's tasks, interventions, and evaluation can be in German. 		Seminar 2 Dr. Berrin Cefa
  • Master
10.11.223 Applying Positive Education in Teaching and Learning
  • Thursday, 10:00 - 12:00, Weekly (from 15.10.26)

Description:
This course focuses on applying positive education practices in teaching and learning. It introduces key principles of teaching and learning while showing how positive psychology and positive education can be applied in classroom practice to create supportive and engaging learning environments. You do not need perfect English to participate; if something is unclear, we will work through it together. Through a hands-on approach, we will explore practical strategies such as cultivating a growth mindset using character strengths, practising mindfulness, and building resilience. The course also connects these practices to broader topics, including learning theories, self-regulation, motivation, effective teaching, and the foundations of positive psychology and positive education. Assessment: - One ungraded reflection task (17.12.2026) - Term paper (15 pages) OR group presentation (maximum 3 people, 30 minutes) plus written report (10 pages) 		Seminar 2 Dr. phil. Pamela Miano
  • Bachelor
1.07.472 Theories of Globalization and World Society
  • Wednesday, 14:00 - 16:00, Weekly (from 14.10.26)

Description:
The assertion that we all live in a globalized world is as indisputable as it is trivial. However, as soon as we try to come up with a more detailed definition of ‘globalized’, things get more complicated. By now, the body of social-scientific literature on ‘globalization’ is impossible to overview. In this seminar, we will tackle globalization as an advanced topic of sociology. And as the title already suggests, we will primarily read and discuss a selection of sociological theories of globalization (but to be sure, those theories have to be, as any theory, rooted in or backed by empirical observations) and world society. The latter can be seen as a conceptual answer to the difficulty of theorizing global modernity while still trying to make general assumptions about how societies work. The same goes for concepts such as ‘global culture’ or ‘global field’. Our seminar is divided into four thematic sections. In the beginning, we will address more general questions such as ‘what is globalization and when did it happen?’, ‘what does it mean that something – cities, for example – become globalized’ and ‘what roles do nationalism, empire and colonialism play in this process?’. From there, we will read and discuss specific approaches and their main concepts, dedicating two to three sessions to each approach: World polity and global culture (Neo-Institutionalism in the sense of John W. Meyer), global fields (Field Theory in the sense of Pierre Bourdieu) and world society (Sociological Systems Theory in the sense of Niklas Luhmann). By critically discussing those approaches, our goal is twofold: to better understand them and to bring them into dialogue with each other. Some common themes or topics may come up (e.g., the role of organizations beyond the modern nation-state) that we will draw upon to connect these approaches with each other. 		Seminar 2 Frank Martin Meyhöfer
  • Master
1.07.411 Approaches to Organisations
  • Thursday, 08:00 - 10:00, Weekly (from 15.10.26)

Description:
The seminar "Approaches to Organisations" provides an overview of conceptual approaches to organisations covering conceptualisations of organisations as rational, natural and open systems. We thereby cover the “classics” of organisational sociology while analysing their relevance for a modern, increasingly digitalized society. Students are encouraged to understand and apply the different approaches to real life examples. 		Seminar 2 Dr. Ricarda Schmidt-Scheele
  • Master
1.07.471 Coalition Governments in Comparative Perspective
  • Thursday, 10:00 - 12:00, Weekly (from 15.10.26)

Description:
Coalition governments are the predominant form of government in many contemporary democracies. As party systems become increasingly fragmented, governing often requires cooperation between multiple political parties, making coalition formation and management central features of democratic politics. Yet coalition governments vary considerably in their composition, duration, and effectiveness across political systems. This seminar provides a comparative introduction to the politics of coalition governments. Students will examine why political parties form coalition governments, under which institutional and political conditions majority or minority coalitions emerge, and how coalition partners negotiate government formation. The course explores key topics such as coalition bargaining, portfolio allocation, coalition agreements, cabinet stability, legislative governance, and coalition termination. It also examines how electoral systems, party systems, and constitutional arrangements shape coalition politics and government performance. Drawing on theoretical approaches and empirical research, the seminar adopts a global comparative perspective, covering coalition governments in Western and Eastern Europe as well as democracies in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Throughout the course, students will engage with contemporary research to better understand the causes, dynamics, and consequences of coalition governance in parliamentary, semi-presidential, and presidential democracies. 		Seminar 2 Prof. Dr. Martin Gross
  • Master
1.07.462 Social Inequalities from a Life Course Perspective II: Empirical Analysis
  • Wednesday, 10:00 - 12:00, Weekly (from 14.10.26)

Description:
In the seminar "Social Inequality", students examine how social inequality is reproduced in organizations such as the labour market, the education system and the welfare state and how factors such as education, gender, age or migration background contribute to various inequalities. The seminar consists of two parts: First, we will discuss and debate key theoretical concepts, causes and mechanisms of social inequality, focusing on how inequalities arise or are transfered within and between generations. In the second part, we will analyse data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) using R to deepen our theoretical understanding and apply key empirical methods in a targeted manner. At the end of the semester, students will be able to conduct their own small, quantitative research project on the (re)production of social inequality in different organizational contexts. 		Seminar 2 Prof. Dr. Gundula Zoch
  • Master
1.07.112 "Political Masculinity" - Part 1 (Politische Soziologie)
  • Monday, 08:00 - 10:00, Weekly (from 12.10.26)

Description:
This course examines masculinity as a politically consequential social category and men as heterogeneous political actors. Drawing on theories of gender, masculinity, political behaviour, representation, and social identity, we investigate how different groups of men participate in politics as voters, party members, candidates, activists, citizens, and members of social groups. Particular attention is paid to variation among men: how political attitudes and behaviour differ across social class, age, education, occupation, sexuality, ethnicity, place, and other social positions, and how these differences intersect with competing understandings of masculinity. The course is organised around empirical political science. We will read primarily quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method studies that translate theoretical arguments into testable empirical questions. Topics include electoral behaviour, political participation, party identification, ideological orientations, political communication, representation, gender attitudes, group identities, and the political mobilisation of masculinities. Rather than treating “men” as a uniform analytical category, the course asks when, how, and for whom masculinity becomes relevant to political attitudes and action. A central component of the course is the development of an original empirical research project. Students formulate a theoretically grounded research question, derive expectations or analytical propositions, develop an appropriate research design, and collect their own data. Projects may employ quantitative or qualitative methods, including surveys, experiments, interviews, content analysis, or other suitable approaches. The course therefore combines substantive research on political masculinity with practical training in theory-building, measurement, data collection, and empirical analysis - a possible preparation for your BA thesis. 		Lecture 2 Darius Ribbe
  • Bachelor
1.07.451 Qualitative research methods
  • Tuesday, 12:00 - 14:00, Weekly (from 13.10.26)

Description:
This course provides an introduction to key foundations and empirical approaches in qualitative social research. We start off with exploring the paradigmatic and metatheoretical assumptions, examining perspectives such as constructivism, positivism and critical theory. Thereby, we learn about the different conceptualisations of how knowledge, reality and the role of the researcher interact with each other. Building on these foundations, we explore selected qualitative research methods: We discuss classical as well as digital ethnography, approaches to Grounded Theory Methodology and focus on their theoretical foundations, research logics and practical applications. We will also briefly introduce the basic ideas behind mixed methods research and discuss how qualitative and quantitative approaches can be combined. The course aims to develop a reflective understanding of qualitative research and enable students to critically assess different research approaches in terms of their epistemological foundations, methodological implications and empirical practicability. 		Seminar 2 Douglas Becker, M.A.
  • Master
1.07.113 EU institutions and policy making (Comparative Politics)
  • Wednesday, 08:00 - 10:00, Weekly (from 14.10.26)

Description:
This course introduces the institutional architecture of the European Union and examines how its supranational and intergovernmental institutions shape European integration and political decision-making. We study the European Commission, the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council of the European Union, the Court of Justice, the European Central Bank, and other relevant bodies, focusing on their formal competences, internal organisation, interactions, and roles within the EU political system. The institutional analysis is embedded in major theories of European integration, including neofunctionalism, liberal intergovernmentalism, postfunctionalism, institutionalist approaches, and feminist approaches. We use these perspectives to interpret why EU institutions developed as they did, how authority is distributed across levels of governance, and why integration proceeds differently across policy areas and member states. Particular attention is given to differentiated integration and related forms of variable integration, including opt-outs, enhanced cooperation, multi-speed integration, and other arrangements through which participation and authority vary within the Union. The course is closely coordinated with the companion course on EU policy-making. This course provides the institutional and theoretical foundations necessary to understand the processes discussed in its companion. Students learn to distinguish formal rules from political practice, to analyse institutional relationships using competing theoretical approaches, and to connect treaty provisions and organisational structures to the real-world functioning of the European Union. By the end of the course, students should be able to explain both how the EU is institutionally organised and how different theoretical perspectives account for its development and operation. 		Lecture 2 Darius Ribbe
  • Bachelor
1.07.115 Sociology of the European Integration (Language of the seminar: English)
  • Thursday, 08:00 - 10:00, Weekly (from 15.10.26)

Description:
The economic, legal and political integration of Europe is at the core of the process of European integration. In addition to the political transformations induced by the creation, enlargement and deepening of the European Union particularly since the 1990s, European integration has given rise to a fundamental transformation of social relations and the life worlds of people. While in the postwar period, daily life took place primarily in the framework of nation-states, the opening of hitherto largely nationally regulated and limited social fields and spaces has fostered increasing cross-border contacts and a stronger transnationalisation of social interactions, attitudes and interpretations. This transnationalisation of social fields and spaces as a result of European integration lies at the heart of the research on horizontal Europeanization and also of this seminar. In the first part of the class, a broad overview on the process of European integration, major EU institutions and policy fields will be given. In the second part, horizontal Europeanisation processes in different social fields are analysed, as well as the related conflicts and bargaining relations and their impact on patterns of social inequality. Complementary to the Europeanisation of social fields, the Europeanisation of social space (P. Bourdieu) will be analysed, taking as an example the transnationalisation of everyday practices, collective memories and reference groups of social inequalities. This raises the question how field-specific and space-specific Europeanisation processes are related. In addition, different modes of Europeanization (power/coercion, competition, communication and cooperation) will be analysed. Given the profound crisis of European integration in the wake of the Euro crisis, the final part of the course will emphasise the analysis of conflicts and tensions between national and European regulations, identifications, and patterns of integration and social inequality. In parallel with this introductory session, a seminar is being held in collaboration with the Sustainability Economics and Management degree programme, specifically designed to prepare students for an excursion to Brussels. The seminar will focus on the forthcoming eastward enlargements of the EU and European climate policy. 		Seminar 2 Prof. Dr. (pens.) Martin Heidenreich
  • Bachelor
10.11.222 Teaching and Learning with Positive Education Practices
  • Wednesday, 12:00 - 14:00, Weekly (from 14.10.26)

Description:
This course explores the fundamentals of teaching and learning, with a particular focus on integrating positive psychology and positive education into classroom practice to foster a supportive learning environment. You don't need perfect English to join this course. If we don't understand something, we will sort it out together. Key practices in positive education include cultivating a growth mindset, using character strengths, engaging in mindfulness, and enhancing resilience. The course is designed to be hands-on; therefore, we will also explore practical ways to implement positive education strategies in the learning environment. Topics covered in the course include learning theories, self-regulation, motivation, the characteristics of effective teaching, an introduction to positive psychology and positive education practices. Assessment: -One ungraded reflection task (16.12.2026) -Term paper (15 pages) OR Group presentation (max 3 people) (30 minutes) + written report (10 pages) 		Seminar 2 Dr. phil. Pamela Miano
  • Bachelor
1.07.431 Knowledge, learning and organisations
  • Monday, 10:00 - 12:00, Weekly (from 12.10.26)

Description:
In this seminar we will discuss how knowledge is produced in modern society. At the core of the seminar will be the discussion of Monika Krause's monograph 'Model Cases.' The examination performance consists of a 15 minutes oral exam, which will be held short after the end of the seminar. 		Seminar 2 Prof. Dr. Sina Farzin
  • Master
1.02.901 Research in Education Sciences through International Dialogue
  • Wednesday, 18.11.26, 09:30 - 11:30 o'clock
  • Wednesday, 25.11.26, 09:30 - 11:30 o'clock
  • Wednesday, 09.12.26, 09:30 - 11:30 o'clock
  • Wednesday, 16.12.26, 09:30 - 11:30 o'clock
  • Wednesday, 13.01.27, 09:30 - 11:30 o'clock

Description:
Bitte beachten: Falls Sie Fragen zum Seminar haben, wenden Sie sich bitte an die private Mailadresse von Herrn Kemma Tsujino: mailto: kemma.jp@gmail.com. 		Seminar - Prof. Kemma Tsujino
1.07.422 Behind the Curtain: Structure and Power in Political Organizations from a Comparative Perspective
  • Wednesday, 16:00 - 18:00, Weekly (from 14.10.26)

Description:
Political science asks questions of who gets what, when, and why. None of these answers typically relate to individuals, as politics per se influences groups of people. Accordingly, people organize to engage in politics. Social movements, interest groups, and in particular political parties don’t just aim to influence their own members, or have a goal for themselves, but aim to create rules for everyone around them. Most research in political science is focused on the study of democracies, in particular Western states. Most models of electoral accountability are based on the idea of competition around political programs. This is of course a very idealistic, and most likely, very limited view on political organizations. We know that politics takes place below policy issues and public rules. Individual ambitions, networks of patronage and transactionary politics occur in and even shape all political systems. While its sister course deals with the light side of political parties, communication, and electoral rules, this course looks behind the curtain. It deals with less formal organizations, political manipulation and selection and is structured in three parts. First, we aim to understand organizations by focusing on existing theoretical frameworks in comparative research on political organizations. We use these frameworks to, second, analyze the inner makeup of organizations and third, investigate the who and how of exerted influence in political organizations. In this, we broaden the scope by focusing on different parties and countries from different political systems all over the world. Learning Objectives: • Deepening and practicing scientific “soft skills” (e.g. working with scientific papers, interpreting empirical quantitative results) • Understanding advanced theoretical frameworks in comparative research on politics in political organizations • Analyzing the inner makeup and exerted influences in political organizations • Allowing students to develop expertise on a specific topic in the courses’ scope based on a self-chosen case Formalia: Taking this course requires active participation as well as weekly reading assignments of scientific papers on the sessions topic, which will serve as a baseline for discussion in class. Each of you will choose a country they are interested or familiar with, and step by step, map organizations in these contexts. You will learn to understand and summarize papers together, and then apply this knowledge to papers assigned only to you. The module “Politics and Organizations” consists of two thematically complementary seminars. Therefore, please register for this seminar as well as the other seminar in the module in the same term. Course examination will be a combination of written assignments as well as presentations that span both seminars in the module. 		Seminar 2 Oscar Schmucker
  • Master
1.02.067 Selected Approaches and Methods for Prevention, Intervention and Rehabilitation in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD)
  • Thursday, 16:00 - 18:00, Weekly (from 15.10.26)

Description:
Seminar 2 Franziska Brucke
  • Bachelor
1.07.113.1 EU borders, security, and AI (Comparative Politics)
  • Wednesday, 10:00 - 12:00, Weekly (from 14.10.26)

Description:
This companion course to the lecture ‚EU institutions and policy making‘ concentrates on the European Union’s approach to the digital and the role of institutions, regulations, and agencies in shaping the digital future of Europe. With special emphasis on the role of digital technologies in European security integration, the seminar explores the buzzword of ‚digital sovereignty‘ and examines what’s behind the buzz: • We learn about technical systems such as the Schengen Information System (SIS) and the shared Biometric Matching Service (sBMS), how they are revolutionising border protection in the EU, and why they are viewed critically • We focus on the distinct ‚European approach‘ to artificial intelligence (AI), including the widely discussed EU AI Act, how it functions and the key actors involved in drafting it • We engage with a body of recent literature that combines empirical case studies with conceptual papers, theoretical approaches, and discourse analyses While the lecture provides an introduction to the institutional architecture of the EU’s political system, this seminar expands students’ knowledge by examining specific cases of EU policy-making and the accompanying debates, technologies, rules, and regulations. 		Seminar 2 Douglas Becker, M.A.
  • Bachelor
1.07.112.1 "Political Masculinity" - Part 2 (Politische Soziologie)
  • Monday, 10:00 - 12:00, Weekly (from 12.10.26)

Description:
All information is provided in the first part of this 2-part class! 		Seminar 2 Darius Ribbe
  • Bachelor
1.07.421 Political Parties in Multi-Level Democracies
  • Monday, 12:00 - 14:00, Weekly (from 12.10.26)

Description:
Political parties remain the central actors of representative democracies. They compete for political office, recruit political elites, represent societal interests, and shape public policy across multiple levels of government. In contemporary multi-level democracies, however, party politics extends beyond the national arena. Parties operate simultaneously at the local, regional, national, and supranational levels, where political decision-making and electoral competition are closely interconnected. This seminar provides an introduction to the comparative study of political parties and party competition in contemporary multi-level democracies. Drawing on theories of party politics and multi-level governance, students will explore how parties adapt their strategies, organizations, and policy positions across different political arenas. The course examines how formal and informal institutions link political actors across levels of government, how parties influence and respond to these institutional arrangements, and how interactions between subnational, national, and supranational actors shape democratic politics. Particular attention is paid to the dynamics of party competition across levels, including differences between party systems, electoral competition, coalition formation, and political representation. The seminar combines theoretical perspectives with empirical research to examine the causes, variations, and consequences of party competition in multi-level systems, as well as contemporary challenges such as party system fragmentation, European integration, and populism. Throughout the course, students will engage critically with current research and develop a comparative understanding of the role of political parties as relevant organisations in modern multi-level democracies. 		Seminar 2 Prof. Dr. Martin Gross
  • Master
1.07.461 Social Inequalities from a Life Course Perspective I: Theoretical Approaches
  • Tuesday, 10:00 - 12:00, Weekly (from 13.10.26)

Description:
In the seminar “Labor Markets in Transition”, the transformation of the postwar employment regime which was characterized by a standard employment relationship based on stable industrial jobs and permanent contracts tracts will be analysed. The focus of the current innovation-centred, globally linked, digitalised knowledge society of the present is no longer on the industrial production of standardized goods, but on the flexible provision of knowledge-based products and services by flexibly, sometimes precariously, employed persons. In this seminar, three facets of these changing labour markets and employment relations will be considered. 		Seminar 2 Dr. Sven Broschinski
  • Master
19 Seminars

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