Summer Schools at the University of Hamburg

The Standard Model is a very elegant theory describing elementary particles and their interactions. The course will start with an introduction to the Standard Model and its success in describing results from colliders and non-colliders experiments. However, there are still many questions to answer in Nature. What is the nature of dark matter and what is dark energy? Why there is asymmetry between matter and antimatter? How did the Universe evolve and what is the relation to the Higgs boson? Can string theory help to describe quantum gravity? The school will describe modern issues today in particles, strings and cosmology, and link them to the activities at University of Hamburg and DESY. Data analysis today requires heavy use of machine learning and AI in particle physics will be introduced. Visits to on-site experiments will also be organized. The school will take place in person on the joint campus of DESY and the University of Hamburg at Hamburg-Bahrenfeld. The school is at its 6th edition and is aimed at master students in physics. All lectures will be held in English.

The summer school “The Law and Economics of Human Behavior and Social Norms” explores the dynamic interactions between human behavior, social norms, and legal institutions. The summer schoool goes beyond traditional law and economics approaches, integrating recent insights from behavioral research, experimental economics, and political psychology to develop a more comprehensive understanding of legal and economic phenomena. At its core lies the recognition that legal institutions do not operate in a vacuum, but are embedded within a complex web of social norms, political incentives, and cognitive constraints. The summer school provides participants with the theoretical foundations and methodological tools to analyze these interconnections and to understand their implications for designing effective legal and economic institutions. The program offers an innovative perspective that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries and opens up new avenues for research and practice.

Literacy is an individual competence that is critical for social participation. It is key to education, employment, health, rights and well-being. Yet, this key is not a singular entity, not least in contemporary differentiated societies marked by migration; it is complex as it involves multiple languages, registers, modalities, as well as different technologies and formats. In a highly mobile and interconnected world, migration and digitalization have collided to fundamentally transform what it means to be literate. 

These emerging complex multilingual, multilectal, and multimodal literacies may be poorly matched to the literacy requirements of institutions with a monolingual habitus (Gogolin, 1994), where literacy practices in one dominant, standard language prevail. The resulting communication gaps can threaten access, equity, inclusion, and cost-effectiveness, and hence constitute a real barrier to social justice (Piller, 2016).

As all contemporary societies are affected by migration and digitalization, with individuals facing the barriers and opportunities associated with multilingualism, this summer school offers an internationally oriented curriculum to outstanding masters and doctoral students. The core learning aims are: 1) to enhance knowledge on literacy and learner diversity; 2) to trace tendencies that go beyond one national, regional or local context; 3) to examine literacy development across the life-course; 4) to critically discuss the implications of research findings for policy and practice.

The learning goals will be achieved across five core modules with required reading: 1) Literacy across the lifespan; 2) Institutional settings; 3) Research methods in social literacies; 4) Academic skills; 5) Independent course work.

References:

Gogolin, I. (1994). Der monolinguale Habitus der multilingualen Schule. Waxmann.
Piller, I. (2016). Linguistic Diversity and Social Justice. Oxford University Press.

A variety of currents in critical cartographic theory, research and practice have developed since the post-structuralist critique of the 1980s first disrupted the self-image of Western modern cartography. By the 2010s, critical cartography can rightly be described as a fully-fledged subdiscipline of geography and cartography with a growing impact on neighbouring disciplines in the social sciences, cultural studies and the arts. A detailed inventory and reflection on the genealogy and structure of current trends in critical cartography is therefore long overdue. The summer school Redrawing Space(s) brings together an international group of early career and experienced researchers, offering a creative space for participants to engage with key concepts, topics, and methodological approaches of critical cartography and relate them to their research. It combines a self-critical assessment with practical workshop elements in which the latest applications and artistic-creative innovations in the critical-cartographic methodological repertoire are learned and further developed.

Held in the heart of Hamburg, the cartographic methods presented will be trialed first-hand in the conflict-ridden urban context of the city on the Elbe. Housed in the stimulating premises of Dock Europe and University of Hamburg, participants will bond through an inspiring collective experience that promises to form the basis for future scientific collaborations.