In his inaugural lecture at the University of Münster, Dr Manuel Köster from the Institute for History Didactics will address the research field of ‘sound history’. Entitled ‘Hearing history? Perspectives on the acoustic dimension of past living environments from a history education perspective’, the lecture will examine the relevance of sounds and tones for historical learning. The public event will begin at 12.15 p.m. on 3 November in Lecture Hall F 4 in the Fürstenberghaus. Anyone interested is welcome to attend.

Philosopher Professor Dr. Dr. h. c. Carl Friedrich Gethmann will be awarded an honorary doctorate by the Faculty of History & Philosophy. In his life's work, he uniquely combines reflection on fundamental and methodological questions of his discipline with the practical application of philosophical expertise in political consulting and social discourse.

From 23 August 2025 to 15 February 2026, the special exhibition “Theme Room Colonialism” at the Stadtmuseum will focus on the traces of German colonial rule and its consequences. Exhibits from the years between 1884 and 1918 with a connection to Münster illustrate how ethnological exhibitions, colonial goods shops and contemporary everyday goods supported stereotypes also in Münster and how multifaceted the effects of colonial policy are to this day. The presentation is the result of a collaboration between the Münster City Museum, the Department of History and the Institute for Didactics of History at the University of Münster and twelve other partner institutions.

The Department of History has a vacancy for an office assistant (100%) to be filled as soon as possible. The position is initially limited until 31 May 2029, but has good prospects of being made permanent. Classification is possible up to pay group 6 TV-L. The tasks include general secretarial work, travel assistance, processing of personnel matters and support with event organisation.

There is an old desk in the Department of Philosophy that has survived several moves and has been used during many flashes of inspiration, in-depth reflection and the creation of important writings. Its users include the famous philosopher Hans Blumenberg. The desk plays a central role in his work and in several works about him.

The Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (LWL), in cooperation with the Kommission Alltagskulturforschung für Westfalen, is awarding this year's Karl Zuhorn Prize (LWL Science Prize) in the category promoting young researchers to the cultural anthropologist Julius Virnyi. He receives the prize, endowed with EUR 10,000, for his research into academic honours and name changes in the field of historical research into everyday culture.

In a public panel discussion on 9 July 2025, Dr. Franziska Davies and Dr. Kateryna Rietz-Rakul, moderated by Eastern European historian Prof. Dr Ricarda Vulpius, will shed light on the very heterogeneous German positions on Russia's war against Ukraine. In addition to the failings of German society with regard to Ukraine, the discussion will also look at the particularities of the perception of the war in Ukraine in East and West Germany.

At the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the modern era, there were more than 1,000 houses and facilities in what is now Germany where leprosy patients lived and were cared for, as in Münster-Kinderhaus. The Society for Leprosy Studies (GfL) has set itself the task of collecting information on these places. In an open-air lecture at the SchlauRaum Festival, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Wagner will present a GfL project for the online presentation of the research results.