Teaching Hub 

Research and teaching are closely interlinked for members of the Cluster of Excellence: scholars draw on their projects to inform their seminars, students take part in Cluster workshops, and the Cluster offers special study programmes, including in the area of in-service professional training. Its commitment to teaching enables the Cluster of Excellence to impart knowledge to a broader audience, while also attracting early career researchers to explore the relationship between religion and politics.

The Teaching Hub brings together activities in the Cluster of Excellence that are directly related to teaching. It helps generate synergies between the various programmes offered by the Cluster and gives these programmes public visibility.

Components of the Teaching Hub

• “Religion and Politics” Certificate Programme

  Beginning in the winter term of 2024/25, the Cluster of Excellence will introduce an interdisciplinary certificate programme titled ‘Religion and Politics’, in which students can acquire additional skills alongside their regular studies. This modularized programme aims to incorporate the research expertise of the various disciplines within the Cluster of Excellence into its teaching curriculum. It is designed for students of the University of Münster from all disciplines and degree levels who are interested in the role of religion in politics and society, are willing to take on the challenge of interdisciplinarity and are eager to explore the potential for collaboration across different fields. 

  The programme introduces students to systematic approaches to the field of religion and politics from an interdisciplinary perspective. As part of the curriculum, students can choose either to delve deeper into specific questions and explore the complex relationship between religion and politics, or to gain valuable practical skills through internships with prestigious partners such as WDR, the State Agency for Civic Education, or the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency. The certificate programme can be completed within three semesters.
  
  Upon completion, graduates will be awarded a graded certificate that demonstrates their acquisition of fundamental theoretical tools for investigating the intersection of religion and politics. This certificate will also attest to their ability to analyse contemporary conflict dynamics and to apply their knowledge in both professional and research settings.
  
  More information will follow shortly.
   

• “Journalism on Religion” training programme

  Together with the School of Journalism ifp, the Cluster of Excellence offers the training programme “Journalism on Religion”, which is the only such programme in Germany. Spread over 18 months, the part-time programme qualifies media professionals to report on religions in plural societies in a nuanced and critical way. The programme is taught by researchers at the Cluster of Excellence, as well as by members of religious and non-religious communities, and by journalists who focus on religious matters. Read more

• Blumenberg masterclass

  The Cluster of Excellence has been appointing academics from different disciplines to the “Hans Blumenberg Professorship for Religion and Politics” since 2016. As guests in Münster, these academics teach and carry out research in the Cluster. The professorship also includes offering a masterclass that is open to interested students and doctoral candidates, providing them with the opportunity to work with and talk to internationally renowned scholars.

• “Digital Humanities” certificate

  Digital skills are a key qualification for graduates in the humanities – for both an academic and a non-academic career. Divided into three modules, the “Digital Humanities” certificate enables students from several faculties at the University of Münster to develop practical skills in the field of digital humanities. Angelika Lohwasser is the coordinator. Read more

• “Demons”: A research project involving students

  Demons were known as intermediaries between the world of humans and the world of the gods not only in antiquity. In Christianity, too, there were always phases when there was an increased interest in demons; there have been repeated attempts to redefine and sharpen the concept of “demons”. The project brings together experienced academics and eight advanced students who are each working on their first research project to analyze the ambiguity of the concept of demons and the cultural tensions resulting from this ambiguity. Read more

• Lecture series

  The Cluster of Excellence regularly organizes lecture series. These are open not only to Cluster members, but also to students and the general public. Over the course of a semester, researchers from the Cluster of Excellence and invited experts each give a lecture on an overarching issue. The lectures usually take place in the winter semester and are often part of the Cluster of Excellence’s annual theme. Read more

• Summer Schools

  Partly in co-operation with other institutions, the Cluster of Excellence offers Summer Schools that give advanced students and doctoral candidates the chance to spend  a number of days exploring and discussing a particular theme with experts. The last Summer School, titled “Tacet ad libitum! Toward a poetic and politics of silence”, was held in July 2022 and organized together with the Graduate School “Practices of Literature”.

• Interdisciplinary courses

  Members of the Cluster of Excellence work together in teaching to offer interdisciplinary seminars, meaning that teaching at the University benefits not only from the individual research themes, but also from the interdisciplinarity within the Cluster of Excellence. Examples of such co-operative seminars are “Quran and Hebrew Bible” in winter semester 2023/24 (Achenbach/Khorchide), as well as “Jewish Educational History of the Modern Age” (Grundmann/Overhoff) and “Jewish Literature of the Bukovina” (Grundmann/Wutsdorff) in summer semester 2024.

Contact

If you are interested in one or other of the programmes, please contact the person or project leader responsible.

For queries about the Teaching Hub, please contact Ines Michalowski.