Our team members work on urgent philosophical and social-political debates, like the climate crisis, political polarisation and inequality. They approach these questions by studying works of literature, art, and (popular) culture, because these cultural expressions offer a crucial but often overlooked insight into contemporary controversies and social developments. Besides this, art and aesthetics play an important role in developing new perspectives on complex problems.

Among others, our research topics include globalisation, surveillance, borders, and migration; critical race studies and decolonisation; sexuality and gender, queer and trans studies; environmental humanities; (economic) precarity and the critique of neoliberalism; as well as urban cultures, city-country dynamics, street life, and new forms of activism. We maintain strong interdisciplinary connections to Media and Film Studies, Philosophy and Political Science.