GRK 2114:  Cultures of Critique: Forms, Media, Effects

• Subject Area: Art History, Music, Theatre and Media Studies
• Term: since 2016
• Website: Homepage
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 262780673

Critique and its premises have been challenged once again in recent times, in ways that seemingly call into question the entire project of modern critique. On the one hand, new technologies and channels of distribution have given rise to a wide range of unforeseen practices of dissent, the critical form of which needs to be determined in each instance. On the other hand, the foundational principles of critique, which are rooted in the Enlightenment, have been called into question by postcolonial, decolonial and transcultural perspectives. While the understanding of critique as a transformational, emancipatory and interventionist practice remains largely intact, these new phenomena increasingly pose questions regarding critique’s claims to validity, its situatedness, as well as its respective subjects. The central research question during the second funding phase of the research training group will be how the understanding of critique transforms when critical practices and concepts are analyzed in the context of globality. The question of what constitutes a critical act and which factors, expectations and criteria play roles in this remains contested. Taking a programmatic approach based on critical practices, the research training group analyses the specific situational conditions of the instances, objects, framings, claims to validity and modes of action of these practices, along with their global entanglements. Critical practices cannot be separated from the forms and mediums of their representation. This is what constitutes the object as it appears in critique and determines its particular effect. Representation is therefore the point of crystallization of various forms of critique, whose heterogeneous cultures are then able to be compared and discussed. The goal is to reassess the significance of critique in modern and contemporary cultures in the three fields of art, media and social criticism under conditions of globality, and to develop an actualized understanding of critique grounded in cultural studies. The educational concept integrates the structure of a research training group with the formalized doctoral studies program at Leuphana University through weekly foundational and research meetings. Conferences and workshops facilitate national and international networking, writing workshops enhance the development of professional skills. The research group is an academic working group consisting of experienced and emerging academics, whose intellectual and institutional autonomy are being fostered.

• DFG Programme: Research Training Groups
• Applicant Institution: Leuphana Universität Lüneburg
• Spokesperson: Professorin Dr. Beate Söntgen
• Participating Researchers: Professorin Dr. Karen Benezra, from 10/2022 until 10/2022; Professor Dr. Timon Beyes; Professor Dr. Erich Hörl; Dr. Serhat Karakayali, since 10/2022; Professor Dr. Sven Kramer; Professorin Dr. Andrea Kretschmann, since 10/2022; Professorin Dr. Susanne Leeb; Professor Dr. Roberto Nigro, since 4/2017; Professor Dr. Claus Pias; Professorin Dr. Christina Wessely