EXC 3078:  Imaginamics. Practices and Dynamics of Social Imagining

• Subject Area: History ; Art History, Music, Theatre and Media Studies ; Literary Studies ; Philosophy ; Social and Cultural Anthropology, Non-European Cultures, Jewish Studies and Religious Studies ; Social Sciences ; Theology
• Term: since 2026
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 533747966

A functioning society requires not only rules, procedures and institutions, but also shared ideas, narratives and images. The social practices of sharing these ideas, narratives and images constitute what we call ‘social imagining’. It involves the creation of communally distributed, intersubjectively recognised imaginaries that provide orientation and stability in everyday life. Social imagining can hold societies together and promote solidarity, but it can also generate differences and divisions. It can facilitate unity and forge bonds, but it can also lead to forms of exclusion and violence. It can strengthen and stabilise social structures, but it can also trigger new dynamics and spark change. Social imagining shapes current debates about the climate crisis and the future of the planet, public disputes over the pandemic, the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the future of democracy and the resurgence of right-wing extremist ideologies. For these reasons and more, social imagining is a topic of pressing relevance both in Germany and around the world. The Cluster of Excellence “Imaginamics: Practices and Dynamics of Social Imagining” makes an innovative contribution to research into this expansive field of study by illuminating the processes, practices, historical trajectories and dynamics of imagining itself. It aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of social imagining. To this end, it (1) combines research approaches from the cultural sciences, humanities and social sciences; (2) links foundational theoretical approaches with empirical studies and digital explorations; (3) expands upon current debates on social imagining by including trans-epochal and trans-cultural perspectives; (4) develops a set of instruments to describe and explain social dynamics more precisely and to enable critical reflection on them.

• DFG Programme: Clusters of Excellence (ExStra)
• Applicant Institution: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena
• Participating Institution: Bauhaus-Universität Weimar; Institut für Demokratie und Zivilgesellschaft (IDZ); Klassik Stiftung Weimar; Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg; Max-Planck-Institut für Geoanthropologie; Stiftung Ettersberg; Stiftung Gedenkstätten Buchenwald und Mittelbau-Dora; Universität Erfurt
• Participating University: Universität Erfurt; Max-Weber-Kolleg für Kultur- und sozialwissenschaftliche Studien
• Spokespersons: Professorin Dr. Christina Brandt; Professor Dr. Johannes Grave; Professor Dr. Joachim von Puttkamer
• Participating Researchers: Professorin Dr. Katharina Bracht; Professorin Dr. Andrea Marlen Esser; Professor Dr. Bernd Fröhlich; Professor Dr. Daniel Fulda; Professor Dr. Bernhard Groß; Professorin Dr. Claudia Hammerschmidt; Professor Dr. Bernhard Kleeberg; Professorin Dr. Anja Laukötter; Professorin Dr. Sophie Marshall; Professor Dr. Stefan Matuschek; Professorin Dr. Stefanie Anna Middendorf; Professor Dr. Matthias Perkams; Professorin Dr. Marion Reiser; Professor Jürgen Renn, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Patrick Roberts; Professor Dr. Hartmut Rosa; Professor Dr. Tobias Rothmund; Professor Dr. Henning Schmidgen; Professorin Dr. Kim Siebenhüner; Professor Dr. Christoph Vatter; Professor Dr. Lambert Wiesing; Professorin Dr. Sabine Wirth