Cultural Memory in Crisis

• Subject Area: Art History, Music, Theatre and Media Studies ; History ; Social Sciences
• Term: since 2026
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 549093119

The DFG Research Impulse “Cultural Memory in Crisis” aims to explore cultural memory through innovative approaches, incorporating transdisciplinary crisis studies and participation-oriented research methods to advance the field of memory studies. This project will leverage the expertise of the Faculties of Cultural Sciences, Architecture, and Applied Social Sciences at TH Köln to address three key objectives: First, it will study the impact of crises on cultural memory using the analytical frameworks of crisis studies. Second, the initiative will analyse the interconnectedness of crises in relation to cultural memory, integrating insights from contemporary polycrisis research. Third, it will introduce participation-oriented methodologies to memory studies enriched with techniques from design research. The project will tackle three overarching questions: It will examine the temporal dimensions of crises’ influence on cultural memory, including the origins of polycrisis within cultural memory. It will also investigate the societal contexts of crises in cultural memory, emphasising intersectionality. Finally, it will explore coping mechanisms and resilience strategies, focusing on cultural and social practices adopted by individuals and groups. By combining traditional memory studies methods with participation-oriented approaches, the project seeks to empower non-academic participants to play an active role in shaping the research programme. These methodologies will be integrated with design research techniques that enable audiovisual communication between researchers and collaborators and allow the documentation and interpretation of implicit knowledge. The study will examine cultural memory under crisis in three main areas: First, it will assess climate crisis effects on cultural assets and heritage. Second, it will explore the impact of crises on memory in post-migrant society. Third, it will investigate how artificial intelligence influences digital memory culture. To achieve the goals, the project will involve nine principal investigators (PIs) from the participating faculties and implement structured measures, including the establishment of a W2 professorship and the creation of doctoral and postdoctoral positions. This initiative will strengthen existing research frameworks at TH Köln, foster connections with cultural institutions in Cologne, and lay the groundwork for establishing a Centre for the Applied Study of Cultural Memory after DFG funding concludes.

• DFG Programme: Research Impulses
• Applicant Institution: Technische Hochschule Köln
• Spokesperson: Professorin Dr. Carolin Höfler
• Participating Researchers: Professorin Dr. Schahrzad Farrokhzad; Professor Marco Hemmerling; Professorin Dr. Tilly Laaser; Professor Dr.-Ing. Daniel Lohmann; Professor Dr. Lasse Scherffig; Professorin Dr. Friederike Siller; Professorin Sabine Tastel; Professor Andreas Wrede