How can financial market risks be mathematically described, how does spatial inequality arise, what memory culture does our neighboring country France cultivate, and in how far does Georg Büchner’s work repeatedly negotiate the triangle of power, aesthetics, and knowledge across 91 different animal species? These are just a few topics of the lecture series at the Citizens’ University, through which Goethe University invites residents of Frankfurt and beyond to participate in its research every semester. Panel discussions address the question of whether “right-wing” tendencies are now en vogue among the younger generation, for example, or how commuting can be made more sustainable. As part of the Friedrich Merz Visiting Fellowship, intestine research pioneers Justin and Eric Sonnenburg from Stanford University/USA will explain in a video talk how microorganisms in the gut contribute to our health. Other medical topics include geriatric medicine and the latest research on cancer prevention and therapy.
The program for the 2024/25 winter semester includes lectures and panel discussions, as well as film series, tours, guided walks, concerts, and numerous exhibitions – including the “Our House” exhibition at Museum Giersch of Goethe University, which presents artistic perspectives on housing. One of the exhibitions at the University Library (“Library of lost books”) is dedicated to Jewish books stolen by the Nazis, which are now scattered worldwide.
Goethe University’s Science Talk Series “Wissen angezapft” [Knowledge on Tap] starts on October 19, and will be held this time at Frankfurt Book Fair, where astrophysicist Camilla Juul Hansen will talk about the development of our Milky Way, while political scientist Cord Schmelzle will discuss how much morality democracy can bear.
The Citizens’ University program is available as a printed brochure at public institutions across Frankfurt and is also available in Goethe University’s online calendar: www.buerger.uni-frankfurt.de/
Participation in Citizens’ University events is generally possible without prior registration, and admission is free.
The first Citizens’ University was held in 2008 – the year Goethe University, which was founded in 1914 by citizens of Frankfurt, returned to its roots as a foundation university.
