Graduate School Human Development in Landscapes
General Information
Pictures by: A. Ricci, R. Renneberg, V. Robin, F. Bauer
Introduction
To gain an understanding of human development, one needs to detail the interactions between mankind and both its physical and perceived environment. Graduate training and research already emphasizes interdisciplinary research involving both Arts and Humanities and Natural Sciences on this topic at Christian-Albrechts-Universität (CAU). This is exemplified by numerous graduate projects in Natural Sciences that have been, and are, tackling archaeological problems, while, at the same time, cultural studies and archaeology provide important clues and directions for scientific analysis.
Workshop outcomes published
Three volumes have now been published comprising most of the papers that were presented at the GS workshop in March 2011. See book details. (2012/01/16)
Honouring the alumni
Towards the end of the year, the first alumni of the Graduate School were honoured by the Executive Board. Read about the ceremony. (2011/12/21)
Underwater research
Flooded caves in Mexico, shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea, and sunken islands in the Plön Lake District - each of these research topics is part of Florian Huber's PhD project. Read more about his efforts for safety and efficiency of underwater research. (2011/12/20)
Newsletter
 Issue 05/11 |
 Issue 04/11 |
 Issue 03/11 |
 Issue 02/11 |
We would like to congratulate some of our doctoral students:
- Rémi Berthon MA advertised results of his PhD project at the International Ilisu Dam Archaeology Symposium which was held in Mardin from October 19 to 22. His presentation was titled "Animal Exploitation and Socio-economic Organization in the Ilisu Dam Area during the 2nd and 1st Millennia BC".
- Ricardo Fernandes MSc gave a talk titled "Reservoir effect: establishing ancient chronologies based on the radiocarbon dating of human remains" at the Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig on October 10.
- Frank Förster MA MLIS presented a poster on "Data and Information Management for Humanist Researchers (Text and Things)" at the conference "Supporting Digital Humanities: Answering the unaskable", which was held in Copenhagen from November 17 to 18. From December 5 to 9, Frank stayed in Cape Town, attending the conference "Outposts of Progress: Joseph Conrad, Modernism and (Post)colonialism". There he gave a talk titled "Illustrating Conrad: An Outlook on Progress?" At the "Knowledge/Culture/Social Change International Conference" in Sydney from November 7 to 9, Frank talked about "Integrating Knowledge from Libraries, Museums etc. into University Culture".
Congratulations to:
- Manuel Alberto Fernández-Götz, associated doctoral student of the Graduate School, who passed his disputation on "Identidad y Poder: la Galia Nororiental de la Primera Edad del Hierro a la Romanización", on 20th January 2012. The dissertation was graded with summa cum laude.
- Vincent Robin, who passed his disputation on "Reconstruction of fire and forest history on several investigation sites in Germany, based on long and short-term investigations - Multiproxy approaches contributing to naturalness assessment on a local scale." on 04th of November, 2011. The dissertation was graded with summa cum laude (0,0).
- Christoph Steffen, who passed his disputation on "Gesellschaftswandel während der älteren Eisenzeit - Soziale Strukturen der Hallstatt- und Frühlatčnekultur in Baden-Württemberg." on 28th of October, 2011. The dissertation was graded with summa cum laude (0,0).
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Ringvorlesung
The Graduate School
The academic and scientific objectives of the Graduate School are focussed on, first, the interrelation of Natural Sciences and Humanities in an independent School beside traditional faculties, second, the integration of a highly interdisciplinary research theme of general interest, and, third, a new concept of research training clusters and support infrastructure platforms.
The Structure of the Graduate School, mainly contituted by the Custers, concentrated on different foci of the subject, and the Platforms, providing resources and expertise. (Fig. Holger Dieterich)
The graduate students are grouped into three interdisciplinary research clusters representing methodically different approaches to the theme of 'Human Development in Landscapes'. The research done within these clusters is supported by three research platforms, which provide the infrastructure for the graduate activities. The combination of clusters and platforms represents a new concept of form and content in interdisciplinary graduate education. The new Graduate School fosters intensified cross-linkages between academic disciplines and provides for its graduate students an efficient research infrastructure with easy access to the wide range of analytical facilities, data archives, and expertise available at CAU and its non-university partners. This enables the graduate students to do innovative research into the development of human groups in landscapes, touching on themes such as the interaction between individuals, the creation of social spaces, and anthropogenic landscape development in a changing environment. The School enhances the existing CAU strengths in archaeological research and establish CAU as an international research and educational centre in the field.
The Graduate School offers a holistic approach in the study of human development and aspires to become the outstanding location for international graduate training and research in the field of 'Human Development in Landscapes'. Access to a wide range of existing resources and structures in combination with a barrier-free amalgamation of excellent disciplines create a new form of graduate programme with the following important aspects:
- Interdisciplinarity: The PhD programme in 'Human Development in Landscapes' brings together graduate students from diverse disciplines and different institutions. This allows a more complete study of research questions by the combination of methods from various academic fields as well as opens up new research perspectives.
- Internationality: The Graduate School aims for a participation of 50 % foreign students to create a truly international research environment, stimulating scientific exchange, and networking. International lectures and workshops as well as organisation of and participation in international summer schools will further enhance international orientation and cooperation.
- Support centre: A support centre of interdisciplinary character composed of three platforms has been created, offering analytical tools and expertise to support the research of the graduate students.
- Practical training: Communication and research management skills are part of the syllabus of the Graduate School and are supplemented by practical experiences in the management and presentation of the student´s own research.
- Gender equality: The programme provides a recruiting scheme and a supporting environment for women scientists in agreement with CAU´s general objectives of a balanced representation of female doctoral students. The School will offer support to students and scientists with commitments to childcare.
- Competitive capacity: The new programme, with its strong international orientation, generates an international appeal and produces researchers well qualified for international academic-level positions. Thus the doctoral training strategy outlined above clearly is of utmost importance in order to address the subject of Human Development in Landscapes, and meets the demands of a scientific and social environment in change.
Scientific Concept
Pictures by: B. Schulz Paulsson, J. Haacks (CAU, Kiel), Geomagnetic prospection of Okoliste site (CAU, Kiel).
The global theme of human development in their cultural and natural environment is linked to the detection of cross-linkages between different factors: the influence of man on nature and vice versa. At present, the natural change of environmental conditions has to be uncovered at more precise timescales, while the human impact on the environment needs to be understood. The creation of cultural environments amplifies the meaning of landscape: Apart from natural conditions (individual: health and genetics; ecological: soil, climate, vegetation; technological: wind and waterpower, or natural resources), social constants (social hierarchies, ideologies) play a decisive role in the formation of landscapes.
Social environments, within this concept of landscapes, are not only reflected by material remains but also by the spatial imprints of mobility and sustainability. The development of social space under specific ecological conditions is linked to the ideological systems which keep societies, for economic reasons or ritual purposes, together.
In this respect, the study of landscapes does not only concern environmental, demographic, and social reconstructions but also the ideological changes regarding "landscapes": the conception individuals and societies have concerning "nature".
Highly dynamic spatio-temporal processes underlie the data collected by numerous disciplines and the understanding of these processes requires expertise in palaeoclimatic, palaeoecological, palaeodemographic, as well as cultural research.
Though the processes involved are of global character and apply to the entire human history, case studies concentrate on the Holocene, which is the key era of interactions between humans and landscapes, and mainly in Europe and adjacent regions.
A critical reflection on the encoding and representation of material culture, spatial development, and landscape is unavoidable.
The appropriation of landscapes by societies and their ambiguous symbolisms leaves room for many different reconstructions of the environments of different social groups and cultures.
The Graduate School - Research Clusters
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Cluster 1: Society and Reflection |
Introduction
According to the underlying Scientific Concept, a division of the general relation between cultural and natural environment into three general themes is essential:
- How did human groups conceive their natural and cultural environments and thus their landscapes? Which means were used by societies to structure their landscape?
- How did environmental conditions change and how was social space re-organised within the new local, regional, and global conditions? What kind of landscapes evolved after the iterative processes of the interaction between nature and society?
- How did demographic and technical changes influence the formation of social groups and landscapes? What kind of genetic differentiation is visible in animal and human groups after the pre-shaping of environmental conditions?
The three related research premises serve as the main research areas of the Graduate School: Society and Reflection (Cluster 1); Social Space and Landscape (Cluster 2); Mobility, Innovation and Change (Cluster 3).
As the universally relevant factors that underlie the concept of landscape as social space and natural environment bearing the activities of human groups require the thematic cross-linkage of several disciplines, the PhD research proposed within the clusters is centred on highly interdisciplinary sub-themes.
The Graduate School - Supporting Research Platforms
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Platform 1: Communication Platform |
Introduction
Education and research in the three clusters is supported by three platforms providing a broad range of resources, training, and additional expertise for the School. A group of consultant scientists from the Arts and Humanities and from the Natural Sciences provide advice to the students. Their presence is necessary to bridge the cultural gaps between the different disciplines and advise the PhD students regarding techniques and resources available in research areas outside their immediate field of expertise.
Photos by: pur.pur, S. Bergemann und J. Haacks, CAU, Kiel.
The Graduate School - Research Training
The Graduate School is directed at an international graduate studentship. Applications will be accepted from candidates who have completed Diplomas, M.A., M.Sc., or equivalent degrees in fields related to the theme of "Human Development in Landscapes".
The educational offer accompanying and supporting the graduates´ research activities (Fig. Holger Dieterich)
The training programme is designed to enable a maximum of flexibility where the different needs and interests of an interdisciplinary studentship can be served through an array of individual solutions.
The three-year School curriculum evolves in two phases. Throughout the first three terms, the students get acquainted with diverse academic basics necessary for the interdisciplinary nature of research in 'Human Development in Landscapes'. Simultaneously, the students develop their research projects within one of the three clusters. Students are also introduced to the techniques and information made available by the research platforms. In the second half of the programme, the students will focus on the realisation of their research project, including writing articles and their PhD thesis. The curriculum will include two-weekly research colloquia, international workshops, excursions, surveys, and excavations.
The average number of doctoral students attending the School is 58, taught by 25 professors and researchers from their groups, as well as by three new junior professors. Dual 'supervision' of the PhD students is provided by professors from two different research fields and preferentially from two different faculties or by a foreign cooperation partner.
You can download the lists of optional courses and biweekly colloquia (Summer term 2008 - Summer term 2011).
Expertise contact
Prof. Dr. Pieter M. Grootes
Leibniz Laboratory
+49 431 880.7400 or 3894
pgrootes@leibniz.uni-kiel.de
Prof. Dr. Ralph Schneider
Geology & Leibniz Laboratory
+49 431 880-1457
schneider@gpi.uni-kiel.de
Detailed contact list of Platform 2 (pdf)
Detailed contact list of Platform 2 (german pdf)