Whether they’re entertainment programmes, interviews or crime dramas, podcasts are more popular than ever. Legal scholar Sebastian Ziemer is also making use of the audio format – for his course in the summer semester. The topic is the Basic Law.
Using podcasts in teaching – Ziemer already embarked on this experiment last semester together with constitutional law expert Prof. Dr Dr Volker Boehme-Neßler. “The feedback from students was very positive. That’s why I came up with the idea of expanding the format, integrating it firmly at the chair and using it for the catalogue of fundamental rights,” says the research assistant and doctoral candidate at the Department of Economics and Law. No prior legal knowledge is required for his course. “We are specifically targeting all interested students – including those who have not yet taken any law modules and do not need them for their degree,” explains Ziemer. After all, the Basic Law affects everyone. “Fundamental rights establish rules that guarantee a fair, free and secure life. They limit the state’s power and have a far greater influence on everyday life than one might perhaps assume,” Ziemer continues.
The legal scholar has now turned his office at the university into a small podcast studio. Ziemer’s team includes a student assistant and Alexander Grafe, another PhD candidate from the Public Law research group. He records the episodes with Grafe, whilst exchange student Gvantsa Khutsishvili handles the technical editing. The two presenters aim to present the content in as entertaining and realistic a way as possible. “Of course, the allocated weekly teaching hours per semester aren’t enough to cover all 19 articles of the Basic Law – so we’ve made a selection,” explains Ziemer. The 12 planned episodes will cover, for example, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and the right to free development of one’s personality.
The Aviation Security Act, paparazzi photos and advertising campaigns
To illustrate the practical significance of fundamental rights, the podcast examines real-life cases in each episode. In the episode focusing on Article 1 – human dignity – the two presenters discuss, for example, the Aviation Security Act. It was passed following the attacks in New York City on 11 September 2001 and states that hijacked aircraft may be shot down to protect against attacks. How is this compatible with the inviolability of human dignity? “That is precisely what we want to explore,” says Ziemer. In other episodes, the presenters discuss when paparazzi are allowed to take photographs of celebrities or whether, for example, the provocative advertising campaigns of the clothing brand Benetton were protected by freedom of expression. Every four weeks, Ziemer and Grafe also host an additional live talk, during which students can ask questions and join in the discussion.
Ziemer emphasises flexibility in the organisation: participants can decide for themselves when and how, over the course of the semester, they wish to download and work through the learning packs on the respective topics via Stud.IP. There is no fixed registration deadline, and the number of participants is unlimited. At the end of the module, students can write a seminar paper on a topic of their choice to earn six credit points in the area of specialisation. “However, everything is on a voluntary basis,” says Ziemer. “It is more important to me to impart knowledge about fundamental rights to the students than to force them to study.”
Anyone interested can find the course on Stud.IP under the following code: 2.03.080.