In this research focus, social transformation and subjectivation are explored praxeologically, historically and genealogically as mutually dependent processes. This approach is based on an understanding on an understanding that considers social interrelations to be the changeable products of the practical interplay between different 'agents' - people, bodies, things, artifacts and discourses. The tensions arising in this interplay point to the contingency of social practices, to the coexistence of routines and reflexivity, of conformity and criticism, of constancy and creativity, from which social change results. From this methodological-theoretical perspective, the individual projects interrogate which conditions led to specific (historical) realities as the having-become. The self-description of societies, their interpretation of the past and their design of a future play a significant role. This topic is being explored, for instance, in a coordinated research programme of archives and museums, the humanities and social sciences, IT and AI based on the case of Digital Cultural Heritage, as well as in (coordinated) research activities about the digital transformation of the social sphere.

The focus is firmly anchored in research, teaching and transfer at the university through the Academic Center for Contemporary Genealogy (WiZeGG) and the Academy Project Prize Papers, which will run for twenty years. One structural element is the transfer of knowledge to the scientific community through numerous national and international collaborations and networks, as well as to politics and society. Other mainstays are the linking of research and teaching in formats of research-oriented teaching as well as the development of own study courses and certificate programs. The thematic orientation of the research focus is already reflected in degree programs of the participating faculties at Bachelor's and Master's level as well as in interdisciplinary and international events (e.g. Prize Papers Talk, WiZeGG colloquium with guests from abroad). The research focus is demonstrated by numerous third-party funded interdisciplinary and international scientific (collaborative) projects. In addition to freestanding research it encompasses doctoral programs, research associations and knowledge transfer that closely collaborate with the local region while also having an international orientation. The following projects are managed by the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg:

• Prize Papers - Digitization- and Research-Project of Early Modern Global Migration and Social Transformation, funded by the Union of the Academies of Sciences and Humanities as a project of the Lower Saxony Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Göttingen, 2018-2037; knowledge transfer via open access data portal and website; crowdsourcing; events, including with NDR Kultur, international radio and TV contributions; social media; (online) lecture series; exhibitions; theater; concerts; transfer to schools (including analog and digital historical games).
• DiViAS (digitization, visualization, analysis of collection items), Transdisciplinary and cross-institutional research network on movement and materiality in space and time/transformation globalization/digitalization: development and application of digital tools and transdisciplinary questions; funded by MWK/VW-Stiftung (11/2023-10/2026). Knowledge transfer through website, publications, digital tools platform, geovisualization in the museum context.
• ProSaDi (Provenance and Collection Research Digital), critical reflection on the transformation of objects from colonial contexts through digitization, decentration of knowledge and dealing with non-knowledge, participatory interpretation of colonial objects, development and application of digital tools and transdisciplinary questions, contribution to research data infrastructure. Science Space, funded by the VW Foundation (11/2024-10/2028).

The WiZeGG has recently conducted the successful PhD program “Shaping the Future: Transforming the Present through Scenarios of Digitalization” (in cooperation with Jade University of Applied Sciences Wilhelmshaven-Oldenburg-Elsfleth and the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg in Delmenhorst, funded by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Higher Education 2019–2024), and research collaborations have been strategically expanded within the interdisciplinary framework of the DFG-funded scientific network “Diagnosing (in) the modern age Modernity” [german only] (in cooperation with the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg in Delmenhorst, 2022–2025). Particular emphasis is always placed on knowledge transfer - through lectures, workshops, and publications; through events at the “Schlaues Haus” and the “Haus der Wissenschaft”; and through the WiZeGG blog. The WiZeGG is also involved in the transdisciplinary and cross-institutional future lab “Open Planning Cultures. Design Principles for Transformative Spaces (OPEN_CULTURES)” (lead: TU Braunschweig, other partner is the Julius Kühn Institute; funded by MWK/Volkswagen Foundation 2024-2030, interim evaluation after three years). The project is dedicated to the investigation of the relationship between climate knowledge and the practice of urban design and sustainable living and to the development of design principles for climate adaptation in urban development and spatial planning. Knowledge transfer is fostered through cooperation with practice partners, participatory methods, conferences, publications, etc.