Opportunities exist to expand co-operation in teaching and research in the humanities and social sciences.

Linguistics and cultural studies

Firstly, expanding the DAAD-funded project “Dimensions of Diversity in Teacher Education” to further schools within the University of Oldenburg will both broaden its thematic scope and attract students from additional schools. This approach will facilitate sustained international exchanges in the area of teacher education by developing co-operation formats that will become well established.
Secondly, opportunities for students and lecturers to take part in exchanges (ranging from one-off virtual sessions to longer stays at partner institutions) will be identified to link the School of Language, Media, and Communication (at Nelson Mandela University) with the School of Linguistics and Cultural Studies (at the University of Oldenburg).
Thirdly, the School of Linguistics and Cultural Studies (UOL) and the School of Education (NMU) have initiated projects that build on a shared theoretical discourse in postcolonial and decolonial studies (“Dimensions of Diversity in Teacher Education”, for instance). Both schools intend to expand their existing co-operation by involving additional interested parties (researchers and students) from other disciplines and conducting further research in the crossover areas between post-colonial and decolonial studies, gender and queer studies, critical media studies, and the social and cultural dimensions of digital technologies and media. Co-operation is planned with scholars from the School of Visual and Performing Arts, the School of Language, Media, and Communication, the School of Governmental and Social Sciences (NMU) and the School of Linguistics and Cultural Studies at UOL. Taking the DAAD co-operation in the field of teacher education as a departure point, members of the School of Linguistics and Cultural Studies and the School of Educational and Social Sciences at UOL will also look into possible opportunities to carry out joint research in critical university studies and further fields.
 

Women’s and gender studies

Opportunities exist to foster co-operation between the cross-faculty Centre for Women and Gender Studies at Nelson Mandela University (South Africa) and the Centre for Interdisciplinary Women’s and Gender Studies (ZFG) at the University of Oldenburg. Both centres are well positioned to work together in fields within intersectional gender research. The Centre for Women and Gender Studies at Nelson Mandela University was established in 2019 to prioritise diversity in knowledge production, decolonising teaching content, co-creating curricula (with the Centre’s students), reshaping community engagement (through intellectual partnerships with local communities) and mainstreaming gender at the university. It also aims to promote co-operation with regional, national, and international partners with a view to influencing policy and politics and fostering the constitutional values of human dignity, equality, freedom, and social justice.

The Centre for Interdisciplinary Women’s and Gender Studies at UOL was founded in 2000. It is attached to the Faculty of Linguistics and Cultural Studies. As a scholarly research institution, ZFG is the university’s main hub for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary gender research. Intersectional cultural studies research focuses on processes of gender-specific knowledge construction and on transcultural and transnational migration movements that shift people, things, and concepts. The centre is also involved in research-based learning and the Gender Studies working group. It coordinates the BA in Gender Studies programme at UOL together with this working group. The objectives that have been defined are linked to the main tasks of both centres: coordinating research, advancing teaching and learning in the area of gender studies, and maintaining and expanding networks within and outside the universities at the local, regional, national, and international levels.

This is reflected in the following focus areas:

• Teaching/curriculum: Exchange on best practices, exploration of differences, challenges and risks; development of exchange programmes for students and instructors; development of joint modules.
• Research projects: Co-operation in the areas of history, cultural studies, post/decolonial studies, intersectionality studies, activism and scholarly research.
• Capacity development: Promotion of research skills and digital learning tools, broadening of perspectives on both sides by means of international exchanges.

It is envisaged that a joint summer school with a hybrid format will take place in the first phase. This will aim to provide instructors, students, and organisers with initial opportunities to exchange ideas. It is envisaged that this summer school will continue to be held regularly after a successful start. Scope for expanding the digital learning tool “Transnational Perspectives in Gender Studies” (TraGS) to include contributions from Nelson Mandela University is currently being explored and plans are being set in train. Opportunities to create further joint modules and enable exchanges of teaching staff will be examined.

In a second phase, a joint research project can be planned. The focus areas of the two centres (gender and key moments in history, cultural heritage, globalisation, knowledge production, migration, models of community) offer departure points. This work will also encompass joint presentations that can be integrated into existing lecture series. In addition, possibilities for co-operation with NGOs or the arts are also being explored. Going beyond this, aspirations exist to foster co-operation with the projects on postcolonial/decolonial studies and critical university studies that have been referenced above and are being carried out by the School of Linguistics and Cultural Studies (UOL) and the School of Education (NMU).

History and digital humanities

The Institute of History at the University of Oldenburg and the School of Education and the Arts, Culture and Heritage department at Nelson Mandela University are planning to work with researchers from various disciplines and with students, teachers, schools, and other interested parties on both sides to develop research and outreach projects in the areas of history and memory, cultural heritage, and identities that draw on historical records from the era of colonialism and further sources. The aim is to approach the past from different perspectives, unfold new narratives about the past, consciously and critically present hitherto suppressed narratives, and uncover valuable knowledge that has often been deliberately concealed. The project will critically engage with the one-sided nature of archival records and integrate other forms of historical records and other voices. The planned projects will be integrated into existing research projects, degree programmes, and co-operation programmes with schools. Efforts to secure additional funding will also be undertaken.

The School of Humanities and Social Sciences (UOL) and the Faculty of Humanities (NMU) will collaborate on research in the crossover areas between computing science, the humanities, and the arts. Special emphasis will be placed on the digital transformation of archives. Both sides place special value on and will continue to expand co-operation across the boundaries of disciplines, schools and faculties. Transdisciplinary workshops with the humanities, computer science, and artificial intelligence will be held to smooth the path towards this co-operation. Internships in a long-term digitalisation project at UOL will also be available. They will include internships at the UOL co-operation partner National Archives UK.