Whether entertainment formats, interviews or crime thrillers: podcasts are more popular than ever. Law graduate Sebastian Ziemer also uses 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 the students was very good. I therefore came up with the idea of expanding the format, integrating it permanently into the chair and using it for the catalogue of fundamental rights," says the research assistant and doctoral candidate at the Department of Business, Economics and Law. No prior legal knowledge is required for his event. "We are specifically targeting all interested students - even those who have not yet taken any law modules and do not need them for their studies," explains Ziemer. After all, the Basic Law affects everyone. "Basic rights establish rules that guarantee a fair, free and safe life. They limit the power of the state and have a much greater influence on everyday life than you might expect," 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 doctoral student from the Public Law working group. He records the episodes with Grafe and they are technically edited by exchange student Gvantsa Khutsishvili. The two protagonists want to present the content as entertainingly and realistically as possible. "Of course, the scheduled weekly semester hours are not enough to cover all 19 articles of the Basic Law - so we have made a selection," explains Ziemer. In the 12 planned episodes, for example, the programme will focus on freedom of opinion, freedom of assembly and the right to free development of one's own personality.
Aviation security law, paparazzi pictures and advertising campaigns
To illustrate the practical significance of fundamental rights, the podcast deals with real cases in each episode. In the episode focussing on Article 1, human dignity, for example, the two presenters discuss the Aviation Security Act. It was passed after the attacks in New York City on 11 September 2001 and states that hijacked planes can be shot down to protect against attacks. How is this compatible with the inviolability of human dignity? "That's exactly what we want to address," says Ziemer. In other episodes, the presenters discuss when paparazzi are allowed to take pictures of celebrities or whether provocative advertising strategies by clothing brand Benetton, for example, were protected by freedom of expression. Every four weeks, Ziemer and Grafe also offer an additional live talk in which students can ask questions and join in the discussion.
In terms of organisation, Ziemer relies on flexibility: participants can decide for themselves when and how they download and work on the learning packages on the respective topic from Stud.IP over the course of the semester. 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 in order to be awarded six credit points in the area of specialisation. "However, everything is voluntary," says Ziemer. "It's more important to me to impart knowledge about fundamental rights to the students than to force them to learn."
Anyone interested can find the course via Stud.IP using the following number: 2.03.080.
