UNIVERSITY OF COLOGNE

In recent years, the Mediterranean once again has been established as an important field of research in the interdisciplinary humanities beyond the dichotomy of arts / cultural studies and natural sciences. In the Mediterranean, Asia, Africa and Europe meet and ecological, social and political dynamics translate into an entangled history that questions established distinctions between the so-called global North and South: Environmental pollution and degradation, climate change and the depletion of ecological resources; political, religious and ethnic conflicts, as well as state violence and social transformation processes are common challenges for the societies of the Euro-Mediterranean region. Energy- and food security, migration dynamics, the shaping of (media) publics and transforming civil societies are but the most important issues that demand new forms of cooperation across borders. The securing of wealth, the urgent question of democratic participation and the education of future leaders and students are crucial for social “well-being” in Europe and closely linked to developments in and around the Mediterranean region. The problems, Europe and the Mediterranean face together call for transnationally aligned academic research and exchange programmes that can foster a civil society within and beyond nation states.

In the face of massive climate change, the Mediterranean has been declared a “hotspot” by the United Nations Environment Programme and its Mediterranean Action Plan, outpacing global trends in climatic and ecological dynamics. The compounding climatic and socio-political crises that the latest forecasts predict for the Mediterranean have been witnessed in the form of droughts, floods and related humanitarian conflicts since antiquity. Through time, these crises have translated into large-scale protest movements, armed conflicts and migratory movements that can be observed today, too. For an overall picture of these developments in the longue durée of Mediterranean societies, it is necessary to interweave historical and contemporary cultural and social science research with natural science and geography research.

Not only crises and conflicts have determined the connectivities of Mediterranean societies, but also a long history of conviviality, dialogue and cooperation. In order to meet the common challenges, forms of co-existence must be investigated, and new strategies of cooperation developed for academic research. Research and university partnerships that deal critically and innovatively with the potentials and shaping of Euro-Mediterranean futures can draw on a long history of knowledge exchange between Mediterranean cultures and societies. The historically evolved multilingualism, multi-religiosity and transculturality of Euro-Mediterranean societies can thus become a resource for shaping Mediterranean conviviality in the present and for future post-migrant societies in the face of growing ecological threats and socio-economic inequalities.

In response to these outlined challenges, we launched the EUniWell Research Initiative: Crisis and Conviviality in the Mediterranean as a joint project of the Mediterranean Liminalities Research Lab, the research hub for Multidisciplinary Environmental Studies in the Humanities (MESH), and the EUniWell alliance.

From 2024 - 2027 the project aims at establishing a research network between members of the EUniWell alliance and external partners.

Research areas

• (Forced) Migration and (Im)mobility

• Multi-species Conviviality and Environmental Change

• Heritage and Memory Politics

• Religious Conviviality and Contestations

• Nationalism, Xenophobia and Fragmenting Publics

Future network activities

The aim of this network is to develop research cooperations and teaching activities on the various topic entailed in the broader frame of Crisis and Conviviality in the Mediterranean, but also to develop research partnerships for joint grant applications. Networks activities will entail for example:

• Establishment of an Interdisciplinary Research Lab for MA, PhD and Post-doc researchers. The Lab could promote and foster interdisciplinary collaboration and situated empirical research at the interface of the humanities and natural sciences/engineering. The Lab should draw on and connect existing research projects and infrastructures of the participating partners.
• Mobility and exchange programmes for students and doctoral candidates for study and research stays.
• Global Classrooms with partner universities in the Mediterranean region.

Project Coordinators

Prof. Dr. Martin Zillinger, Department of Cultural and Social Anthropology, University of Cologne

Dr. Christoph Lange, Academic Programme Manager and Associate Director of MESH, University of Cologne

Project Facilitator and contact for further enquiries and questions

Emanuele De Simone, Mediterranean Liminalities Research Lab, University of Cologne: esimone[at]smail.uni-koeln.de