The Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften: Events

Registration
Advance registration required before May 28. Please register here

About the conference
This conference explores the evolving role of civic power in contemporary democracies, particularly in light of growing gaps between political elites and the public. As global movements challenge inequalities and demand accountability, we ask: how effective are traditional forms of civic engagement today, and what new forms are emerging? Drawing on historical, theoretical, and artistic perspectives, we aim to examine how civic power can be redefined and revitalized to meet today’s democratic challenges—and what imaginative work this requires for the future.

The program
Thursday 5th June: Public Keynote Lecture
19.00 Cristina Maria Flesher Fominaya (Aarhus University)
Civic Movements in Dark Times: How Global Crises and the Decline of Western Democracy Are Shaping the Context for Progressive Mobilization

Friday 6th June: Conference
10.00 Opening Remarks: Gladys Kalichini, Philip Mills, Belén Pueyo-Ibáñez

10.15 Önder Özden (Goethe-Universität Frankfurt)
»Withdrawal, Disengagement: Another Form of Civic Power?«

11.15 Fiona Wachera (Aga Khan University)
»Constructing Transnational Feminist Resistances: Local Struggles, Global Connections of Visual Storytelling as Civic Power in South Africa and Nigeria«

12.15 Marco Santalucia (Università di Roma Tor Vergata)
»Empowering Civil Society: Shared Administration as a New Era in Collaborative Governance«

13.00 Lunch break

14.30 Thiago Ferreira (Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina)
»Power in the Public Sphere: A Polemological View«

15.30 Itunuoluwa Williams (University of Kentucky)
»#EndSARS: A Demonstration of Feminist Civic Power«

16.30 Vinzenz Hediger (Goethe-Universität Frankfurt)
»Screening the Politics of the Governed: Popular Sovereignty and Civic Power Beyond the State in Indian Cinema«

17.30 Concluding Roundtable

The organizers
The conference is organized by the Democratic Vistas Fellows of 2025/26:

Gladys Kalichini is an art historian and visual artist from Lusaka, Zambia. Her research project »The Art of Seeing Women in Visual Portrayals of Liberation Movements in Africa« examines the visual narratives surrounding liberation movements in African countries, particularly in Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Philip Mills studied philosophy and French literature in Lausanne and London. His research project »Poetic Forms of Life and Democracy« examines how contemporary poets, especially French and American, invent and describe new forms of life or criticize and seek to change existing forms of life.

Belén Pueyo-Ibáñez studied violin, journalism and philosophy in Barcelona, London and New York. Her research project »Rationality in a Polarized Society: Exploring the Socio-Affective Preconditions of Collective Discourse« examines collective discourse in times of social and political uncertainty.

Contact
For any questions concerning the conference, please write to: formsofcivicpower@gmail.com.