Spring School | Open Call

• Who this is for: Early career cultural actors and students of cultural studies

• Spring school with a public event

• Format: 5 days at Zeppelin University, Friedrichshafen, Germany

• Methods: Workshops, discussions, academic lectures, group work with artists and cultural practitioners

• Working language: English
  
• Participation: fully funded for invited applicants
  
• Deadline for application: December 10, 2025

Social and political conflicts are currently one of the main challenges facing our society. Within and around cultural organisations, they often appear as moments of strain and polarisation that mirror unequal power relations, uneven distributions of resources and overlapping structural exclusions. Many conflicts lead to the exclusion and marginalisation of specific groups with intersecting identities (e.g. BIPOC, Jews, Muslims, people of non-European/non-Western origin). Addressing these issues is therefore a central task of cultural policy at national and international level.

The spring school understands conflicts not as inherently destructive but as a constitutive feature of democratic life that demands negotiation across positions, perspectives and worldviews. Numerous examples from recent decades, both in culture and politics, demonstrate the importance of proactively negotiating and navigating “cultures of conflict”.

The spring school will make an innovative contribution to how socio-political conflicts are proactively addressed in cultural institutions in Germany, to the extent to which they can serve as venues for political debate, and to the navigation of conflicts so that their potential for social transformation can be harnessed. To discuss how to deal with conflicts, plurality is used as a central concept of decolonial practice, understood through a pluriversal perspective that promotes the coexistence and cooperation of different forms of being and knowledge. The spring school focuses on three key areas:

• theoretical and systemic understanding of conflicts
  
• tools and methods for conflict navigation using case studies as examples
  
• the development of personal and organisational decision-making and action-taking skills

The spring school offers the opportunity to learn and exchange in an international academic environment with participants from different countries (e.g. Germany, Turkey, North Africa, Eastern Europe, etc.). It addresses to:

1. Students enrolled at a university in the fields of cultural studies, cultural mediation, cultural policy or social sciences
   
2. Early career cultural workers and actors actively engaged in cultural policy, production, mediation and political education
   
3. BA students interested in cultural studies at Zeppelin University.
   

30 participants will be invited based on their qualification and motivation. Particular attention will be placed on gender balance and diversity. A proficient knowledge of English (working language) is mandatory.

The spring school will cover all travel expenses (up to 200 EUR for participants within Germany, up to 800 EUR for participants from abroad, including visa fees), meals and accommodation in shared double rooms.

To apply, please send a single PDF, where possible, containing the following documents to Charlotte Raeithel: c.raeithel@zeppelin-university.net

• Motivation letter (1-2 pages) stating interest, qualifications and expectations

• Short CV in English (2-3 pages maximum, in table form)

• No submission of certificates is necessary

  
  

Deadline for applications is December 10, 2025.

Applicants will be notified by early January. We look forward to receiving your application. Please do not hesitate to contact us for any inquiries.

Jun.-Prof. Dr. Meike Lettau | Zeppelin University

Dr. Özlem Canyürek | Zeppelin University

Leyla Ercan | Cultural manager and advisor

The spring school is funded by the Federal Agency for Civic Education (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung/bpb).