Welcome to the DFG Research Training Group Contradiction Studies
The international and interdisciplinary Research Training Group (RTG) “Contradiction Studies” at the University of Bremen, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), has been exploring the formation, negotiation, and explanatory limitations of contradiction. We start from the assumption that the ordering figure of contradiction which includes the imperative of resolving contradiction often stands in a relationship of tension to experiences of the contradictory in everyday life. read more
News
-
Contradictions Festival – 10 years WOC
On the occasion of its tenth anniversary, the interdisciplinary collaborative research platform Worlds of Contradiction (WOC) is organizing the WOC Contradictions Festival from November 10–14, 2025, in cooperation with the Bremen DFG Research Training Group 2686 Contradiction Studies, the Berlin DFG Research Training Group 2638 Normativity, Critique, Change, the Bremen International Graduate School of Social…
-
RTG member Klaas Anders featured in two new podcast episodes on his research
RTG member Klaas Anders can currently be heard in two podcasts: In the podcast of the Institute of History at the University of Bremen, he talks about the migration experiences of signatories of Charter 77 and their new beginnings in Vienna. He is also a guest on the Radio Prague International podcast, where he discusses the Czechoslovak…
-
Welcome to the second cohort!
We warmly welcome the second cohort of DFG-funded and associated doctoral fellows to the Research Training Group 2686: “Contradiction Studies” at the University of Bremen! We’re excited to embark on this three-year journey together, exploring and advancing the concepts and methods of Contradiction Studies. Here’s to inspiring collaborations and fresh perspectives!
Publications
-
According to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), the AfD is now “definitely right-wing extremist”. It represents positions that fundamentally contradict fundamental trade union values. In this second part, I will show that the exclusion of AfD members from trade unions is also possible – contrary to what a recent decision…
-
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) represents positions that contradict fundamental trade union values. Trade union representation of employees’ interests is not compatible with membership of the AfD. Trade unions can therefore declare the AfD to be an opposing organization by means of an incompatibility resolution and exclude members who are also members of the AfD…
-
Against the backdrop of the notion of disruption, this article scrutinises cur-rent concepts of discursive events and places them in relation to one another. The disrup-tive events derived from this are understood as a subcategory of discursive event. Using the example of the feminist abortion discourse and by analysing practices of contradiction, it is determined…
Events
-
Toolbox – Contradiction Studies #10 in the winter term 2025/26
-
We are once again witnessing an intense authoritarian and far-right radicalization. It exhibits pronounced masculinity-ideological dimensions, through which authoritarian and fascist models of masculinity are normalized or even promoted as ideals. In this event, Markus Theunert offers both theoretical and practical insights into the factors driving masculinity-ideological radicalization: How can it be recognized? Most importantly,…
-
Toolbox – Contradiction Studies #11 in the winter term 2025/26 – Workspace: internal workshop
The members of the RTG
The Research Training Group is run by thirteen faculty members of the University of Bremen and is a place of interdisciplinary exchange of empirical cultural studies, social and cultural anthropology, German and interdisciplinary linguistics, literary studies (Romance literary and cultural studies, North American and postcolonial literary and cultural studies, Medieval and Early Modern German literary studies), law, human geography, political science, history of Eastern Europe, philosophy, and religious studies.
