On Bees and Humans: Interdiscipli­nary bee symposium B CUBE

On 10 October 2019, the interdisciplinary symposium "On Bees and Humans - A Love Affair between Nature and Culture" offers a forum for a variety of perspectives on the subject of "bees" and enables an open exchange among the participants. The aim is to bring together current scientific and academic research and to initiate a dialogue on the broad understanding of bees.

Bee research has always transgressed systematic and disciplinary boundaries. However, the progressive specialization of modern science not only brings new insights but also erects communication barriers. This not only creates the impression that every discourse about bees has its own language, but that in fact everyone produces their own concept and model of bees. The focus of the interdisciplinary event will therefore be on bringing together these different perspectives of bee research and emphasising their social relevance.

The symposium is organized jointly across disciplines by the two Open Topic Postdocs Dr. Anja Buttstedt (B CUBE) and Dr. Solvejg Nitzke (Literary and Cultural Studies). Academic audiences from all fields are invited to the symposium held in English at the B CUBE in Dresden-Johannstadt from 9:30 am to 5 pm. Participation in the symposium is free of charge, but registration is requested by 4 October 2019: beesymposium@mailbox.tu-dresden.de

In addition to the daily programme, the evening event will also be dedicated to the bee and will shed light on and provocatively question the myth of the efficient bee state and the industrious bee from a scientific and cultural perspective. The public event will be held in German language and addresses itself beside scientists also to the broad public. Prof. Dr. Christian Pirk (University of Pretoria/South Africa) and Prof. Dr. Niels Werber (University of Siegen) will discuss "The dark side of the bee state - swarm intelligence and state-building" from 7 pm to 9 pm at the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum Dresden.