Apr 20, 2026
Narrative transformation
Alfred Hesse, Erich Gerlach: Education in state consciousness. Dresden 1954. mural in the Gerhart Potthoff Building
The project "Narrative Transformation" by the Emerging Field Societal Change, the measure TUDiSC, the Institute for Saxon History and Folklore e.V. (ISGV) and the Hannah Arendt Institute for Totalitarianism Studies (HAIT) is dedicated to the questions of what the upheavals of the 1990s meant for East German universities: How were they experienced individually, shaped institutionally and reflected upon academically? It thus opens up new perspectives on the changes at East German universities since the 1990s. Experiences of upheaval will be examined in methodical workshops. The focus is on how transformations are inscribed in biographies, how they shape them and how they can be examined from various disciplines such as history, sociology, ethnology and cultural anthropology. Subsequently, from September 2026, storytelling cafés with contemporary witnesses of the developments will take place specifically at TU Dresden. If interested and suitable, these can be the starting point for student research and examinations.
The first workshop will take place on Friday, April 24, 2026, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the topic of "Historical science and university restructuring after 1989/90. Perspectives on university history for the East German transformation" . It will be led by Aron Schulze from the Chair of Modern and Contemporary History at TU Dresden. Advisor Prof. Dr. Peer Pasternack from the Institute for University Research Halle-Wittenberg has been invited. Further workshops will follow on May 8 on "Biographical interviews in research and teaching" and on June 26 on "From research to the archive. Insights into archiving options for analog and digital research data".
For the storytelling cafés , we are looking for people who experienced the late 1980s to 1990s at TU Dresden - whether as students, employees or political decision-makers. Anyone interested in sharing their own experiences and memories with other contemporary witnesses in moderated discussion groups is very welcome.
Further information and the registration form for the individual dates can be found on the project website: https: //tud.link/79jtu2