Call for Fellowships of the Schaufler Kolleg for the 3rd funding phase "Energy Cultures in Transition"

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In the summer semester of 2027, the Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden will begin its third funding phase (April 2027 through September 2030) focused on the new guiding theme “Energy Cultures in Transition.”

About the Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden

At the Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden, researchers and artists explore the interplay between the fields of technology, art, science, and entrepreneurship. This will remain a unique selling point of the lab during its third funding phase as well. The focus remains on the transformation of society and culture, in which technology plays a prominent role.

Phase 3 Theme

The guiding theme Energy Cultures in Transition understands energy as a cultural phenomenon deeply inscribed in aesthetic, historical, political, ecological, economic, and socio-technological practices and systems. Building on the dynamically growing research fields of the Energy Humanities, Science & Technology Studies, and the Digital Humanities, the aim is to examine how modern energy regimes—from petromodernity, to nuclear culture, and post-carbon futures—have shaped not only material infrastructures but also subjectivities, power relations, progress narratives, geopolitical orders, ecologies, and knowledge systems, while simultaneously being shaped by them. Interdisciplinary perspectives from the social sciences, cultural studies, humanities, and educational research represented at the Schaufler Kolleg@TU Dresden enable the analysis of the multifaceted entanglements of energy, culture, and society. The focus is on questions concerning the representation, communication, and aesthetics of energy transitions and resource paradigms as well as continuities between resource economies and information economies, the relationships between energy, labor, environment, and consumer culture, and the role of colonialism, gender, nationalism, geopolitics, education, and social justice in deciding energy futures and navigating collective transformation processes.

The guiding theme “Energy Cultures in Transition” is being examined in a transdisciplinary manner by the doctoral candidates in the Schaufler Kolleg@TU Dresden from the perspectives of the humanities, social sciences, cultural studies, and education. The Graduate College is based in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Call for Applications at Schaufler Kolleg@TU Dresden

For its third funding phase, the Schaufler Kolleg is offering a total of eight doctoral fellowships. Each fellowship is awarded for a period of 2 years, with the option of a 1.5-year extension (total funding period: April 2027 to September 2030). The fellowship stipend amounts to EUR 1,850 per month, plus EUR 150 in material costs and, where applicable, a family allowance of EUR 315 per child.

The doctoral fellowships are offered in the following disciplines:

• Cultural Studies, main supervisor: Prof. Dr. Orit Halpern, Chair of Digital Cultures
• International Politics, main supervisor: Prof. Dr. Anna Holzscheiter, Chair of Political Sciences with a focus on International Politics

• North American Literature and Cultural Studies, main supervisor: Jun.-Prof. Dr. Moritz Ingwersen, Chair of North American Literature with a Focus on Future Studies

• Civil and Digital Law, main supervisor: JProf Dr. Katharina Kaesling, LL.M., 

  Junior Professorship for Civil Law, Intellectual Property, especially Patent Law, and Legal Issues of AI
• Applied Linguistics and Digital Humanities, main supervisor: Prof. Dr. Simon Meier-Vieracker, Chair of Applied Linguistics
• Art History, main supervisor: Prof. Dr. Kerstin Schankweiler, Chair of Visual Studies and Art History
• Educational Science/Media Education, main supervisor: Prof. Dr. Andreas Spengler, Chair of School Education / Media Education
• Sociology, main supervisor: Prof. Dr. Susann Wagenknecht, Chair of Micro-Sociology and Technosocial Interaction

The calls for applications, including eligibility requirements and application details for each of the disciplines represented, are available here. 

The online application form to be submitted with your application is available here. 

The application deadline is November 20, 2026.