Cross-sectional working groups

Our working groups facilitate the cooperative networking among the sub-projects and deal with cross-sectional topics that are relevant for all sub-projects. In the course of the analysis of certain phenomena, a common conceptual language is simultaneously developed in the working groups.

Working Group Escalation Dynamics

The focus here is on the investigation of conflict dynamics ranging from those in smaller groups, social strata and milieus up to those in entire societies. In particular, we address the problem of possible escalation dynamics, including physical violence, and in the opposite direction, the potential for avoiding violence. Invectivity may not only have a destructive, but often also a surprisingly productive force.
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Working Group on Media and Form Change

The Collaborative Research Centre 1285 examines phenomena of the invective from the Roman Republic to the present day. This makes it possible to examine the relationship between media change and invectivity through the long history of the effects of rhetorical concepts and patterns in various media. The study examines the extent to which media upheavals - the spread of book printing or social media, developments in television formats, etc. – promote new forms and business cycles of invectives.
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Working Group Social Positioning

This working group concentrates on the excluding and including functions of invectives: On the one hand, invectivity can exclude and injure, but on the other hand it can also strengthen the group context, e.g. through invectives against others or through more playful forms of invectivity in and amongst themselves.
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