Jul 22, 2024
Pioneer of International Studies - CIS mourns the loss of its co-founder Reiner Pommerin
On July 4, two weeks after his 81st birthday, Prof. Dr. Reiner Pommerin passed away. As holder of the Chair of Modern and Contemporary History at TU Dresden from 1992 to 2008, he was particularly associated with the International Relations (IB) degree program and the ZIS. He was not only one of the founders; he was the one who took the initiative. His idea was a model degree program that prepared students for work all over the world and was organized along the lines of the American model: interdisciplinary and internationally compatible, with compulsory study abroad, combined with training in modern languages and divided into a Bachelor's and Master's degree program with examinations during the course of study. What does not sound so unusual today after the widespread introduction of the Bologna system was downright revolutionary when Reiner Pommerin first approached colleagues from other disciplines in 1996. A year later, after his return from a visiting professorship in the United States of America, the concept of the IB degree program took off. So quickly, in fact, that the first cohort was able to start their studies as early as 1998 - with 90 applications for the 30 study places.
Bureaucracy was not his thing, nor was soliciting support from the faculties involved. This is why Reiner Pommerin only took the helm as Academic Director in 2003 and 2004 once an independent institution, the ZIS, had been established to run the IB degree program and it was - to use an image fitting for the passionate Air Force reserve officer - on a rapid ascent. However, he could not stay on board for long. In the Bologna system, with the student workload measured in points, it was not possible to provide a basic education in terms of content and methodology in the four disciplines of international history, international politics, international law and international economic relations (although the students certainly coped with the workload). One subject had to be dropped - and that was history.
Panel discussion during the celebrations for the 20th anniversary of the ZIS: Prof. em. Reiner Pommerin, Prof. Anna Holzscheiter, Prof. Sabine von Schorlemer, Prof. em. Ulrich Fastenrath, Prof. Dominik Steiger and Prof. Alexander Kemnitz (from left to right).
Despite his departure, Reiner Pommerin remained associated with the IB degree program. Most recently, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary in fall 2023, he enjoyed talking to the almost complete graduates of the first year. The ZIS and the IB degree program owe him an extraordinary amount. His vision of training students for international careers at a German university worked out brilliantly. We mourn his passing. Our sympathy goes out to his family.
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Fastenrath
The funeral service will take place on July 26, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. in the Herz-Jesu-Kirche, Borsbergstraße 15/17, Dresden, with burial later in the closest circle. In lieu of wreaths and flowers, a donation is requested for "Gegen Vergessen - Für Demokratie e.V." (IBAN: DE45 3705 0198 0008 5517 07, keyword: Prof. Dr. Pommerin).