Five Lectures during Science Night in Halle

Why are there so many UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Saxony-Anhalt, but very few in Asia and Africa? What is a good night's sleep and how can we measure it? How does our culture influence the practice of organ donation? How do courts deal with behaviors that do not conform to our ideas of "normal"? What has the phasing out of lignite-fired power generation in the Central German mining area done to the people who live there? Social Anthropologists will provide answers to these five questions at Science Night on Friday, July 5, starting at 5 p.m. in the Melanchthonianum, lecture hall D, on Uniplatz in Halle.

Felix Schiedlowski: Luck out in the mining area? The end of lignite-fired power generation in Central Germany
17:00-18:00, Melanchthonianum am Uniplatz, lecture hall F
Felix Schiedlowski's lecture takes an ethnological look at structural change and the upcoming phase-out of lignite-fired power generation in the Central German coalfield. The 200-year history of lignite is to come to an end by 2038 at the latest. However, the planned structural change promises enough time and enough money to compensate for the departure from coal and to shape the change. This process not only involves economic and energy policy issues, but also seeks solutions for changing living conditions in Central Germany. Felix Schiedlowski therefore also deals with the region's experiences of upheaval resulting from the years of reunification and shows how politics and society want to shape the future after coal. The lecture reports on an ethnological research project, which is also on display as part of the exhibition „Wechsel deine Perspektive – Ethnologie öffnet Türen!“ in the neighboring Löwengebäude. A quiz with interesting questions about social anthropology awaits children in the exhibition. And there are prizes to be won! Be sure to stop by.

Christoph Brumann: The heritage of all mankind? Why Europe has so many UNESCO World Heritage Sites
17:00-18:00, Melanchthonianum am Uniplatz, Lecture Hall D
Since 1976, a UNESCO-supported committee has been awarding the World Heritage title to cultural and natural sites of "outstanding universal value". Six of these are located in Saxony-Anhalt alone – as many as in Thailand and only one less than in Egypt. How does the committee award this distinction, and why have the repeated accusations of Eurocentrism had so little effect? The lecture answers these questions on the basis of ethnographic field research in the World Heritage committees and a recently published book ("The Best We Share: Nation, Culture and World-Making in the UNESCO World Heritage Arena").

Julia Vorhölter: Good night? Social anthropological perspectives on sleep and insomnia
18:00-19:00, Melanchthonianum am Uniplatz, Lecture Hall D
Sleep research is booming. Apps and sleep laboratories seem to be making our sleep increasingly measurable. New pharmaceuticals and medical technologies promise to make sleep controllable. But how do these new worlds of knowledge affect the experience of sleep, especially for people who want to sleep well and fail to do so? The lecture will shed light on the many factors that shape our sleep and the way we deal with it, as well as the predicaments that arise in the production of knowledge about sleep. How is the complex phenomenon of sleep measured at all? What is the relationship between subjective sleep experience and the supposedly "objective" data generated in sleep laboratories or by so-called sleep trackers? What does "good sleep" mean for different people? And what do sleep-disordered people or professionals do to improve sleep and induce healthy sleep?

Inge Fiedler: The culture of organ donation in Germany. A social science survey
19:00-20:00, Melanchthonianum am Uniplatz, Lecture Hall D
For decades, there has been a debate in Germany about how the number of organ donations can be increased. In these debates, it is pointed out that far too few decisions are documented and that relatives then have to make the decision on their behalf. Organ donation cards are displayed, posters are put up, theme days are organized and sporting events are advertised – all to raise awareness of the issue in society. Medical representatives and politicians diagnose that a culture of organ donation is lacking. But is this true?
A cultural and social science perspective allows us to take a closer look. Culture can be found in various forms. There are small and large spaces of remembrance for organ donors, including here in Halle. Photo exhibitions share the stories of those affected and the process of organ donation can be followed in documentaries. Even tattooed symbols for organ donation are shared on social media or become visible in T-shirt weather in summer. So what contribution can culture make to decisions for or against organ donation?

Nikko Kulke, Mareike Schmidt: Cultural diversity - a challenge for the rule of law?
20:00-21:00, Melanchthonianum am Uniplatz, Lecture Hall D
Criminal and private law offer many examples in which the law is confronted with practices and beliefs that do not correspond to "local", practiced notions of normality, but nevertheless require a decision. Court decisions that are both amusing and entertaining, but also give inspiration for serious thought, are illustrative material for the flexible ways in which the law can respond to the challenges of cultural diversity. At the same time, the examination of these "borderline cases" of the law provides us with information about the principles and meanings of individual legal provisions that are rarely questioned. What is actually behind an "objective recipient"? Why does the Federal Court of Justice not also classify partner killings as murder, like killings for reasons of honor? Is an elderly lady still entitled to compensation for pain and suffering if her lover conceals his marriage from her? Or should contemporary criminal law still protect cultural norms?