Theme of the year (TOY)

DIALOGUE

Every research begins with dialogue; it will always start from the dialogue with self, followed by dialogues with the previous scholarship, researchers in the same field, or those in different research areas. The process of academic investigation requires constant questioning and exchange of ideas, and the dialogue is key to conducting interdisciplinary research and the cutting-edge scientific explorations. In society, too, the dialogue is an indispensable magic spell to resolve prolonged discord and deepen mutual understanding. It could be a solution to a profound social problem of "Fake or Fact". The same can be said in international relations, even though some issues, such as war, climate change, bioethics and nuclear related topics, require further discussions. The dialogue underlies and forms our modern society, but it is unclear how it will be valued in the future that could be highly regulated by AI. From a different point of view, we might need to ask whether the notion of dialogue be extended to other animals and plants?

MIGRATIONS

Migration and Cultural Spaces. A workshop co-operated by the Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences (IAS), Nanjing University, the Institute for Advanced Research (IAR), Nagoya University, the Waseda Institute for Advanced Study (WIAS), Waseda University, and the Fudan Institute for Advanced Study in Social Sciences, Fudan University. Programme of the event

Migration: Movements of People, Goods and Ideas. This event is co-organized by Waseda Institute for Advanced Study (WIAS), Waseda University and Institute for Advanced Research (IAR), Nagoya University. Prof. Gracia Liu-Farrer, of Waseda University will give a keynote presentation Immigrant Japan and a New Era of International Migration followed by five panels from the viewpoints of Social Sciences and Humanities. Further information about the event

Humans and Animals Migrate. Migration is a central theme in both human societies and animal populations, deserving of observation and analysis from a variety of perspectives. Researchers at the Zukunftskolleg focus on aspects of migration different from those under scrutiny at the Cluster of Excellence “Politics of Inequality”, its counterpart “Collective Behavior”, and the Cultural Studies Research Center. How intriguing to investigate all these different aspects under the umbrella of a joint series of events! Official poster of the events + More information on Zukunftskolleg's website

Europe and the World of Borders. Thinking about the world of borders, and Europe's position and impact is one of the great scientific, cultural and political challenges of the present day. At the 2019 ZiF Conference, designated representatives of science, culture and politics will discuss political and state boundaries, cultural and artistic boundaries, as well as societal processes of delimitation and dissolution. Further information about the event (in German)

Transdisciplinary Thinking on Immigrant Literature. Immigrant Literature is the theme of the Transdisciplinary Meeting that will put together Professor Cristina Cheveresan, from the West University of Timisoara, Romania, and Professor Elcio Loureiro Cornelsen, from UFMG's School of Letters. Official release on the event
 
AGING - LIFE, CULTURE, CIVILIZATIONS

Ageing - Life, Cultures, Civilizations. The ways in which we view and interpret signs of aging as well as the age segmentation of the human life span (e.g. when are we considered old?) have changed through history and are subject to major cultural differences. 11 & 18 December 2018, 8 January 2019, Zukunftskolleg, University of Konstanz, Germany. Further information about the event

Technology, Cognition and Dementia. Organization: TUM-IAS Focus Group Modern Technology to Support Cognitive and Mental Health.
12 December 2018, Institute for Advanced Study, Technische Universität München, Germany Further information about the event

Ageing - Life, Cultures, Civilizations. This event is co-organized by Waseda Institute for Advanced Study (WIAS), Waseda University and Institute for Advanced Research (IAR), Nagoya University. Prof. Glenda Roberts of Waseda University will give a keynote presentation “Challenges for Aging Societies in the 21st Century”followed by various presentations from the viewpoints of Natural and Social Sciences and Humanities. 12 October 2018, Waseda Institute for Advanced Study (WIAS,) Tokyo, Japan. Further information about the event

Images of Life and Death. A dialogue that will propose some matrices to develop: the drive of life and death; the here and now; childhood; anarchist drive; poetry; vitality and risk; the inheritance of time; Jungian archetypes and tarot images; unsustainable death; the figure of Antigone; profiles of dead and alive in social networks; the assembly. 11 June 2018, UFMG's Institute of Advanced Transdisciplinary Studies, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Further information about the event

Resilience in human ageing. Interdisciplinary think tank organised as part of the research theme “Health Systems Complexity”. In this event a diverse group of researchers will focus on dynamic multi-system resilience in human ageing looking at it through the lens of complex adaptive systems.
11 April 2018, UvA Institute for Advanced Study, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Further information about the event

Neuro-handwriting analysis: Where the medieval and the 21st Century Collide. This multi-disciplinary talk combines historical and digital approaches, investigating clues about age-related neurological diseases and disorders in medieval handwriting. Electronic engineers Professor Stephen Smith and Dr Márjory Da Costa-Abreu join palaeographer Dr Deborah Thorpe to digitally-excavate the lost dynamic features of writing in static samples of medieval writing.
18 January 2018, The Trinity Long Room Hub, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Further information about the event

FEAR Read about the TOY

Fear and the Dyonisiac. Joint lecture by fellows Isabelle Torrance and Jessica Wiskus.  28 April 2017, AIAS, Denmark. Further information

The economics of fear: applications from the economics of terror. Lunch lecture with Prof. Dr. Günther G. Schulze (University of Freiburg, Economics)
4 May 2017, FRIAS, Germany Further information

Fear in a post-factual world. Panel organized by fellow Armin W. Geertz featuring brief talks by political scientists, philosophers, and media scholars who will explore fear in a post-factual world. 15 May 2017, AIAS, Denmark. Further information

Pleasure and fear at the movies. Lunch lecture with Prof. Dr. Barbara Mennel (University of Florida, Film Studies). 18 May 2017, FRIAS, Germany. Further information

Landscape of Fear: A Bridge Across Disciplines? Lunch lecture with Dr. Luca Corlatti (University of Freiburg, Wildlife Ecology) and Dr. Mario De Cristofaro
1 June, FRIAS, Germany. Further information

The Final Countdown: Mapping Apocalyptic Thought in the Early Middle Ages. Lunch lecture with Prof. Dr. Immo Warntjes (Trinity College Dublin, History)
22 June 2017, FRIAS, Germany. Further information

Anxiety disorders: From Basic Research to Psychotherapy. Lunch lecture with Prof. Dr. Brunna Tuschen-Caffier (University of Freiburg, Psychology)
29 June 2017, FRIAS, Germany. Further information

Fear: The Hidden Driver of Modern Political Thinking . Lunch lecture with Prof. Dr. Martin Loughlin (London School of Economics, Law). 6 July 2017, FRIAS, Germany. Further information

The Epigenetics of Fear. Lunch lecture with Prof. Dr. Dr. Katharina Domschke (University of Freiburg, Psychiatry). 13 July 2017, FRIAS, Germany. Further information

Governing Fear: Resilience as antidote to a Catastrophic Future. Lunch lecture with Prof. Dr. Stefan Kaufmann (University of Freiburg, Sociology)
20 July 2017, FRIAS, Germany. Further information

Overcoming Fear over Failure. Open Talk within Free Discussion Salon with Nobel Prize Laureate, Professor Ryoji Noyori. 30 October 2017, Nagoya Institute for Advanced Research, Japan.Further information

Fear: Brain, Behaviour, Society. Two-day international multidisciplinary conference organized by the Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Denmark. Leading international researchers from a variety of fields will present newest knowledge on fear at 5 multidisciplinary sessions, each incorporating contributions from several fields. 4-5 December 2017, AIAS, Denmark.Further information

MEDIA AND DATA CONTROL

"What’s new in networks? – Building bridges between computational, mathematical and statistical network analysis." International Workshop organized by Prof. Dr. Francesca Biagini as part of the Research Focus “Quantitative Network Sciences”. 05.10.2016 – 07.10.2016, Munich, Germany. Further information

"Data Control in the 21st Century". Lecture by Peter Schaar (former Federal Data Protection Commissioner). 05.07.2016, Freiburg, Germany. Further information

Knowledge production stands at a pivotal point. The coming decades will reshape not only what we know but how knowledge is created, circulated, governed, and evaluated. “Future of Knowledge Production” will investigate the forces transforming contemporary research systems and explore the possibilities for building resilient, inclusive and socially responsible research systems and cultures.

An additional motivation is revisiting the seminal book "The New Production of Knowledge: The Dynamics of Science and Research in Contemporary Societies," published three decades ago. Michael Gibbons and his colleagues argued that the ways in which knowledge —scientific, social and cultural— is produced were undergoing fundamental changes. These changes marked a distinct shift into a new mode of knowledge production which was replacing or reforming established institutions, disciplines, practices and policies.

Across the globe, research communities face intensifying pressures. Public funding cuts and short-term grant cycles limit the possibilities for long-term, open inquiry. Constraints on academic freedom range from subtle political influence on overt censorship in a context of geopolitical instability and conflict. The international circulation of people, data, and technologies is increasingly shaped by national security concerns, economic competition, and fragmented regulatory regimes. The growing influence of private actors and philanthropic foundations in setting research agendas further complicates questions of accountability and public interest.

These raise urgent questions about who sets priorities, whose knowledge is seen as legitimate, and how research infrastructures can remain open and resilient.

At the same time, profound challenges internal to knowledge production demand attention. Overly competitive incentive structures undermine collaboration and erode integrity. Inequities persist in shaping who can participate and how their contributions are recognized. Yet, emerging practices across diverse fields also point toward more generative modes of producing knowledge. 

Movements for open science, epistemic pluralism, and community-engaged research challenge narrow conceptions of expertise and invite more democratic, collective forms of knowledge production. Networks are articulating forms of solidarity. Critical discussions around care and responsible research cultures highlight the need to reimagine research labor as interdependent, relational work. Key conversations focus on how to develop sustainable data infrastructures that support both technological innovation and environmental responsibility.

Future of Knowledge Production aims to chart these trajectories by asking what kinds of research systems and cultures are emerging and are possible, and which kinds of institutional, cultural, and epistemic shifts are required to get there. It also foregrounds the importance of diverse knowledge traditions and global perspectives in shaping futures that are not only more effective but more just.

This requires a dialogue across the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, the arts and policy fields to examine the uncertain terrain on which tomorrow’s knowledge will unfold.