Last updated 5. March 2025 | Alternative Lehre
The Alternative Teaching program in the winter semester 2021/2022 was themed “Solidarity” and included the following events:
Reading Lukács
The aim of the event is to trace the founding moments of Western Marxism as part of a reading group. The volume of essays by Georg Lukács “History and Class Consciousness” (1923), which can probably be regarded as an outstanding initial moment for a broad discussion of Marx’s theory and its further development, will serve this purpose. Lukács’ elaboration of a ‘psychology of the proletariat’ was widely received, particularly in the critical theory of the Frankfurt School and the 1968 movement with Rudi Dutschke, but also as a negative point of reference for a ‘humanist position’ of Marxism in France. The Marxist Frantz Fanon, who is now assigned to post-colonial theory, and the founder of post-colonial theory Edward Said were decisively influenced by Lukács. Lukács’ theorems have also become central to the liberation movement in the global South.
In general, Lukács’ reification theorem, which is based on Marx’s theory of value, has become an integral part of today’s left-wing discourse. Nevertheless, Lukács is increasingly being forgotten and his theory is often dismissed as dogmatic-Stalinist confusion. This may not be entirely wrong for some periods of Lukács’ life, but his occasional dogmatism does not prohibit a serious debate. On the contrary: the early neo-Kantian Lukács, the middle to late Hegelian-Marxist Lukács and the occasional party functionary Lukács, reflected as a contemporary the enormous upheavals of the 20th century; from the Weimar Republic to the world wars and the social revolutions, Lukács symptomatically weaves these relevant and still formative events into his work.
If the question of solidarity is to be addressed today, a serious debate that wants to understand solidarity as a ‘virtue’ and emphatic category of the working class must start with Lukács and re-examine his implicit and explicit interpretations of this concept in accordance with his time for today’s debates.
Solidarity was born in Gdansk
Solidarność was born out of a strike movement in Gdansk in 1980. Solidarność, the first independent and free trade union, played a key role in the 1989 revolution and reform in Poland. Lech Wałęsa, who led the strike committee at the time and later became President of Poland, is best known for his association with the trade union. in this seminar, we want to look at the almost peaceful revolution in Poland and draw conclusions for today. How did the uprising of the shipyard workers in Gdansk come about, how was the trade union founded, what united the strikers? What role does the Solidarność trade union still play today and what comparisons can we draw with Germany? In addition to a general input on the history of the shipyard workers’ uprising and Solidarność, participants will be encouraged to explore these topics in more depth in their own presentations. The seminar will be accompanied by appropriate literature for self-study between sessions.
Marx and Engels: The foundation of historical materialism
The seminar is intended to fulfill several functions: Firstly, it is intended to offer interested parties a space where they can come together to work in a concentrated manner on a challenging theoretical text that still plays a central role in the critical tradition of thought today. The work “The German Ideology”, which will be read in the reading group, is not only a fundamental work within the Marxist theoretical structure, but also has an impact on the entire problematic history of philosophy to this day. It incorporates and deals with both the oldest questions of philosophy and anticipates later developments. The associated wealth of topics, when explored, offers systematic access to a variety of problems that are still persistent today and which no radical criticism can avoid. The seminars are intended to address a certain deficit in education. Although the local university offers seminars that include many well-known critics, the form of teaching is designed in such a way that it does not allow a serious, i.e. in-depth, examination of a topic. This should be done within the framework of alternative teaching.
Satire editorial office
The aim of the event is to establish a well-functioning editorial team that publishes regularly (although regularly is not the same as frequently). The form of the publication will initially be discussed and determined among the participants (whether text, video or lecture hall prose, anything is possible) and the content of the discussion is initially open, but should in any case also take up university contexts. The keyword satire is intended to suggest a humorous, critical position (which I personally would support), but in general everything is possible, desired and required within the framework of artistic freedom. The event is intended to be a field for experimentation.
Sign language
I would like to create a better awareness of deaf culture. I think it’s important to look at everyday life from a different perspective. There are many everyday situations that are taken for granted by hearing people, but present a major obstacle for deaf people, such as making a phone call or ringing the doorbell. just as in spoken language, there are different sign languages from country to country. This course teaches the basics of German Sign Language (DGS). The aim of the course is to be able to hold a simple conversation at the end of the semester and to have gained an insight into the culture of the deaf. I myself have been learning German Sign Language for several years and hope that I can inspire you with the same enthusiasm for the language!
