:: Guest contribution ::

by Daniele Toro

From 19 March to 25 June 2019 the lecture series Line 4 under the title "Dealing with Discrimination" took place, which was jointly organised by the Bielefeld Graduate School in History and Sociology (BGHS) and the Volkshochschule Bielefeld (VHS). In the VHS rooms of the Ravensberger Spinnerei, six doctoral students of the BGHS presented their own research to the Bielefeld audience.

The lectures looked from different disciplines at how individuals, groups and institutions can fight discrimination or resist it.

Impressions: Zeynep Demir and Hannah Grüneberg; Malika Mansouri; Carla Thiele and Daniele Toro Photos: BGHS

Through a variety of topics and approaches, the framework conditions and causes of discrimination phenomena as well as how to deal with them were dealt with: From the UN Convention against Racism to the 1966 Tricontinental Conference, from the Yezidis to the health policies for refugees, from the commitment of Bosnian genocide survivors to Erika Mann's intellectual exile activities in the 1920s and 1930s - the audience always actively discussed the various lectures from history, sociology, jurisprudence and psychology.

Lecturers and organisers of Line 4 from left to right: Lasse Bjoern Lassen, Malika Mansouri, Carla Thiele, Anja Henkel, Daniele Toro(fehlt: Johanna Paul) Photo: Hannah Grüneberg

The fact that the audience and speakers have to benefit from the mutual exchange was the aim of the lecture series Line 4 from the very beginning. The intensive discussions were particularly interesting this year because the audience regularly made its own experiences and knowledge available. This proved to be extremely productive for the speakers: All participating doctoral students did indeed report on the exciting and useful impulses, stimulating questions and comments. With their active, communicative participation, the numerous visitors showed that the focus of the lecture series had met with lively public interest.