BGHS.NEWS

Prof. Dr. Detlef Sack, dean of the Faculty of Sociology, and Prof. Dr. Ursula Mense-Petermann, director of the BGHS, got interviewed by the University about the topic of how to deal with (doctoral) students which actively support conspiracy theories or are involved in extreme political parties.

Standing up for freedom of expression and making science the standard

At Bielefeld University, we have a few students and doctoral candidates who are known to support conspiracy theories or who are involved in extreme right-wing parties that propagate nationalist and racist sentiments. Such is currently the case at Bielefeld University’s Faculty of Sociology, where a debate is taking place about an enrolled doctoral student who is politically active in an extreme right-wing party. For some of the discussants, the question is: should he be allowed to continue his studies and do his doctorate at Bielefeld University without further ado, or should he be excluded from the university’s academic life? How do the Faculty of Sociology and the Bielefeld Graduate School in History and Sociology (BGHS), where the doctoral candidate in question is pursuing structured doctoral studies, respond to this question? An interview with Professor Detlef Sack, dean of the Faculty of Sociology (FfS), and Professor Ursula Mense-Petermann, director of the BGHS.