In times of war and authoritarianism, academic freedom is threatened in many places. Yet, it is the basis of open and informed debates. If you ever wanted to know the state of scientific freedom around the globe, then come and visit the exhibition and discuss it with us.

As a vernissage to the exhibition, you can meet academic freedom experts and scholars living in exile in Germany. In short talks, they will tell you something about their work or their personal experiences with academic freedom or its lack in other countries. After each short presentation, you can get into conversation with the scientists. We are looking forward to your questions and the discussion with you!

Programme

3 pm

Introduction of the event by the team of the Mall Anders and the Knowledge Exchange Lab of SCRIPTS

3:10 pm

Janika Spannagel (SCRIPTS/FU Berlin): „Wie steht es um die Wissenschaftsfreiheit? Erklärungen zur Ausstellung.“ (in German)

3:45 pm

Dr. habil. Tomasz Kitlinski (FU Berlin): “Academic Freedom in Poland and France.” (in English)

4:20 pm

Dr. Arshi Javaid (Academy in Exile/HU Berlin): “Academic Freedom in India.” (English)

5:00 pm

End of Event

Speakers

Janika Spannagel is a postdoctoral researcher at Freie Universität Berlin and the International Research College (IRC) at the Cluster of Excellence “Contestations of the Liberal Scripts (SCRIPTS)". She is in the process of completing her doctoral degree in political science at the University of Freiburg with a dissertation on the international protection of human rights defenders. Her current work focuses on the diffusion and contestation of academic freedom norms. She is also a non-resident fellow at the Global Public Policy Institute, where she co-developed the Academic Freedom Index prior to her position at FU Berlin. For her work and studies, she has received various scholarships from the German National Academic Foundation, the German Academic Exchange Service and the Mercator Foundation. 

Dr. habil Tomasz Kitlinski received his Diplôme d’Études Approfondies from the Université Paris 7 and his habilitation from the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. He conducted research under Hélène Cixous and Julia Kristeva. Kitlinski served as a Fulbright scholar at the Transregional Center for Democratic Studies, The New School and as a Marie Curie Actions fellow at the University of Brighton. For 25 years he lectured at Curie University, Lublin. Currently, Kitlinski is an Academy in Exile and a New University in Exile fellow at the Margherita-von-Brentano-Zentrum, Freie Universität Berlin, supported by IIE-SRF. His publications include English-, German-, Polish-language books and texts in edited volumes and journals (Routledge, Palgrave Macmillan, New York University Press, Social Research, The Advocate, Art in America, Feminoteka, Osteuropa, die taz, dos yidishe wort).

Dr. Arshi Javaid is a postdoctoral fellow with Academy in Exile (AiE). She is affiliated with the Institut für Asien and Afrika Wissenschaften at the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin. Earlier she earned her PhD from the Jawaharlal Nehru University. Her current project looks at the Everydayness of life in intercommunal Kashmiri Neighborhoods before the popular militancy erupted in 1989.

Moderation by Philip Dingeldey, research associate at the Knowledge Exchange Lab of SCRIPTS.

The Exhibition "What about academic freedom"

The exhibition by the Knowledge Exchange Lab of SCRIPTS sheds light on the state of academic freedom worldwide. This is done on the basis of two criteria: on the one hand, whether academic freedom is constitutionally enshrined in a state and, on the other hand, on the basis of the Academic Freedom Index which measures and assesses the independence of science in a country comparison. In times of war and authoritarianism, academic freedom is threatened in many places. Yet it is the foundation of open and informed debate. Visitors are invited not only to see the exhibits but also join the discussion with researchers.

About the “Mall Anders”.

The temporary learning lab Mall Anders (located in the shopping mall Wilma Shoppen in Berlin-Charlottenburg) was initiated by the universities of Berlin and is funded by the Berlin University Alliance until the end of June 2022. The learning lab in the style of a pop-up store leaves the spatial context of universities to intertwine with Berlin's urban and civil society innovatively and experimentally. So far, this new meeting place has offered students and local actors the opportunity to think about pressing issues of our future, to discuss proposed solutions, and sometimes to test them directly on a small scale. Since December 2021, a wide range of events on various topics has been taking place there. The Mall Anders has a model character for further projects of knowledge exchange as well as the visibility of the Clusters of Excellence of the Berlin University Alliance and its topics in unusual places.

For further information, visit: https://mall-anders.berlin/

SCRIPTS at Mall Anders

SCRIPTS wants to achieve a knowledge exchange between scientists, civil society, and citizens in the neighbourhood by cooperating with the Mall Anders. As interactive and comprehensible as possible, academics and non-academics alike shall have the opportunity to discuss liberal orders at eye level and to examine its contestations, potentials, and problems. Whether in cooperation with the other Clusters of Excellence of the Berlin University Alliance or on our own, at Mall Anders the cluster wants to bring the topics and research of SCRIPTS to the public and discuss them with an audience as broad as possible. Since SCRIPTS is about social science, it is aiming to interact with civil society in new and experimental ways, discussing and working on broad social challenges with them. In the Mall Anders, the cluster does not simply want to hold lectures or panel discussions but to achieve an exchange of knowledge of the big social issues examined by SCRIPTS by interacting with local actors; for instance, in Science Slams, Meet the Scientist, workshops, and interactive exhibitions.

About the visit

Admission: Events in the Mall Anders are open to all.

Language: German and English.

Registration: There is no registration needed.

Pandemic Regulations: Currently there are none. Feel free to wear a mask. Being vaccinated is recommended.

Accessibility: Barrier-free access, the Mall Anders is on the ground floor, there is a guide system for the blind. There is also a multi-storey car park belonging to Wilma Shoppen.

How to get there: In the immediate vicinity are the Charlottenburg train station (RE, S-Bahn), the Wilmersdorfer Straße underground station (U7) and the Bismarckstraße underground station (U2/U7).

Accessibility: Barrier-free access, the Mall Anders is on the ground floor, there is a guide system for the blind. There is also a multi-storey car park belonging to Wilma Shoppen. In the immediate vicinity are the Charlottenburg train station (RE, S-Bahn), the Wilmersdorfer Straße underground station and the Bismarckstraße underground station.