Research activities and funding Research Funding

„Cultural Heritage at the Crossroads of Preservation and Development.“:

The FI TCH sees the concept of heritage conservation as a catalyst for social and future-oriented regeneration. Thus, it contributes to the comprehensive creation of sustainable as well as equitable resource use, education and general welfare. To be investigated is: which contexts, or under which conditions, does cultural heritage have a catalytic effect, that is, how can it lead to dynamic preservation and stabilization, and when does it lead to societal dysfunction?

„Cultural Heritage in the Context of Societal Transformations and Turbulence: Negotiation Processes and Processing Strategies.“

FI TCH addresses the question of how societies (individuals, groups, institutions) interpret, negotiate, but also destroy and forget cultural heritage. They do so in the context of broad changes (such as migration, climate change, urbanization) and often unforeseen - turbulent, sometimes dramatic - events that may involve deep upheavals/ruptures, crises, protests, or catastrophes. 

„Cultural Heritage in the Light of Participation and Media Change.“

Physical and digital mediums regulate and create communication between people and their environment. This concerns forms of remembering and forgetting (such as through archiving - especially in the context of digital heritage/humanities) and the interpretive sovereignty over or knowledge of tangible and intangible cultural heritage - such as what, how and when to remember and document and 'translate' for the future. Within the framework of FI TCH activities, the diversity of alternative mediums (including collections) consciously plays a central role alongside the digital humanities in order to reflect on medial relations of cultural heritage and to make them accessible for non-university publics.

Furthermore, the Flagship Initiative continues to see itself as an initiator and supporter of structure-building measures in the field of „Digital Heritage“ (complementary to the Digital Humanities focus at FoF3).

This call for proposals is part of the implementation of Heidelberg University's Excellence Strategy.

The aim of the research taking place in the flagship initiative „Transforming Cultural Heritage“ is to consistently combine the approaches and disciplines of the humanities with those of economics, social sciences, empirical behavioral sciences, and law in order to facilitate innovative and transformative research processes in the research field of "Cultural Heritage". The focus will be on the topic-driven modification of existing research approaches and the development of new methods in theory and practice.