2019

Mitteilungen

16.12.2019

Harmony Ideology at The Hague

Prof. Dr. Judith Beyer and Dr. Felix Girke discuss the hearings of the ongoing international legal dispute over genocide accusations, The Gambia vs Myanmar, at the International Court of Justice on Dec. 10-12, 2019. They address in detail the role of Myanmar’s “Agent”, Aung San Suu Kyi, who left the more legalistic arguments to the specialists, and challenged the legitimacy of the case on the basis of "harmony ideology". The opinion piece has been published on 14 December 2019 at Public Anthropologist.

09.12.2019

'Aung San Suu Kyi at the International Court of Justice'

Prof. Dr. Judith Beyer and Dr. Felix Girke on the upcoming hearings at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Myanmar’s leader personally faces allegations while avoiding the task of changing the country’s trajectory. The opinion piece has been published on 8 December 2019 at Open Democracy.

09.12.2019

Carolin Hirsch published review of 'Punk and Revolution'

Our Ph.D. candidate Carolin Hirsch published a review of Shane Greene's book 'Punk and Revolution. Seven more Interpretations of Peruvian Reality'.She discusses Greene's study on the Peruvian Punk scene and draws comparisons to her own research with a Punk collective in Yangon, Myanmar. The article is published at the website Allegra Lab.

30.10.2019

First MA-student from Myanmar

As part of a new bilateral agreement between the University of Konstanz and the University of Yangon in Myanmar, Myo Thitsar Khine is enrolled in the MA-programme “Anthropology and Sociology” at the Department of History and Sociology.
She will stay for the winter term 2019/2010, participate in several seminars and prepare her MA-research proposal under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Judith Beyer.  Myo Thitsar Khine has been selected by Profs. Drs. Mya Mya Khin and Than Pale of the Anthropology Department at Yangon University, the latter has herself visited the University of Konstanz in 2018. Myo Thitsar Khine’s study is fully funded by the International Office of the University of Konstanz (under the direction of Dr. Johannes Dingler). Prof. Dr. Beyer and Dr. Felix Girke (both anthropology) had established a good working relationship to the Anthropology Department at Yangon University already in 2013. In 2016 they organized a workshop for PhD students in Yangon and taught an introductory course to anthropology. Prof. Beyer’s two PhD students from Konstanz, Carolin Hirsch and Benedict Mette-Starke, are associated with Yangon University and in the future, MA students of “Anthropology and Sociology” from Konstanz will have the opportunity to carry out ethnographic fieldwork in Yangon.A Memorandum of Understanding between the universities is currently being drafted.

25.10.2019

Stellv. Sprecherin der Regionalgruppe "Südostasien"

Prof. Dr. Judith Beyer wurde zur stellvertretenden Sprecherin der Regionalgruppe "Südostasien" (DGSKA) gewählt. Auf der Mitgliederversammlung anläßlich der Tagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Sozial- und Kulturanthropologie (DGSKA) an der Universität Konstanz wurde Prof. Dr. Judith Beyer zur stellvertretenden Sprecherin der Regionalgruppe "Südostasien"  gewählt. Neuer Sprecher der Gruppe ist Dr. Felix Girke (Universität Konstanz). Im Herbst 2020 ist eine Interimstagung an der Universität Konstanz geplant, die von Judith Beyer und Felix Girke ausgerichtet wird.

18.09.2019

Carolin Hirsch on 'Dumpster Diving' as activism

Our PhD candidate Carolin Hirsch discusses in her article "'Rescuing' Food. Dumpster Diving as Political Activism" the links between food activism and political protest.For her MA thesis “Actors at the dumpsters – Dumpster Diving as political activism “, Carolin followed dumpster divers across Germany on their nightly trips to the backyards of their local supermarkets, mostly in suburban areas. The article is published at the website Allegra Lab.

14.08.2019

Public Anthropology

Judith Beyer‘s research on political activism in Kyrgyzstan reported in Russian-language news. Prof. Dr.  Beyer‘s co-written article with Aijarkyn Kojobekova (in Central Asian Survey 2019)  “Women of protest, men of applause” has been reported about in the widely read Russian-language news outlet Fergana.agency
 

08.07.2019

Judith Beyer on the "accountability in statelessness"

In her (Blog-) article 'Accountability in statelessness', Prof. Dr. Judith Beyer presents the outline of her ongoing research project, her role of being an country-of-origin expert in asylum cases and the anthropological concept of accountability. She furthermore presents ways in which accountablity is interlinked with statelessness. The article is published at the website Allegra Lab 

25.06.2019

Student Apprentice from India joins the Team

Saheli Chatterjee, a graduate student from Delhi, does an interdisciplinary internship at the University of Konstanz. In June and July she is supporting Prof. Dr. Judith Beyer and Prof. Dr. Laura Rischbieter (History Department) in their respective research projects. Saheli Chatterjee has completed her Bachelor of Arts in History from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, India. It is in college that she developed an interest in contemporary world politics, refugee and migration and diaspora studies. She went on to participate and present papers in national and international conferences. She was particularly interested in migratory patterns and the refugee crisis in West Asia- which she eventually hopes to pursue. In 2017, her interests in community studies led her to research on and create a database for Burmese Repatriates living in her hometown, in Kolkata. She is currently deliberating on extending the database and connecting her research to contemporary analyses on the Rohingyas. She is scheduled to begin her Master’s program in International History at The Graduate Institute, Geneva, in September 2019. 

18.06.2019

Judith Beyer serves as listed expert

As of June 2019, Prof. Dr. Judith Beyer serves as a listed expert in the "Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery Expert Directory". The "Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery Expert Directory" that brings together leading professionals and specialist organisations working in the counter human trafficking and modern slavery sector. 
For more information see here.

04.06.2019

New associate member: Prof. Dr. Anindita Chakrabarti

Prof. Dr. Chakrabarti joins the working group as an associate member with a project on personal status law and inheritance rights in India. Prof. Dr. Chakrabarti  is a sociologist of law and religion and has carried out long-term fieldwork on faith and social movements and religious reform in contemporary India. Her book came out with Cambridge University Press in 2018. For further information please see Anindita Chakrabarti CV

06.05.2019

Judith Beyer on the politics of "standing by"

In her (Blog-) article 'Recentering the side-lines. On the politics of “standing by”', Prof. Dr. Judith Beyer discusses her experiences as a by-stander of several demonstrations in Paris, on March 16, 2019. To see the full article click here

11.02.2019

Schedule of Lectures at EHESS

Prof. Dr. Judith Beyer received a fellowship at the renowned "l'Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales" (EHESS) in Paris. Now the schedule of her lectures has been published.
In spring 2019, Judith Beyer is invited to spend one month  at the „Institut d'études de l'Islam et des sociétés du monde musulman“ (IISMM).During her stay, she will give four lectures about the situation of Muslims in Central- and Southeast Asia and share insight on her contemporary research project about ethno-religious minorities in Myanmar. Furthermore, she will discuss practices of retraditionalization in Central Asia and the increasing phenomen of statelessness on the example of the Rohingya people. 

Vorträge/ Tagungen/ Workshops

19.09.2019

Movement, Protest, Activism

The international workshop 'Movement, Protest and Activism' takes place in Konstanz and aims for an interdisciplinary exchange. October 24th ‒ October 25th, 2019 Bodenseeforum Konstanz | University of Konstanz.
The workshop in Konstanz is organized by Prof. Dr. Judith Beyer, Prof. Dr. Boris Holzer, Prof. Dr. Thomas Kirsch, Prof. Dr. Christian Meyer and Prof. Dr. Sven Reichard.For participation as a guest, please register by October 6
Contact:  Johannes Pantenburg & Benedikt Sepp

08.07.2019

"Don't think Twice to Ask For Zarni"

Our PhD candidate Carolin Hirsch gave together with Ada Chai an interview to "Opinion Leaders" on MI Radio, speaking about gender and sexual harassment in Yangon. They co-founded the initiative "Break The Silence: #AskForZarni" in Myanmar. This initiative raises awareness regarding sexual harassment and assault in the public space in Myanmar's former capital Yangon. "Break The Silence: #AskForZarni" started in May 2018 targeting the nightlife scene by means of raising awareness and offering support mechanisms especially for women. The campaign is currently branching out into public transportation and possibly also other cities throughout Myanmar.  

To listen to the complete interview click here

06.05.2019

“On little and grand narratives in Central Asia”

In her Keynote “On little and grand narratives in Central Asia” (28 March 2019), Prof. Dr. Judith Beyer investigates the inter-linkages between orality, narratives, textual production and textual artefacts. In the context of a workshop on “Central Asian Studies Inside Out. Challenging Grand Narratives”, organised by the Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS),

29.04.2019

DGSKA 2019 in Konstanz

Die nächste Tagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Sozial- und Kulturanthropologie wird vom 29. September bis 2. Oktober 2019 an der Universität Konstanz stattfinden. Einen Übersichtsplan zum Ablauf der Tagung finden Sie hier. An dieser Stellefinden Sie eine Übersicht möglicher Hotels und Gästehäuser sowie Informationen zur Anreise.
Allgemeine Informationen zur Deutschen Gesellschaft für Sozial- und Kulturanthropologie finden Sie hier

05.03.2019

Workshop Programme Finalized

The programme of the workshop "Claiming Justice after Conflict. The Stateless, the Displaced and the Disappeared at the Margins of the State", co-organized by Yazid Ben-Hounet (EHESS) and Judith Beyer (University of Konstanz) is now finalized.

27.02.2019

#AskForZarni Open Discussion

The campaign "AskForZarni"  fights sexual harrassment in Yangon. On March 4, at 5pm at Hotel G and in collaboration with the Institut Francais de Birmanie, our PhD student Carolin Hirsch will talk about the campaign she helped launch last year. The event is part of a week-long programme on Women's Rights.