Freie Universität Events at a Glance

Sovereignty, the State, and International Law
Hermann Heller’s “Sovereignty”: Book Presentation and Roundtable Discussion

The event engages with Hermann Heller’s book “Sovereignty” (1927) on notions of sovereignty, the state and (international) law – and how they resonate in today’s political climate. On the occasion of a publication of Heller’s work in an English translation by Oxford University Press, editor Prof. David Dyzenhaus (University of Toronto) will discuss the legacy and current importance of the book with panelists Prof. Dr. Anna-Bettina Kaiser (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) and Prof. Campbell McLachlan (University of Wellington). Prof. Dr. Helmut Aust from Freie Universität Berlin will moderate the dicussion. The event will be in English and is open to the public.

Time and Location

• Friday, November 1, 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
• Room 3302, Department of Law, Freie Universität Berlin, Boltzmannstr. 3, 14195 Berlin

Contact

Prof. Dr. Helmut Aust, Department of Law, Freie Universität Berlin, Tel.: +49 30 838-61731, Email: helmut.aust@fu-berlin.de

How Can We Prevent Earthquakes Caused by Humans?
Seismic Hazard Induced by Production of Hydrocarbon and Geothermal Energy

The talk by professor of geophysics Serge Shapiro, provides an overview of the physical and geomechanical fundamentals behind seismic hazards as well as insights into how to control and prevent earthquakes produced by human activity. Professor Shapiro will also present several relevant case studies. The event will be in English.

Time and Location

• Monday, November 4, 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
• Room D 144, Building D, Freie Universität Berlin, Malteserstraße 74-100, 12249 Berlin

Contact

Prof. Dr. Serge Shapiro, Department of Earth Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin, Tel.: +49 30 838-70839, Email: shapiro@feophysik.fu-berlin.de

Putting Climate Policy to the Test
Climate Policies in Comparative Perspective

This lecture will shed light on the specific challenges, strategies, and policies of different countries, regions, and cities and analyze the potential and limitations of certain policies and actions promoted by different stakeholders. The event will be in English.

Time and Location

• Wednesday, November 6, 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
• Berlin Science Week Campus at the Museum für Naturkunde: Experimental Field, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115 Berlin

Contact

Dr. Berthold Kuhn, Department of Political and Social Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin, Email: berthold.kuhn@fu-berlin.de

Surveillance Capitalism and Democracy
Lecture by Social Scientist Shoshana Zuboff

Social scientist Shoshana Zuboff will speak about surveillance capitalism as part of the lecture series “Making Sense of the Digital Society.” She will address the central issue of how the collection and processing of data change how economies operate. The event will be in English. Please register in advance at www.hiig.de/en/events/shoshana-zuboff/. The event is being organized by the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, the Federal Agency for Civic Education (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung/bpb), and Freie Universität Berlin.

Time and Location

• Wednesday, November 6, 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
• Urania Berlin, An der Urania 17, 10787 Berlin

Investigating Injustices
Populism and Social Inequality – Current Debates (in German)

Scholars from Berlin and Constance will discuss the relationship between social inequality and populism from a global perspective. Are distributional injustices the cause of the current crisis of liberal-democratic models of order or can other causes be identified in an international comparison? The Clusters of Excellence “Contestations of the Liberal Script (SCRIPTS)” and “The Politics of Inequality” are organizing the debate.The even will be held in German.

Time and Location

• Thursday, November 7, 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• Berlin Science Week Campus at the Museum für Naturkunde: Lecture Hall/1st floor Invalidenstraße 43, 10115 Berlin

Contact

• Prof. Dr. Marianne Braig, Institute for Latin American Studies, Freie Universität Berlin, Tel.: +49 30 838-53094, Email: mbraig@zedat.fu-berlin.de
• Prof. Dr. Christian Volk, Department of Political and Social Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin, Tel.: +49 30 838-61455, Email: christian.volk@fu-berlin.de

How Do Algorithms Manipulate Us?
Annual Conference of the German Communication Association’s “Digital Communication” Division

The conference focuses on various aspects of automating communication. According to experts, a defining feature of digital communication is automation: the production of content, the distribution of information and messages, the curation of media use, and the governance of content are all increasingly shaped and influenced by automated processes and automated actors. Algorithms automate the production of content and operate the selection and filtering of information in news, news feeds, and search engines. They also attribute relevance and popularity as well as perform content moderation and fact-checking. Automated actors such as social bots participate both in organizational communication, such as customer service, and as a potential force of manipulation, as in election campaigns for example. The event will be in English. Organizers include the German Communication Association, Freie Universität Berlin, Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society – The German Internet Institute, and the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society.

Time and Location

• Thursday, November 7, and Friday, November 8, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
• Umspannwerk Kreuzberg, Ohlauer Straße 43, 10999 Berlin

Contact

Prof. Dr. Ulrike Klinger, Department of Political and Social Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin, Tel.: +49 30 838-64593, Email: ulrike.klinger@fu-berlin.de

Panel Discussion (in German): Has Babel Fallen?
How do we communicate with each other with over 6000 different languages?

With over 6000 different languages in the world, the question arises – and not just in the face of increasing globalization – how are we supposed to communicate with each other? Should we all speak a language which is easy to learn and new to all people? This is what advocates of Esperanto, a planned language developed in the 19th century, recommend. Or should we use an existing language and declare it a “world language,” as is the case with English? Or is it no longer necessary to have a common language, because thanks to artificial intelligence and machine translation programs we can communicate with each other using different languages? These and other questions will be the focus of the panel discussion with experts from different fields. The event will be in German.

The panelists are

• Federico Gobbo, Interlinguistics and Esperanto, University of Amsterdam
• Barbara Seidlhofer, English Studies, University of Vienna
• Josef van Genabith, Multilingual Technologies, German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence, Saarbrücken
• Moderators: Matthias Hüning and Horst Simon, Freie Universität Berlin

Time and Location

• Thursday, November 7, 2019, starts at 6:00 p.m.
• Lecture hall 1B, “Rostlaube” Building, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin

Contact

Please register in advance by November 1 with an email to rebecca.david@fu-berlin.de with the subject line “Podiumsdiskussion 07.11.19.”

Nano-scale Systems
Talk on Macroscopic Quantum Phenomeny with Magnons

In nano-scale systems, naturally occurring exchange couplings at interfaces between metals and magnetic insulators facilitate new ways to couple magnons with electrons. The talk will examine to what extent this coupling can enable magnon-induced macroscopic phenomena. In magnetic materials, the elementary excitations are often magnons. The magnons, particle-like objects, are delocalized and dynamical disturbances of the spin densities. At ambient temperatures, there are many magnons, and they move incoherently. Macroscopic phase-coherent features of the magnons are thus tricky to study. The event will be in English.

Time and Location

• Friday, November 8, 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Lecture hall A, Freie Universität Berlin, Arnimallee 22, 14195 Berlin

Is Science Doing Enough for the Climate?
Climate Change and Impacts

The panel will discuss whether the current approach of scientific disciplines with respect to climate impacts is adequate, or is science still acting in kind of a comfort zone? Scientists from natural and social sciences will meet in order to discuss past and present scientific approaches, their adequacy, and the need for interdisciplinarity in the face of advancing climate change. The event will be in English.

Time and Location

• Friday, November 8, 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
• Institute of Meteorology, Freie Universität Berlin, Carl-Heinrich-Becker-Weg 6-10, 12165 Berlin

Contact

Prof. Dr. Uwe Ulbrich, Department of Earth Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin, Tel.: +49 30 838-71186, Email: ulbrich@met.fu-berlin.de