How do crises shape our cultural memory, and what role does time play in this? The workshop ‘Temporalities: Dynamics of the Culture of Remembrance in Times of Crisis’ addresses current debates on ‘temporality’ in crisis research and the culture of remembrance, focusing on the diverse temporal dimensions through which crises shape cultural memory.
When?
22 October 2026
08:30 to 17:00
Where?
TH Köln
Faculty of Cultural Studies
Ubierring 40
50678 Cologne
Room 11
Cost
Participation is free of charge.
Registration
Please register by email here by 15 October 2026: erik-registration@f02.th-koeln.de
Organisers
Tilly Laaser, Daniel Lohman, Christina Clausen & Carolin Höfler
Unit 1 ‘Cultural Assets and Heritage’ | DFG Research Initiative 115 ‘Culture of Remembrance in Crisis’
Language
German
Further information
Flyer Workshop Temporalititäten
Content
The workshop is dedicated to current debates on ‘temporality’ in crisis research and the culture of remembrance, and focuses on the diverse temporal dimensions through which crises shape cultural memory. The central question is whether crises are perceived primarily as short-term and cumulative events, or rather as liminal phases of transition – that is, as moments in which profound change is imminent but not yet complete.
The workshop will examine various aspects of temporality, ranging from layers of time in tangible cultural heritage, through the dynamics and pace of crises, to subjective experiences of time and memory. Particular attention will be paid to the question of the extent to which crises are perceived as states of emergency or, in the so-called ‘polycrisis’, are increasingly becoming the norm.
Using case studies and examples, the workshop examines how the past, present and future are intertwined in cultures of memory, and how ‘temporalities’ are negotiated in narratives, artefacts, media and social practices.
PROGRAMME
8.30 am Welcome and coffee
9.00 am Introduction
9.15 am Research updates from all project units
10.00 am Keynote 1: Prof. Dr Ingrid Scheurmann, ‘Landscape – an interface of different temporalities. Which traces of which history do we preserve? Which do we lose?’
10.45 am Coffee break
11.00 am Keynote 2: Dr Achim Saupe, “Pluritemporality in historical culture. Thinking, experiencing and representing multi-temporality”
11.45 am Plenary discussion
12.15 pm Lunch break
1.30 pm On-site tour of the main building of the Cologne University of Applied Sciences / Exhibition of flood-damaged objects
3.00 pm Coffee break
3.30 pm Roundtable discussions (Guest: Dipl.-Ing. Henning Burwitz)
4.15 pm Presentation of the discussion outcomes from the roundtables
5.00 pm End
Image: Peter Wershofen, Maria-Hilf-Brücke (detail), 1963, Collection of the Town of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler. Photo: Karlotta Stork