General Educational Science on Tuesday Evenings

Women drinking coffee Image: pixabay

Studying at the FernUniversität also thrives on mutual exchange. That's why we cordially invite you to join us on one or two Tuesday evenings from 7-8 p.m. (online and mainly in German) for reflection and discussion. This semester we have two topics. Firstly, we are focusing on arriving at university, which is a challenge for many people. In short presentations, we not only want to give an insight into academic life, but also show that you are not alone with your worries and fears at the beginning of your studies. A second topic that concerns us is the question of what subtle mechanisms of power we are confronted with in educational practice. We will introduce you to some current theoretical approaches, but would also like to discuss them with you based on your and our own experiences.

The events - a small input + exchange - are regularly offered for students of the Bachelor of Education (Module 1A) and the Master of Education with a focus on digital media or adult/continuing education (Module A4). The Zoom links can be found in the corresponding Moodle environments and in the study portal. You do not have to prepare anything for the events and can simply join in according to your time and interest. FernUni students and interested parties who are not enrolled in the above-mentioned modules are also cordially invited. In this case, the Zoom links for the events can be accessed directly in the study portal:

Study portal educational science events winter semester 2024/25 (german)

We are looking forward to the joint exchange on Tuesday evening!

Best regards

The Department of General Education


Lectures and Discussions

children looking for bicycle Photo: Unsplash_Yaopey

Becoming Academic: About arriving at university

What does it mean to start a degree course? Especially for people who do not come from an academic background or whose school days were a long time ago, starting at university can be an enormous challenge. The aim of these events is to address these challenges themselves. Because it quickly becomes clear that no one is alone in experiencing feeling out of place or insecure. The input and discussions are intended to help you settle into your studies a little better.

  • 15.10.2024 Science and classism: What the autosociobiographies of Pierre Bourdieu, Didier Eribon, Annie Ernaux & Co tell us about the hidden mechanisms of power.
  • 19.11.2024 What are theories and why do we need them?
  • 17.12.2024 Epistemic injustice: Which voices are heard in the scientific community - and which are not.

Man thinking Photo: Pixabay_Tama66

Power and powerlessness in pedagogy

In 1975, Michel Foucault published a brilliant book, Surveillance and Punishment, which, with some delay, also stimulated educational science to pay greater attention to the subtle forms of pedagogical power. The lectures and discussions aim to provide an introduction to the theoretical tools needed to get to the bottom of phenomena of power and feelings of powerlessness. Because one thing is certain: making the power of pedagogical practice the subject of research and teaching will remain one of the most important tasks of educational science in the future.

  • 29.10.2024 Michel Foucault or: The power of the pedagogical gaze
  • 03.12.2024 “Throwing like a girl”: Power and physicality
  • 14.01.2025 Adultism: Childhood between power and powerlessness
Michael Olbrich | 25.11.2024