Courses
Summer term 2025
Office hour Martina Erlemann:
Via WebEx or in the office 0.04.01 after registration.
Office hour Tanja Kubes:
Via Email: any time via tanja.kubes at fu-berlin.de
How to get your FU-Account
For non FU students: Click here to find out how to set up your FU account.
20123301 Lecture + 20123302 Tutorial
Science as social practice. An Introduction to Science Studies
(Martina Erlemann)
How do we understand “science”? What counts as scientific knowledge and why? What are the historical origins of modern science? How have new scientific disciplines emerged? How are sciences shaped by social contexts? This kind of questions stand in focus of the interdisciplinary field of “Science Studies” which examines the social, cultural and political aspects of knowledge production in science. The course introduces to approaches, concepts and methods of Science Studies for the natural sciences, putting a special focus on the physical sciences. The course is aimed at students of physics and other natural sciences. Interested students of the humanities and social sciences are also welcome.
Date VO: Thu, 2pm – 6pm
Date TU: Thu, 2pm – 4pm
Begin: 17.04.2025
Number of participants: 25
More here.
20122801/20122802/2012281 Seminar
Gender and Diversity in Physics
(Martina Erlemann)
There is growing awareness that a scientist's gender can have an impact on a career in physics, even though it should have no influence. This applies also for ethnicity or national background, social background, and other social characteristics. In the seminar you will learn about research that addresses issues of gender and diversity in physics and related fields. We will discuss research on the cultures of physics, on knowledge making practices in physics and on epistemological issues in science. It is not obligatory but recommended to have attended an introductory course on Gender & Science. Interested students of all disciplines are welcome to attend.
Date: Mon, 12am – 2pm
Begin: 14.04.2025
Note: The teaching format does not consist of lecture & tutorial as announced in the course catalogue, but will be held in a seminar format!
More here.
20001516 Research Seminar
Research Seminar on Gender and Science Studies of Physics
(Martina Erlemann)
In this research seminar, we will discuss current topics from Gender and Science Studies on physics. Participants are invited to present and discuss their research papers or projects as work-in-progress and to bring in individual research interests and topics. In the first unit we will decide jointly on themes and topics to be discussed.
Date: Mon, 4pm – 8pm
Begin: April 28
More here.
20107501 Seminar
AI, Data, Algorithm & Power
(Tanja Kubes)
There is hardly an area of our global, technological and social life in which artificial intelligence, data and algorithms do not play a role. When we talk about artificial intelligence, data and algorithms, we often focus on the ways in which these new technologies can support us. Think, for example, of how big data can help detect or even prevent certain diseases at an early stage. In the face of these great possibilities, we often forget that the technologies we are dealing with are all but neutral. They are always linked to relations of power and are loaded with sexism, racism and other forms of exclusion.
In order to conceptualise AI, data and algorithms in ways that are as non-discriminatory as possible, it is therefore crucial to consider the following questions: Who develops what (and for whom)? Who can make which decisions? Which aims are pursued in which developments and which are, in turn, excluded? In the seminar, we will look at current debates on AI, data, algorithm and power and discuss examples (facial recognition systems, social credit system, predictive policing, etc.) from an ethical, feminist, and intersectional perspective.
Note: The teaching format does not consist of lecture & tutorial as announced in the course catalogue, but is an MA seminar in block seminar format!
Dates:
21.07.2025: 10am – 3pm
28.07.2025: 10am – 3pm
29.07.2025: 10am – 3pm
06.08.2025: 10am – 3pm
07.08.2025: 10am – 3pm
More here.
20107501 Seminar
AI, Data, Algorithm & Power
(Tanja Kubes)
There is hardly an area of our global, technological and social life in which artificial intelligence, data and algorithms do not play a role. When we talk about artificial intelligence, data and algorithms, we often focus on the ways in which these new technologies can support us. Think, for example, of how big data can help detect or even prevent certain diseases at an early stage. In the face of these great possibilities, we often forget that the technologies we are dealing with are all but neutral. They are always linked to relations of power and are loaded with sexism, racism and other forms of exclusion.
In order to conceptualise AI, data and algorithms in ways that are as non-discriminatory as possible, it is therefore crucial to consider the following questions: Who develops what (and for whom)? Who can make which decisions? Which aims are pursued in which developments and which are, in turn, excluded? In the seminar, we will look at current debates on AI, data, algorithm and power and discuss examples (facial recognition systems, social credit system, predictive policing, etc.) from an ethical, feminist, and intersectional perspective.
Note: The teaching format does not consist of lecture & tutorial as announced in the course catalogue, but is an MA seminar in block seminar format!
Dates:
21.07.2025: 10am – 3pm
28.07.2025: 10am – 3pm
29.07.2025: 10am – 3pm
06.08.2025: 10am – 3pm
07.08.2025: 10am – 3pm
More here.
30344 Seminar
Gender und Diversity in den Techno-Sciences: Von Sexrobotern, Dating Apps und KI – Eine Podcast Werkstatt
(Tanja Kubes, Hendrik Berg, Natalia Sadovnik)
Wie wollen wir in einer Welt leben, die durch Wissenschaft und Technik geprägt ist? Inwiefern beeinflussen soziale Ungleichheiten die Praxis der Naturwissenschaften und technologische Entwicklungen? Welche Rolle können Wissenschaft und Technik aber auch spielen, um unsere Welt gerechter zu gestalten und sozialen Ungleichheiten entgegen zu wirken? Diesen Fragen widmen wir uns aus Gender- und Diversity-Perspektive im Rahmen einer Podcast-Werkstatt. Dabei werden wir nicht nur die Naturwissenschaften aus Gender- und Diversity-Perspektive analysieren, sondern auch aktuelle Themen unserer technisierten Welt aufgreifen (Sexroboter, Dating Apps, KI etc.) und deren feministisches Potenzial beleuchten. Dabei setzen wir selbst aktiv Technik ein und konzipieren eigene Podcasts. Das Seminar gliedert sich in zwei Teile. Im ersten Teil werden wir theoretische Grundlagen zu Gender und Diversity in den Technowissenschaften erarbeiten und diskutieren. Im zweiten Teil wird dieses Wissen auf selbstgewählte Themen der Techno-Sciences angewendet und in einen Podcast überführt. Das Seminar verfolgt damit gleich zwei Ziele: Die intensive Auseinandersetzung mit aktuellen Themen der Technowissenschaften sowie deren praxisnahe Transformation in ein neues technikbasiertes Medium der Wissenskommunikation (Podcast).
Das Seminar wird von einem Sensibilisierungs-, Awarenesstraining begleitet. Ziel des Trainings ist es, mit Hilfe von Inputs, Diskussionen und insbesondere durch gruppenorientierte und interaktive Methoden (z.B. angeleitete Kleingruppenarbeit und Übungen zum Perspektivwechsel) die Teilnehmer*innen für den Umgang mit geschlechtstypisierenden und zugeschriebenen sozialen Differenzen sowie für die Vielfalt gelebter Geschlechter zu sensibilisieren. In dem Sensibilisierungstraining steht die eigene biografische Reflexion mit einem Verständnis von Diversität, Intersektionalität und die Auseinandersetzung mit Privilegien im Vordergrund. Die Reflexion eigener Werte, Handlungsmodi und Kommunikationsstile ist Voraussetzung für die heute verlangten berufsrelevanten Kompetenzen und bildet die Grundlage für Moderations-, Diskussions-, Team- und Führungsfähigkeiten.
Termine:
25.04.2025: 10:00 - 16:00 Uhr
09.05.2025: 10:00 - 16:00 Uhr
23.05.2025: 10:00 - 16:00 Uhr
20.06.2025: 10:00 - 16:00 Uhr
04.07.2025: 10:00 - 16:00 Uhr
16.05.2025: 10:00 - 17:00 Uhr (Sensibilisierungstraining)
17.05.2025: 10:00 - 17:00 Uhr (Sensibilisierungstraining)
Mehr hier.