Academia & Activism

Opportunities and Tensions of a Strange Relationship

Albert Einstein was a theoretical physicist and campaigned for the civil rights of African Americans and called for resistance to war. Jane Goodall was a leading Biologist and Animal Rights Activist…

In the academic world, research is undertaken, theories are developed, topics are being discussed. In the Humanities as well as in the field of Theology and Religion, this is very often linked to analyzing existing conflicts – personal, political, public – developing alternative models.

At the same time, we see large movements of activists, who are addressing existing conflicts in society by active and direct engagement – see for example the challenges of climate change, migration, racism, or war. They, too, analyze and develop alternatives, yet aiming at direct change and transformation.

In which way are these different realms (dis-) connected? And why? Do “academic standards” require some necessary distance to the studied contexts? Are the laboratories of the universities detached from political realities? Are activists always biased? – Or, could academia and activism support each other – for example by providingare more research into complexities of societal conflicts?

Given the relevance, the urgency, and the massiveness of today’s crises, we invite a conversation here, about academi and activism. Are their worlds as separated as it sometimes seems? To start this process, we are interested in the personal motivation of people who embody academia and activism in diverse ways. What drives them? How are they defining the goals of their engagement? Do they negotiate the tension between academia and activism? – Or is this tension an artificial one from the start? And: What are their spiritual roots – if they have some – and, in how far is that an indispensable, integrative foundation that holds everything together?

April 04, 2024