How we live, love, work, what we believe in, what we eat, where we travel, how we think, what we feel – all this is constantly changing. People who are 18 years old today only know the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from history books; they grow up with Instagram, TikTok, Twitch & Co., work on their laptops and discuss climate change, LGBTQ, Black Lives Matter or animal welfare as a matter of course. Yet, 50 years ago that was completely different!
Technology, politics, unexpected events – questions about what exactly triggers changes in the way people live together, how processes of social change emerge and develop, are core questions for both, Sociology and Political Science. It is precisely this questioning that the new Bachelor's programme "Social Sciences: Social and Political Change" at Europa-Universität Flensburg, places at the centre of its study programme.
Reasons for this include digitalisation, climate change, the weakening of democratic institutions in various countries, a growing social polarisation and increasing global social inequality, violent social and political conflicts, and the resulting migration movements.
These global challenges unfold in societies that continue to be politically and socially organised on a local and regional level. Therefore, they have difficulties in addressing these problems in a coordinated manner. This is precisely why expertise is needed to understand, moderate and shape this change. Our new degree programme trains these experts.