Engaging Complexity

In a world that is becoming ever faster and more interconnected, we often look for simple answers to complex questions. How can we as a society deal with this complexity? How do we learn to live with ambiguity, to deal with uncertainties and risks? The Humanities Hub "Engaging Complexity" is dedicated to these questions. It investigates how we can think, learn, research – and shape complexity.

In the Hub, the researchers go far beyond examining the concept of complexity, its history and meaning. They also explore its development in various areas of application. For example, what role does complexity play with regard to current developments in artificial intelligence?

One focus of the hub thereby is on the narratives of increasing and reducing complexity. In narratives and discussions, complexity is often portrayed as a driver of progress or as the cause of crises. It can be viewed both positively and negatively. Institutions sometimes even call for more and less complexity at the same time. The term complexity is also often used to signal modernity. The researchers of the Humanities Hub take a critical look at these narratives, utopias and dystopias.

The basic assumption is that we must learn to deal with and shape complexity as a society in order to make a resilient start to the future. The team of the Humanities Hub is therefore also investigating and pursuing ways to strengthen the university as a place of knowledge creation capable of dealing with complexity.

Collaboration

The Humanities Hub "Engaging Complexity" comprises research projects from five different faculties: Philology, History, East Asian Studies, Philology, Education and Law.

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