Cultural Studies

The focus of the program is the scientific-theoretical examination of "culture" in the broadest sense. How do cultures develop and what significance does culture have for and in a society? Depending on the orientation, they also include the cultural aspects of ethnology and linguistics. Cultures, their historical development as well as individual cultural achievements and techniques are examined and compared with each other. However, students not only deal theoretically with cultural studies content, but also deal with the preservation or reconstruction of architecture and archaeological finds in monument conservation or conservation and restoration sciences. Courses in cultural management and museology prepare students for work in museums and other cultural institutions. Aspects such as cultural financing, controlling, marketing, management and logistics or the application-related orientation about possible occupational fields are also dealt with there. Some of these are international courses of study.

Ethnologists also conduct empirical field research and occasionally participate in the lives of the groups they study. This gives them deep insights. Prospective students are expected to be very open to direct contact with (foreign) people and to have a high level of interest in social developments.

Depending on the orientation, different skills are important for academic success. Strong language skills and intercultural competence are essential foundations for all of these courses.

Bachelor's degree programs are usually offered at universities and rarely at technical colleges. They can have names such as empirical cultural studies, social and cultural anthropology, ethnology, folklore/European ethnology, cultural history, German-French studies/Études Franco-Allemandes, cultural management, museology, social and cultural anthropology.

All cultural studies courses have in common courses on cultural theory and history. In addition, depending on the university, modules impart knowledge from a wide range of selectable disciplines. The range of events includes the examination of questions of scientific methodology and interdisciplinarity, economics and law as well as artistic and aesthetic, and sometimes also cultural and art practical or technical course content, as well as introductions to data processing and language courses.

Cultural scientists primarily perform communicative and integrative tasks in the cultural sector. As employees or freelancers, they provide advice, for example in politics, organize exhibitions, city festivals, theater or film festivals and more on behalf of private or public cultural organizers. They also work as museum educators and museologists or as journalists for the press, radio and television. Employment opportunities can also be found in the areas of cultural management, tourism, advertising, marketing, public relations, media, trade, science and research as well as in children's, youth and senior citizen work.

In addition to universities, research institutions and museums, graduates of anthropological courses have employment opportunities in areas in which intercultural skills and culturally oriented regional knowledge are required. This includes development cooperation, employment in international organizations and in areas that deal with migration.