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UZH News

Archive Arts and Social Sciences 2019

41 article
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Article list Arts and Social Sciences

  • New National Center of Competence in Research at UZH

    The Power of Language

    A new National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) will be based at the University of Zurich. Entitled “Evolving Language”, it will investigate the origins and future of language. UZH linguist Balthasar Bickel will serve as co-director of the research network alongside Anne-Lise Giraud from the University of Geneva. The national network includes numerous other universities and research institutes within Switzerland.
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  • Wealth and Morality

    Fast Money

    They personify the dream of wealth and are sometimes morally questionable: Bankers fascinate authors and filmmakers alike. English literature scholar Barbara Straumann researches how the world of finance is depicted in literature and film.
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  • Education Evaluation

    Learning for Life

    Does our academic performance have an effect on our personal development? A new study by UZH education evaluation specialists has investigated this interesting question.
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  • Literary Studies

    Unruly Insects

    In his research on insects in literature, German literature scholar Davide Giuriato has been closely examining the fly – an insect whose extraordinary literary career has seen it progress from villain to idol.
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  • Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy

    A Roller Coaster Ride

    With hormonal swings and changes in our social situation, life after forty presents distinct challenges. Psychologists Hannah Süss and Jasmine Willi examine the best ways of managing this phase of our life.
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  • Showing off wealth

    Bearskin and Bling

    From the early medieval Lombards to Bill Gates: People showcasing their wealth and power is nothing new. Medieval art historian Carola Jäggi discusses wealthy benefactors, swanky watches and super-rich Russians.
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  • Neuropsychology

    Bad Boys, Bad Girls

    Severe emotional disturbances have until now mainly been associated with violent young men. But girls can also display anti-social behavior. Studies show that changes in the brain can play a role.
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  • University History

    Deep-Rooted Resentment

    In her doctoral thesis, Silvia Bolliger examined the University of Zurich's stance towards foreign students during the interwar period (1919-1939). The historian and former UZH archivist’s work shines a light on “discreet anti-Semitism”.
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  • Romance Languages

    A Kaleidoscope of Romance Languages

    Anyone embarking recently on a study of Romance languages at UZH has been immersed in seven linguistic traditions at once – all thanks to a blended learning approach integrating videos in different Romance languages. The innovative teaching and learning approach is a lighthouse project.
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  • The New Silk Road

    A Once-in-a-Lifetime Project for the Middle Kingdom

    The much-discussed new Silk Road is the topic of the current lecture series of the Geographic Ethnographic Society of Zurich (GEGZ). Sociologist Patrick Ziltener, one of the speakers, sees much potential here for collaboration with Switzerland.
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  • Mummy Research

    Analyzing Entrails

    Frank Rühli is an evolutionary medicine expert who is conducting pioneering research on mummified entrails. He recently became the first person to study the Egyptian Museum’s collection of canopic jars from an interdisciplinary perspective.
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  • PRIMA Grantees

    Springboard to Success

    The Swiss National Science Foundation’s PRIMA grants support outstanding female researchers on their way to obtaining professorships. Three recipients of the grant have chosen UZH as the host institution for their research projects.
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  • 30 Years Film Studies

    Camera rolling... and Action!

    It took a while for film studies to be offered at UZH. When it finally happened in 1989, the subject took off and has been going from success to success ever since.
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  • Communication and Media Research

    Pinocchio online

    The internet and social media have become a battleground for the war between facts and fake news. How do we separate fact from fiction? And to what extent should operators of social media platforms and search engines be held responsible?
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  • Teaching Fund

    Telling Stories through Maps

    In the colloquium “Storytelling with Maps”, students learn to take a critical approach in dealing with the sources of maps. The innovative course is one of the projects supported by the Teaching Fund of UZH.
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  • Artificial Intelligence

    Cuddling a Robot Seal

    Humans and machines have a long history of co-existence, but artificial intelligence (AI) threatens to disrupt this delicate balance. Will machines become more intelligent than we are? Will they ultimately take over and enslave us?
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  • Teaching Fund

    Status Update from Kriemhild

    The Teaching Fund project “Siegfried goes YouTube – Alte Mären in neuen Medien” aims to utilize modern media such as video and podcasts in literary analyses. In the first of its four semesters, the project focused on the Nibelungenlied.
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  • Teaching Fund

    A Deeper Understanding of Switzerland

    The new course “Switzerland for Incomings” is aimed exclusively at exchange students. It uses innovative teaching methods to help students gain an anthropological understanding of Swiss society and culture.
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  • History of Art

    How Heidi Was Reinvented in Japan

    An untouched mountain paradise, fresh air, the freedom of life on the alp. The Heidi anime series from 1974 shaped the Japanese image of Switzerland for decades. And the Japanese Heidi also claimed a space in children’s hearts across Europe. Now, Heidi in Japan is the subject of a symposium at UZH and an exhibition at the Swiss National Museum. Masterminding the two events is art historian Hans Bjarne Thomsen.
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  • UZH International Summer Schools

    Learning and Socializing

    This summer for the second time, international summer schools for Bachelor’s and Master’s students from around the world are being held at UZH. 59 students from abroad have joined 23 UZH students to explore how Switzerland became one of the richest countries in the world, why it developed into an international financial hub, and what skills it takes to successfully interact with members of different cultures.
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  • Media change

    “Selling our data soul”

    Algorithms accompany our every click on the internet. Facebook and Google use them to analyze our online behavior. Communications expert Michael Latzer researches what algorithms do and how they shape our view of the world.
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  • Swiss Congress of Historical Sciences

    Rich people are mostly born rich

    The fifth Swiss Congress of Historical Sciences will take place at UZH from 5 to 7 June. The theme of the congress is wealth. In this interview, medieval historian Simon Teuscher discusses the meaning of wealth and how ideas about it have changed.
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  • International Congress for 200th Anniversary of Gottfried Keller’s Birth

    A Wonderful Legacy

    Gottfried Keller is the most famous Zurich writer of the 19th century. He had close links with UZH and bequeathed the university his complete estate and archive, laying the foundations for modern-day Keller research. A major international congress is now being held on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Keller’s birth. From 23 to 25 May, congress attendees and speakers will examine Keller’s literary heritage.
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  • Moral Standards

    "Many people feel anxious and disconcerted"

    With her commitment to the environment, 16-year-old Swede Greta Thunberg has provoked a debate on values among young people all over the world. How do values arise, and how do they change? An interview with social ethics expert Monika Wilhelm and economist Martin Kindschi.
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  • Violence Prevention

    "Prevention works, but only long-term"

    Every third teenager is subject to violence from peers. How can we identify risk factors at an early stage and intervene in time? A UZH study investigated these questions, evaluating data from the Zurich long-term study “z-proso”.
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  • Sociology

    Fear of the Foreign

    Children are mostly open and tolerant towards foreigners but, in contrast to adults, their attitudes are easier to change. Much depends on their friends.
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  • Psychology

    A Steeled Mind

    Many former Verdingkinder suffered a traumatic childhood, but some have managed to cope with the potentially damaging experience. Psychologist Myriam Thoma wanted to know how.
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  • New Center of Competence

    Evolution

    How do animals communicate? How do humans acquire language? When humanities scholars and natural scientists join forces, groundbreaking answers to those questions become possible. The new Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution at UZH aims to deliver them.
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  • Ethnographic Museum UZH

    Exhibition on Wheels: Mobile Dairy Museum Tours Uganda

    A museum on wheels has recently started touring Uganda. The mobile museum is visiting remote towns and villages to give an insight into Swiss and Ugandan dairy practices. This traveling exhibition was co-created by the Ethnographic Museum at UZH. Here we take a closer look.
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  • Linguistics

    How Big Data Is Transforming Linguistics

    The University of Zurich is investing in research into human languages. In the next few years a great deal of equipment will be bought and labs built as part of the LiRI project. With the help of IT specialists, it will be possible to process and analyze large volumes of data.
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  • Leadership

    “I don’t believe in rigid hierarchies”

    Do women lead differently? How do they view employee leadership and what is their approach to management? Italian studies expert Tatiana Crivelli Speciale and natural scientist Nicole Joller each have different views on this topic – including on gender quotas.
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  • Scandinavian Studies

    From Edda to Pippi Longstocking

    On Friday the Universities of Zurich and Basel celebrated their joint professorial chair for Nordic studies. Invited guests included the Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish ambassadors.
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  • Study of the Ancient World

    Modern Lessons from the Ancient World

    A brilliant lecture by Egyptologist Jan Assmann opened the series of Ringvorlesungen on the theme of Migration in Antiquity. The event also marked the opening of the ZAZH – Zurich Center for the Study of the Ancient World.
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  • Film Studies

    Digital Tools for Analog Colors

    Film studies has been remarkably indifferent when it comes to exploring the topic of color. The research project FilmColors wants to change this – and in doing so open up a range of new tools for film studies scholars.
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  • 200 Years of Gottfried Keller

    “He never lost his spark”

    A public lecture series at UZH investigates the many faces of poet, writer, politician and painter Gottfried Keller, who was born 200 years ago. Notable Keller expert Ursula Amrein discusses why his work has remained meaningful to this day and what he had in common with railway pioneer Alfred Escher, who was a contemporary of Keller.
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  • Global History

    Glimpses of East Asia

    UZH’s chair for global history has introduced a podcast series in cooperation with partners from across Europe. It provides listeners with fascinating insights into the history and historiography of East Asia, from the 16th century to the present.
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  • Autobiographies

    Web of Stories

    There are many different ways of looking back on your life. One example is writing an autobiography. The website meet-my-life.net guides people wishing to put the story of their lives into words. Earlier this week, the best autobiographies were awarded prizes at an event held in UZH’s main lecture hall.
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  • My Alma Mater

    Across Borders

    Swiss diplomat Christine Schraner Burgener has been the United Nations Special Envoy on Myanmar since last spring. A law degree from the University of Zurich formed the basis for her exceptional career.
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  • Political Science

    Coming Apart at the Seams

    Political scientist Stefanie Walter’s area of research is political current affairs. But she doesn’t just watch from the sidelines, she also gets involved in the debate – especially about the worrying future of Europe.
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  • Historic Buildings

    History Seen through Farmhouses and Village Churches

    A research team from UZH is investigating the historically significant buildings of the rural district of Dielsdorf near Zurich. The results will be published in a volume of the book series "Die Kunstdenkmaler der Schweiz".
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  • Arabic Studies

    Alchemical Bestseller

    Didactic poetry combining alchemy and religion: The 12th-century Moroccan manuscript “Splinters of Gold” took the Arabic world by storm. But when Regula Forster was researching its author, she made a surprising discovery.
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