15 Grad Ost (15 Degrees East)

07.03.2024 - If there is one phenomenon that has gained in importance as a result of globalisation processes, it is that of growing and increasingly influential multinational companies. In addition to well-known examples such as Apple, Alphabet and German companies such as Volkswagen, Daimler and Siemens, globally active and world-renowned corporate networks have also emerged in Asia in recent decades. In Korea in particular, development policy processes have given rise to the so-called chaebol, of which we are particularly familiar with Samsung and Hyundai.

On this episode, we talk about these Korean business conglomerates with Paul Wohlfahrt and Simon Gerster, who presents the development and role of the chaebols in Korea and reports on his doctoral thesis, which deals with the perception of Samsung and its image in Korea.

07.02.2024 - In this episode of 15 Grad Ost, David Fuchs and Jan Peter Kosok talk about a study by our chair on the impact of corona on student nightlife in Tübingen. They looked at the different phases of the Covid-19 pandemic and how it has affected the social and socio-spatial structure of students, what economic effects students have perceived and what goals public actors have pursued in this context.

Disclaimer: This episode was not recorded recently, but has been lost in our archive. However, its content has lost none of its relevance.

Publication as part of the project: Auswirkungen der COVID-19-Pandemie auf das studentische Nachtleben in Tübingen

19.01.2024 - What consequences does the war in Ukraine have for the country? We discussed this in detail at a conference with colleagues from the University of Lviv and exchanged views on a wide range of topics from mobility and the integration of the transport system to migration processes and the organisation of education. In this episode of 15 Degrees East, we speak to Iryna Hudzeliak, Professor of Economic and Social Geography at the University of Lviv, and Vasyl Myroniuk, Rector of the Institute of Management in Lviv.

We talk to them in particular about the challenges posed by internally displaced persons in Ukraine and how the state, society and communities deal with internally displaced persons. We also take a look at future prospects with regard to the war-related population displacement and demographic structures within the country.

12.07.2023 - The traditional Japanese understanding of space differs from the prevailing understanding in Europe. During a field trip to Japan, four of our students looked at the different traditional and western influences in Japan from the perspective of the different dimensions of space and how the concepts of space influence behaviour. In this podcast episode, the four present the basics of Japan's various traditional concepts of space and report on how they shape Japan through various examples and observations that become visible.

19.06.2023 - With the war in Ukraine, the Central Asian region returned to the international spotlight for the first time since the withdrawal from Afghanistan. On the one hand, with regard to the circumvention of sanctions against the Russian Federation via the Central Asian states, but especially for the European Union also as an opportunity to diversify its sources for energy imports.

In this episode of 15 Degrees East, four of our students give an insight into the geopolitical situation of Central Asia, which is sometimes referred to as a new Great Game in reference to the history of the region. They shed light on the three major players Russia, China and Western states, their influence and motives in economic as well as security policy terms. They also give a brief outlook on how the five Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan) can assert themselves in this political situation and how the situation could develop further.

27.04.2023 - How is it that German is suddenly spoken in a small village in the middle of Central Asia? In this episode, the four students Paul Wohlfahrt, Rachel Daxner, Bonifaz Burger, Ricarda Arens-Fischer talk about Rot-Front, which is often called the last German village in Central Asia. They talk about the (migration) history of the Mennonites, a religious minority that emigrated eastwards from the 1530s onwards, how they eventually ended up in Central Asia and how the communities there developed. The four also talk about the current development of the place and how the media portrayal of the place differs from their impressions. But also their personal experiences during their first research trip are not neglected

Publication of the students: Das Mennoniten-Dorf Rot-Front im Tschu-Tal - Entwicklung eines deutschen Kolonistendorfes in Kirgistan, seine mediale Darstellung und Kontakte in die Welt

Project overview: Migration and transnational linkages of German Mennonites from Central Asia

02.10.2020 - In this episode, Professor Kinder and Jan Peter Kosok talk about landscapes of memory in the Lithuanian town of Klaipėda. In his Master's thesis, Mr Kosok investigated which concrete places from the time before 1945 still play a role in the culture of remembrance in the former Memel today. The focus is on places that have a concrete connection to famous sons and daughters of the city, but also on places that are characterised by architecture that shapes the cityscape. Both scholars discuss how perceptions of these places of remembrance have changed from the German to the Soviet period of the city, and what this means for the memorial landscape of Klaipėdas in today's independent Lithuania.

27.08.2020 - In this episode, Prof. Dr. Sebastian Kinder talks to three students about the consequences of the first Corona semester at the University. It's about the impact of the special conditions on teaching, life and exams from the students' and teachers' point of view.

25.06.2020 - In this episode, Prof. Dr Sebastian Kinder and Mr David Fuchs talk about the material cultural heritage on the Curonian Spit. It is about the history of the cultural heritage and its significance today.

Project overview: Cultural heritage on the Curonian Spit