Man or machine: does the AI era still need linguistics and cultural studies?
Dear LiDAS students and fellow students,
We would like to invite you to a joint half-day LiDAS workshop in the summer semester.
With this workshop, we would like to create a framework in which we can discuss current topics in our subject on the one hand, and questions about the organization of the course on the other.
The workshop is therefore divided into three parts.
- Moot Court: The first part ties in with a current social debate. The rapid development of generative AI poses fundamental questions for our discipline: are we the last witnesses of an analog sovereignty of interpretation, do we still need expertise in linguistics and cultural studies in view of highly efficient AI models? Or is the in-depth analysis of language and culture more relevant today than ever before? We want to bring this discourse to life in a dynamic format rather than just in theory: a moot court is a simulated court hearing in which the power of the better argument and rhetorical precision are at stake. We will form two teams of students who will first prepare internally and then argue their positions "pro" and "con". A student jury will decide in a summary which group was able to present its position more convincingly and refute the arguments of the opposing position.
- LiDAS study: In the second part, we would like to talk to you about what is important to you about studying LiDAS, what motivates you and what expectations you associate with LiDAS, but also about where things get stuck in your studies, where you see problems or would like to see changes.
- Convivial conclusion: Finally, we would like to continue the academic discourse in a relaxed atmosphere. We cordially invite you to a get-together - depending on the weather, we will have a barbecue together or end the evening in the Gartenhaus restaurant.
We are committed to ensuring that you are released from other event obligations on this day in order to take part in this workshop. So that we can plan better, please register by 03.06.2026 by sending an email to eva.kampschulte@uni-siegen.de.
We will also send you further details via the Moodle course "Linguistik@Moodle" - if you have not already done so, please register there as soon as possible.
We look forward to spending the afternoon with you and send our best regards on behalf of the teaching team:
Yours, Britta Thörle and Friedemann Vogel
PS: If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us in advance at any time.
