2026 Social Sciences Summer Festival

Social scientists at the University of Siegen celebrated their summer festival on July 8, 2026. As part of a festive program, the best bachelor’s thesis and the two best master’s theses from the past year were awarded the Tim Spier Social Sciences Academic Prize.

Shortly before the end of the summer semester’s lecture period, the Social Sciences Department hosted its summer festival. The department chair, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Bergem, welcomed the large number of guests at LEO, the former bistro on the Adolf-Reichwein Campus, and praised the achievements made in the field of academic theses within the Department of Social Sciences. In his address, the political scientist highlighted, on the one hand, the importance of the insights of young researchers in particular for the development of academia, noting that they tend to bring disruptive innovations to the field, whereas researchers with more senior academic standing tend to recombine existing knowledge. He also pointed to the existing threats to academic freedom and the established working practices of universities and research institutions in light of current political developments and scenarios, as well as to specific attacks on individual scholars. In light of these current threats, he advocated for proactively strengthening the resilience of the academic system.

Brief reports provided insights into selected activities of the Seminar for Social Sciences. For example, Dr. Juliette Monvoisin reported on the financial support provided from the seminar’s funds for promoting early-career researchers for a planned anthology on the topic of (post-)migration and success—perspectives beyond deficit-oriented narratives. Max Barnewitz highlighted the significant involvement of members of the Department in the “Forum Siegen” lecture series, which brings issues of importance in politics, economics, and culture into the local community for discussion and debate. Steffen Pelzel reported on the responsibilities and ongoing activities of the Center for Political and Sociological Education at the Department of Social Sciences (POLIS), a collaboration among faculty and students in the social sciences teacher-training program dedicated to exchanging ideas on issues and topics related to social science education. 

The highlight of the summer festival was the presentation of the Tim Spier Social Sciences Academic Awards. This year’s prize for the best bachelor’s thesis went to Ramona Heidt, who examined the topic “Evangelical Masculinities*—Constructions of Masculinities* in Men’s* Groups of Evangelical Free Churches” in her bachelor’s thesis. The prize for the best master’s thesis was awarded to two recipients: First, the award went to Claudia Nargang for her thesis on the topic “Between External Attribution and Self-Conception: On the Plurality and Hybridity of Jewish Identity(ies) in the Context of Memory,” and second, the award was given to Tutku Zengin from the international degree program “Roads to Democracies. Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on Politics and Culture,” who dedicated her thesis to the topic “Reform UK, Populism, and the UK 2024 General Election: Identifying Ideological Trends in Social Media Communication.” This year’s members of the selection committee for the Tim Spier Academic Award were Prof. Dr. Philip Manow, Prof. Dr. Alexander Wohnig, Jessica Kuhlmann, and Marius Hüsch.

Lutz Wehnert on piano and Kai Bette on saxophone provided the musical accompaniment; as a duo with excellent chemistry, they masterfully punctuated the festivities. Well into the late evening, guests were able to wind down the summer festival on the LEO lawn with cool drinks and grilled snacks.