40 Years of the Wednesday Academy—the program is as appealing as ever

The Wednesday Academy in Siegen and Olpe is turning 40. In the context of a human lifetime, these are literally the “best” years. That is why the Wednesday Academy is celebrating this milestone birthday as part of the ceremonial opening of the semester on November 11, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. in the auditorium of the Lӱz Cultural Center in Siegen. The theme is “The University as a Place of Lifelong Learning.” Educational scientist Prof. Dr. Christiane Hof (Goethe University Frankfurt) has been invited as the keynote speaker. Perspectives on lifelong learning will then be discussed during a panel discussion. After the event, participants can delve deeper into the topics and perspectives during a get-together featuring light refreshments and drinks. Online registration for the get-together is required: eveeno.com/362766356 

The Wednesday Academy in Siegen and Olpe and the Hanse Academy in Attendorn will begin their winter semesters one week after the official opening ceremony, on November 17 and 18, respectively. In Siegen, there are twelve seminars to choose from; in Olpe, there are three; and in Attendorn, two. The events are open to participants at all three locations. A fee is required only once. 

The events in Siegen and Olpe take place on Wednesdays, while those in Attendorn are held on Tuesdays. There are no prerequisites for admission. Curiosity and a willingness to communicate are a good foundation for participation. Participants greatly appreciate the opportunity to gain knowledge and engage in discussion as part of a community, as well as joint visits to the Studentenwerk cafeteria across from the seminar rooms on Siegen’s Obergraben.

The range of topics in the winter semester is as diverse as ever. Sociologist Prof. Dr. Stefan Kutzner continues his seminar series on new political movements in Siegen with the topic “Right-wing populism.” He writes: “In the course for the 2026/2027 winter semester, we will examine the AfD as a right-wing populist party. The focus will be on sociological and political science studies that attempt to explain the phenomenon of rising right-wing populism….”

Historian Prof. Dr. Rainer Elkar will address the topic “Craftsmanship: A European Cultural History.” The focus is on “skilled hands”: “Manual labor is a fundamental human skill. The hand and the brain perfect one another; it is even possible that manual dexterity preceded the brain’s cognitive abilities. From the earliest times, European culture has been, to a significant extent, the achievement of skilled hands.”

Prof. Theodora Hantos turns her attention to “India and the Greeks.” On the topic: “For a long time, it seemed as though Alexander the Great’s adventurous campaign had left no lasting traces in India. Inscriptions, numismatic, archaeological, and even literary evidence—which we will interpret together—prove the opposite: Greek settlers and merchants founded the Greco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek empires.”

Physics is also back on the program with Prof. Dr. Alexander Lenz. The topic is: “Theoretical Minimum: Special Theory of Relativity and Classical Field Theory.”

Of particular note is a joint seminar on philosophy and computer science led by Prof. Dr. Michael Bongardt and Dr. Christian Weber on the topic: “Artificial Intelligence: Between Technology and Philosophy.”

In Olpe, Prof. Bongardt is offering a philosophy seminar titled: “‘Language is the house of being’ (Heidegger): On the Value of Speech for Life.” The topic presented by musicologist Dr. Axel Diller is: “‘Singing is the true mother tongue of all people…’—Singing in Western Music from the Middle Ages to the Present.” Literary scholar Dr. Bernd Schulte invites participants to a seminar titled “Beyond the Eurocentric Perspective: New Postcolonial Literature from India, the Caribbean, and Africa.”

At the Hanseakademie, participants can look forward to a musicology and a history-related topic this semester. Dr. Axel Diller poses the question “…is it all just stolen?”—classical music in pop, rock, jazz, and film scores. Prof. Dr. Rainer Elkar will devote his seminar to the topic “Poverty and Inequality—A Cultural History from Below.”

On January 14, 2027, at 3:30 p.m., the traditional museum tour organized by the Wednesday Academy will take participants to the Siegerland Museum on Siegen’s Schlossberg and to the exhibition series *Mensch ӏ Rubens*. Registration at:mittwochsakademie@uni-siegen.de 

Text: Katja Knoche, House of Science