Summer Festival of Social Sciences 2025 with presentation of the Tim Spier Study Prizes
Shortly before the end of the summer semester's lecture period, the Social Sciences Seminar invited students to the Social Sciences Summer Party. Seminar spokesperson Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Bergem welcomed the numerous guests to the Adolf Reichwein Campus and paid tribute to the achievements made in the field of academic theses in the Department of Social Sciences. In his address, the topics ranged from the pleasing development of academic qualifications in the past year at the department, the importance of science for society and its role in overcoming a wide range of challenges, to current trends towards a new hostility towards science and the denial of science. In short contributions from the social sciences seminar, Steffen Pelzel reported on the tasks and ongoing activities of the Center for Political and Sociological Education at the Seminar for Social Sciences (POLIS), Hanna Butterer on a conference trip abroad this summer semester supported by seminar funds, Prof. Dr. Hans Graßl on the Helge-Pross-Prize, which will be awarded again next fall after three years, and on a more general perspective on the non-profit initiative ArbeiterKind.de, as well as Paul Maziejewski on current developments in the Student Council for Humanities and Social Sciences Teacher Training, Bachelor's and Master's degree courses (FSR GG LaBaMa).
The contribution by Oliver Hohenschue, a former graduate of Siegen Social Sciences who is now professionally responsible for statistics in the city of Iserlohn, set its own accent. By explaining which knowledge and skills acquired during his studies and beyond were particularly important for his career entry and continue to be important for his current job, Mr. Hohenschue was able to provide today's students and graduates with valuable insights into his experiences during the transition from studying to working life.
The main act at the summer party was the presentation of the Tim Spier Social Sciences study prizes. This year's prize for the best Bachelor's thesis went to Franziska Brandt, whose BA thesis dealt with the question "Who benefits from civic engagement? - A quantitative analysis of the moderating effect of education on the relationship between civic engagement and political participation. Rutu Gole's thesis from the international degree program "Roads to Democracies. Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on Politics and Culture", who dedicated her thesis to the topic Role of Public Space in the Deliberative Public Sphere: The Case of India. This year's members of the evaluation committee for the Tim Spier Study Prize were Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Bergem, Prof. Dr. Claus Wendt, Jessica Kuhlmann and Paul Maziejewski.
Dr. Marco Hoffmann on piano and Thomas Irnich on saxophone, who enchanted the audience with their musicality and bravura, set the tone for the summer social sciences event. With cool drinks and snacks from the barbecue, the summer party came to a successful conclusion later in the evening outdoors.
