Chair of Comparative European Ethnology

Everyday Life

For us as a scientific discipline, culture is not an elitist topic. We all have culture and it surrounds us in our everyday life! We understand culture as the invisible rules how people live together, understand the world and find their way in it.

Social Processes

Therefore, we take a look at what people do, talk to them, and put our observations into context: How are major social issues and processes reflected in small, individual daily lives? How do people react to the changes? Where's friction evolving?

Europe In The World

Our research often focuses on global transformations, but usually takes people in Europe as its starting point.

Past and Present

We are not only interested in current phenomena. We also ask about past developments, because only then can we understand how yesterday could become today.

Compare Cultures?!

The name of our course programme in Regensburg does not mean that we compare compare cultures or countries with each other. In our research, we always keep in mind that things could also be completely different. Therefore we think in social, historical and spatial references: Is it only parts of a society that have certain everyday lives? How have themes developed historically? Are there regional differences?

Comparative European Ethnology? Cultural/Historical Anthropology

Comparative European Ethnology as a course of studies is also taught at other universities as European Ethnology, Empirical Cultural Studies or Cultural Anthropology. Modern research relates to both historical and contemporary topics and perspectives. The analysis focuses on the social and cultural life of broad sectors of the population in a problem-oriented way. As such, the emphasis is increasingly placed on questions of cultural contact, the comparison of cultures and cultural exchange. As a cultural science theoretically and methodically oriented toward comparative studies of culture across time and space, Comparative European Ethnology is the ideal combination for other courses of studies.

As a broad-based cultural science, the subject covers, inter alia, region-specific customs and festivities in a globalised world, religious life in a secularised society, narratives as indicators of cultural processes and culture-specific solutions for basic needs such as eating and drinking, clothing and housing. The range of courses on offer is correspondingly diverse and incorporates course-related research projects, publications, exhibitions and excursions.

Courses of Study

Comparative European Ethnology can be studied as a main or subsidiary subject within the following courses:

Bachelor of Arts
Masters
Masters in “East European Studies” (Elite Course of Studies)
Teacher Training Certificate
PhD

In addition, Comparative European Ethnology can also be pursued as part of various Diploma and other modular courses.

Employment Areas

Comparative European Ethnology as a course of study leads to a qualification that is superbly suited to a range of prospective areas of employment. Our graduates find employment above all in the following:

Research and teaching
Press, radio and television
Museums and exhibitions
Libraries and archives
Cultural sector administration, management and communications
Leisure and tourist industries
Trend and consumer research

Further information

We would be pleased to answer any questions you may have. Further information can also be acquired through the following:

An introductory event (see notices and website)

Study guidance during the relevant teacher’s weekly office hour and upon agreement by telephone: +49941 / 943-3722

Contact with the student representatives: +49941 / 943-3495

Detailed course information on the department’s website and by way of a hard copy displayed on the notice board next to the secretary’s office. The department is located in the PT (Philosophie Theologie) building, ground floor, near the Otto-Hahn-Straße bus stop, as indicated in the site-plan.