RESEARCH & SCIENCE
US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONMost Germans would vote for Obama
Exactly one week before the final decision is reached in the US presidential election, the relative chances of success of Barack Obama and his Republication opponent, Mitt Romney, were discussed in the largest lecture hall on the campus of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU). Germany would clearly vote for Obama – but what about the Americans?
HISTORYOf resources, conflicts, and the view of Europe
3,500 participants, 400 speakers, 99 dedicated helpers on site and two years' preparation time: the 49th German Historikertag (German Historians Conference) at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) turned out to be a major event. For four days, one of the largest European conferences for humanities scholars focused on the topic of "Resources – Conflicts" and much more.
IMAGINES IIIAncient mythology conquers modern culture
Dr. Irene Berti has no doubts: "The echoes of antiquity are everywhere as modern culture has stolen a lot from it. The past is still present." The scholars of the IMAGINES research network made this their focus at the "Magic and the Supernatural from the Ancient World" conference at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), where the subjects included sorceresses and zombies, mythical creatures and superheroes.
CLIMATEFinnish trees tell the story of 2,000 years of climate history
Over the past 2,000 years, the climate in northern Europe has cooled more than previously assumed. This is the conclusion drawn by an international group of researchers following the examination of the growth rings of fossilized pines from Finnish Lapland. Scientists from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) also took part in this major project, most notably the climate geographer Professor Dr. Jan Esper.
EURO CRISISDon’t panic, we’re still on course
The euro crisis is on everyone's lips and one disaster has hardly had to time to dissipate before the next arrives. Germany is putting up billions, Greece is still sinking despite bailout fund, Spain and Italy are teetering on the edge of the abyss, the financial markets are fluctuating between nervousness and hysteria. Mainz economist Professor Dr. Philipp Harms tries to remain objective in view of the situation.
MIGRATION SURVEYNo gap between foreigners and Germans
It is no longer possible to clearly differentiate between foreigners and immigrants on the one hand and Germans on the other. These are the preliminary findings of the "Survey of Migration in Mainz" undertaken by the Institute of Geography and the Center for Intercultural Studies (ZIS) at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), in which hundreds of students participated.
BURKINA FASO AND GHANAArchiving West African settlement history
Anthropologists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and Goethe University Frankfurt have documented an extensive record of the settlement history of more than 200 villages in Burkina Faso and Ghana that had previously only been handed down in oral form. The researchers' findings have been presented to the National Archives of Burkina Faso where they represent an important contribution to the long-term preservation of this country's intangible cultural heritage.
SPONGESOn the trail of an ancient survivor
Sponges have a lot to relate: And Mainz molecular biologist Professor Dr. Werner E. G. Müller has been showing the world exactly what they have to tell us over the past few decades. In an interview he talks about this long underestimated organism, its significance to research, and its potential to help people in so many different ways.
SOCCER AND FANSMainz 05 reinvents itself as a carnival club
What form does regional identity take in an increasingly globalized world? This was the subject of the inaugural lecture of cultural anthropologist Dr. Christina Niem. Her talk was entitled "Regional representation or competing regional identities? Two Rhineland-Palatinate Bundesliga soccer teams in comparison", and she used it to provide an analysis of 1. FSV Mainz 05, 1. FC Kaiserslautern, and their fan clubs.
HANDBOOKA state with big differences
The first handbook of the history of Rhineland-Palatinate is now available. There has not been a book like this before and the 40 authors who worked on it have charted new territory. Co-publishers Professor Dr. Michael Kißener, Professor for Contemporary History at Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz (JGU), and Dr. Pia Nordblom, coordinator of the handbook project at JGU, talk about the challenges they faced in the momentous project.