Academy and Studying in Germany

The shortage of funding available to German universities has reduced the variety of courses on offer, often at the expense of the more marginal subjects – those with few professors and students. A study commissioned by the Minister for Innovation, Science, Re-search and Technology of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia has now shown just how important these subjects are for Germany as a land of science and research.

Bonn University maintains a department at the Institute for Oriental and Asian Studies that is with-out equal anywhere in Germany. It is the department of Mongolian and Tibetan Studies, run by two professors. Last year, thanks to its excellent Mongolian contacts, the department was able to beat a number of foreign institutes and is now working with Mongolian scientists in a research cooperation project which, with the participation of the Gerda Henkel Foundation, is undertaking archaeological excavations in the Central Asian country.

Just like everywhere else in Germany, there are also numerous small degree courses on offer in North Rhine-Westphalia. Known as “orchid subjects” in German, these exotic courses – which in terms of student numbers lag far behind more mainstream subjects such as economics and law – produce outstanding research results and are not infrequently world leaders in their fields. For example, the German Research Foundation (DFG) funds a special research unit at Cologne Uni-versity’s Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, while a “Religion and Politics” cluster was approved at the University of Münster within the framework of the Excellence Initiative.

“Important for society’s view of the world”

“It is wrong that these subjects are not more prominent”, affirms Moritz Ballensiefen, press officer at the Ministry of Innovation, Science, Research and Technology of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). In 2007, NRW Education Minister Andreas Pinkwart commissioned a study of subjects relating to the “languages and cultures of selected epochs and regions”. The study was supposed to ascertain the “state of health” of more peripheral subjects and where there may be potential. It is quite obvious why this was done in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s largest state – the region has a particularly high density of universities, without much distance between them. What is more, the universities in NRW are proud of their long and great tradition, often ser-ving the classical spectrum of subjects.

“In the opinion of the expert group, the subjects to be evaluated are without exception extremely important for the way our society views the world within the framework of its own culture, and as regards its knowledge and understanding of foreign cultures”, concludes the study. “As such, these subjects make an indispensable contribution to society.” The study goes on to say that only an unadulterated and authentic knowledge of one’s own culture and of foreign cultures allows an appropriate attitude towards fundamental values and concepts within one’s own horizon: “In addi-tion, such knowledge allows the guiding principles of more distant cultures to be perceived, which broadens this horizon and opens one’s mind to new perspectives. At the same time, a thorough study and deep knowledge of the relevant languages and traditions forms the basis for compara-tive analyses of current constellations and processes on a global scale.”

Knowledge landscape of the exotic subjects

“We have a special responsibility”, stresses also Professor Hans-Joachim Gehrke, President of the German Archaeological Institute in Berlin. “We are a civilized nation with knowledge of foreign countries, and it must be possible to study such things in Germany.” Gehrke chairs the commis-sion of experts which drew up the evaluation report. He believes that the “orchid subjects” in Germany are under threat. “When money is tight, universities invest in measures which will raise their profile. Subjects which are rarely in the limelight sometimes get shut down as a result.”

Gehrke is sure of one thing, however: “The small subjects also produce economic benefits”. In certain countries and for certain types of discussion, people do not want to use interpreters but prefer to have staff with a command of the language in question. And in any case, such subjects are simply necessary in a globalized world.

The Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany (KMK), the Association of Universities and other Higher Education Institutions in Germany (HRK) and the German Council of Science and Humanities (WR) are also reacting to the problem. Together, they are in the process of mapping all small subjects in Germany in an attempt to obtain an overview. This is by no means easy, as the individual disciplines are rarely comparable, and each university has its own area of specialization.

A lack of prospects for the next generation

If the smaller subjects are to survive, the most important thing is to appoint new professors. “In subjects in which there is only one professor, appointing the wrong one can have fatal conse-quences”, emphasizes Gehrke, “as this can destroy an entire subject.” Absolute priority must therefore be given to ensuring high-quality appointments. Other recommendations are to intro-duce programmes to promote up-and-coming young academics and to create university net-works. The new modular structure of the curricula is helpful in this context, yet Gehrke warns: “One must never forget the importance of one’s own discipline; it must be preserved and repre-sented externally.”

“It is not a question of efficiency”, points out NRW ministry spokesperson Ballensiefen. “It is about recognizing the important contribution these subjects make to our society.”