News

The Gerda Henkel Foundation is bolstering the expansion of Humanitarian Studies in Germany with a grant of one million euros. Among the beneficiaries is the University of Bayreuth, under the leadership of Prof. Joël Glasman, a member of the UBT Peace and Conflict Research Network.

Starting this year, the University of Bayreuth will collaborate with Ruhr University Bochum (Prof. Dr. Dennis Dijkzeul), Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg (PD Dr. Kristina Roepstorff), and the Centre for Humanitarian Action (CHA) in Berlin to form the "Humanitarian Studies Research Network".

Within this framework, Prof. Glasman will conduct a sub-project at the Institute of African Studies (IAS) focusing on the phenomenon of "indifference." His research is based on the thesis that social indifference toward the suffering of others is not an inherent human condition, but rather a historical construct — the result of a long-term erosion of empathy.

Read also the official press release from the University of Bayreuth.