Erasmus Prize for the Liberal Arts and Sciences

Award Ceremony and UCF Lecture 2025

On July 9, we had the honor of welcoming Professor Axel Honneth – renowned social philosopher and leading figure of contemporary Critical Theory – to give this year’s UCF Lecture. His talk, Vom Gegenstand her denken. Interdisziplinarität als Praxis und als Ideologie, offered profound insights and inspired thoughtful discussion. We thank Professor Honneth for his engaging and thought-provoking contribution.

In 2025, UCF awarded the Erasmus Prize for the Liberal Arts and Sciences for the 13th time. This year’s recipients are Nicolas Blaue and Prof. Dr. Axel Bohmann, in recognition of their outstanding achievements. For more details, please refer to the press release. Furthermore, Professor Bohmann was interviewed by the Badische Zeitung.

We extend our sincere thanks to all guests, friends, and supporters – especially to Sparkasse Freiburg–Nördlicher Breisgau for their continued and generous support.

Further impressions from the Meckelhalle

Award Ceremony and UCF Lecture 2024

On 11 July 2024, we were honored that Heike Schmoll, responsible for school and university topics and editor for the “Bildungswelten” page for the F.A.Z., gave her keynote speech: “Politik und Wissenschaft am Beispiel der Corona-Pandemie”. We thank her for an inspiring lecture.

In 2024, UCF awarded the Erasmus Prize for the Liberal Arts and Sciences for the 12th time. This year, the Erasmus Prize was awarded to Solveig Degen and to Dr. Stefan Conrad, both from the University of Freiburg. Please see the press release for further information.

UCF thanks all guests, friends, and supporters, and especially the Sparkasse Freiburg-Nördlicher Breisgau for their tremendous support.

Further impressions from the Meckelhalle:

Theresia Bauer, Baden-Württemberg’s Minister for Science, Research and the Arts from 2011 to 2022, gave the UCF lecture 2023. Her keynote speech was „Über die transformative Kraft von Wissenschaft“.

The Erasmus Prize for the Liberal Arts and Sciences 2023 was awarded to Sophia Hiss and to Dr. Lisa Reuter. Sophia Hiss submitted her Bachelor’s thesis “Neue Perspektiven auf den Bürgerkrieg in Syrien: Umwelt, Klimawandel und die Entstehung des Konflikts“ to Dr. Simon Fuchs from the Oriental Seminar at the University of Freiburg. In her work, she investigates what influence climate change and its impacts had on the outbreak of civil war in Syria. She examines in particular the role that the droughts and crop failures of 2006 and 2010 played in the uprisings in 2011. Hiss applies, among other things, Marwa Daoudy’s concept of Human-Environmental-Climate Security (HECS) in conjunction with the results of her own qualitative interviews. In this way, she presents a differentiated and interdisciplinary picture of the ecological, political, economic, societal, and social contexts in which environmental changes and extreme weather unfolded on the eve of the uprisings.

Dr. Lisa Reuter submitted her cumulative doctoral thesis “Bridging Over the Troubled Waters of Quantitative and Qualitative Methods: Exploring Cognitive-Affective Maps in Empirical Research” to Prof. Dr. Andrea Kiesel from the Institute of Psychology and the University of Freiburg Cluster of Excellence “Living, Adaptive and Energy-autonomous Materials Systems” (livMatS). Dr. Lisa Reuter investigates the possibilities and limits of “Cognitive Affective Maps” (CAMs), a method developed by Paul Thagard. Reuter applies CAMs to three different case studies and analyzes the results. In her work, she uses software that allows an individual to easily visualize experiences and impressions on a given topic – thereby making use of larger and standardized CAM data sets possible. With the aid of CAMs, Reuter examines in one study whether the cognitive-affective perceptions of the corona pandemic were altered by taking regular walks.

Please see the press release for further information.

Author Carolin Emcke gave the UCF Lecture 2022. She talked about “Zeugenschaft aus Kriegen – Schwellen, Hindernisse, Tabus”.

2022 the Erasmus Prize for the Liberal Arts and Sciences was awarded for the 10th time. Ines Schröder submitted her admission thesis in the high school teaching degree program in philosophy/ethics entitled “Trust in the Black Box. An Investigation of the Problem Horizon of the Black Box in the Context of the Debate on Trust in Artificial Intelligence.”  to Prof. Dr. Oliver Müller. In her work, Ines Schröder is devoted to the trustworthiness of artificial intelligence (AI) systems, the ‘black box’, in human-machine interaction. She examines the epistemological problems of the ‘black box’ across disciplines, incorporating perspectives from cybernetics, science and technology studies, and actor-network theory to develop a position of understanding AI.

Dr. Vera Marstaller is being honored for her dissertation, “Heroic Gestures. War Photography and National Socialism (1939–1945).” Her work was done within the framework of the Collaborative Research Center 948 Heroes – Heroizations – Heroisms and submitted to Prof. Dr. Cornelia Brink. Vera Marstaller’s dissertation presents and interprets contemporary photographic heroic gestures between 1939 and 1945. Using the categories of perpetrators, victims, and heroes, she breaks down the illustrated pictorial history of the Third Reich during World War II. In doing so, Marstaller combines image and text sources with different approaches from image and cultural studies and the historiography of National Socialism.

VLTR: Prof. Dr. Cornelia Brink (Supervisor of Ms.Marstaller), Dr. Vera Marstaller (Prize Winner 2022), Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Hans-Joachim Gehrke (UCF Director of Outreach), Carolin Emcke (Keynote Speaker), Prof. Dr. Michael Schwarze (Vice-President for Academic Affairs of the University of Freiburg), Lars Hopp (Board Member, Sparkasse Freiburg-Nördlicher Breisgau), Prof. Dr. Oliver Müller (Supervisor of Ms. Schröder), Ines Schröder (Prize Winner 2022)

UCF thanks all guests for being part of this special award ceremony in our jubilee year, and especially the Sparkasse Freiburg-Nördlicher Breisgau for their longtime support!

The Erasmus Prize 2021 was awarded to Dr. Rike Sinder for her dissertation “Die Systematisierung des islamischen Rechts. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte teleologischen Naturrechtsdenkens” [The Systematization of Islamic Law. A Contribution to the History of Teleological Natural Law Theory]. The dissertation was submitted to Prof. Dr. Matthias Jestaedt from the Institute for Staatswissenschaft and Philosophy of Law of the University of Freiburg.

For her work, Dr. Sinder studied the structural change in Islamic law between the 8th and 14th centuries, based on the example of the Islamic legal concept of equity, istiḥsān (a form of juristic discretion, literally ‘to consider something good’). Rike Sinder analyzed primary sources in their original Arabic, Ancient Greek and Latin versions and secondary sources. She combines Arab philosophy and interpretations of the philosopher Aristotle with Islamic legal theory and debates on natural law in an exceptional way.
More information in the press release.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the presentation of the Erasmus Prize took place in a very small circle only and without a UCF lecture.

FLTR: Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Hans-Joachim Gehrke (UCF Director of Outreach), Dr. Rike Sinder (Prize Winner), Marcel Thimm (Chairman of the Board, Sparkasse Freiburg-Nördlicher Breisgau)

The Erasmus Prize 2020 was awarded to Jeremy Fon Sing and Dr. Sergio Götte. Jeremy Fon Sing, a graduate of the Freiburg LAS Program, submitted his Bachelor thesis “Nuclear Radiation Detector, Robot Design and its Social Impact” to Dr. Reto Schölly of UCF and Dr.-Ing. Jochen Kieninger from the Freiburg Dept. of Microsystems Engineering (IMTEK). In his work, Mr. Fon Sing examines the ambivalence of society’s perception of nuclear radiation and derives a concrete citizen science project: the construction of a robot for radiation detection. The work combines physics, applied technology and social sciences and is of high social relevance.

Dr. Sergio Götte was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his dissertation “On the Subject of Death Determination in the Bioethical Debate”. The dissertation was submitted to Prof. Dr. Eberhard Schockenhoff at the Freiburg Faculty of Theology. Dr. Götte examines whether the irreversible failure of brain functions is a valid and well-founded criterion for determining the death of a human being. In his work, he pursues an interdisciplinary research approach: The debate on the determination of death requires not only medical-biological but also philosophical-anthropological, legal, ethical and theological questions. Dr. Götte succeeds in building a bridge between philosophy, theology and the natural sciences, and enriches the bioethical debate.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 award ceremony was postponed. More information in the press release.

The UCF Lecture 2019 was given by the diplomat Martin Kobler. His keynote speech was on: “Zerfällt die Welt? Erfahrungen mit Nation-Building im 21. Jahrhundert”.

The Erasmus Prize 2019 was awarded to Lena Kulla and Alex Giurca. Lena Kulla submitted her Bachelor thesis “Factors Influencing the Incorporation of an Upper-Extremity Prosthesis into Everyday Activities – A Phenomenological Approach to Prosthesis Acceptance and Usage” to Prof. Dr. Thomas Stieglitz from the Department of Microsystems Engineering at the University of Freiburg. Ms. Kulla’s work deals with the socially highly relevant issue of the acceptance or rejection of prostheses. She analyzed the different aspects and metrics of an evaluation of the “performance” of prosthesis in an exemplary manner and combined the non-technical aspects of an individual evaluation of the usefulness of prosthesis into an overall view.

Alex Giurca submitted his thesis “The Forest-Based Bioeconomy: Actor Networks, Policies and Politics in Germany and Northern Europe” to Prof. Dr. Daniela Kleinschmit from the Institute of Forest Sciences of the University of Freiburg. Mr. Giurca undertakes an interdisciplinary analysis of the bioeconomy and investigates how different networks of actors shape the current bioeconomy discourse. He combines approaches from forestry, political science, economics and management theory with quantitative and qualitative methods in an exemplary manner and thus enriches a forward-looking question of international relevance.

FLTR: Marcel Thimm (Chairman of the Board, Sparkasse Freiburg-Nördlicher Breisgau), Prof. Dr. Juliane Besters-Dilger (Vice-President for Academic Affairs of the University of Freiburg), Prof. Dr. Thomas Stieglitz (Supervisor of Ms. Kulla), Lena Kulla (Prize Winner), Alex Giurca (Prize Winner), Martin Kobler (Keynote Speaker), Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Hans-Joachim Gehrke (UCF Director of Outreach), Prof. Dr. Daniela Kleinschmit (Supervisor Mr. Giurca)

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Dr.-Ing. E.h. Jürgen Mittelstraß, director of the Konstanz Science Forum, gave the UCF lecture 2018. His keynote speech was on: “Fröhliche Wissenschaft? Wissenschaft und Universität zwischen Erkenntnis- und Verwertungsidealen”.

The Erasmus Prize 2018 was awarded to Felisa Mesuere and Roosje van der Kamp. Felisa Mesuere submitted her Bachelor thesis “Playing with Morals – Gender Ambiguity in Monteverdi’s Oper L’Orfeo” to Dr. Ryan Plumley from UCF at the University of Freiburg. She combines approaches from history, music and gender studies in order to analyze gender ambiguity in Claudio Monteverdi’s early 17th-century opera L’Orfeo. Her research focuses on the nuances of masculinity in L’Orfeo and shows that music was a ground of contestation over new forms of political organization and social arrangements.

Roosje van der Kamp submitted her Bachelor thesis “A Modern Disease: A Philosophical Inquiry into Kierkegaard’s Concept of Depression and the Age of Reflection” to Dr. Allard den Dulk from Amsterdam University College. Roosje van der Kamp connects Kierkegaard’s critique of modernity to his concept of depression and places this in the context of modern discourses on depression. By connecting philosophy with psychological and psychiatric perspectives, her work contributes to a better understanding of depression in today’s society.

FLTR: Dr. Ryan Plumley (Supervisor of Ms. Mesuere), Herr Erich Greil (Deputy Chairman of the Board, Sparkasse Freiburg-Nördlicher Breisgau), Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Hans-Joachim Gehrke (UCF Director of Outreach), Roosje van der Kamp (Prize Winner), Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Hans-Jochen Schiewer (Rector of the University of Freiburg), Felisa Mesuere (Prize Winner), Dr. Allard den Dulk (Supervisor of Ms. van der Kamp), Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Dr.-Ing. E.h. Jürgen Mittelstraß

UCF thanks all guests for being part of the 2018 award ceremony and the ongoing support.

The UCF Lecture 2017 was given by Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Friederike Fless, President of the German Archaeological Institute. Her keynote speech was on “Das bedrohte Welterbe – Palmyra und seine Folgen”.

The Erasmus Prize 2017 was awarded to Matthias Leanza for his PhD thesis “Die Zeit der Prävention. Eine Genealogie der Krankheitsvorbeugung”. In his dissertation Leanza traces the mutual genesis and interconnected history of prevention and modernity using disease prevention as an example. From a methodological perspective Leanza combines scientific history with sociological societal theory and creates a bridge between natural sciences and the humanities. The dissertation was submitted to Prof. Dr. Ulrich Bröckling at the Institute of Sociology at the University of Freiburg.

FLTR Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Hans-Joachim Gehrke (UCF Director of Outreach), Prof. Dr. Ulrich Bröckling (Supervisor of Matthias Leanza), Matthias Leanza (Prize Winner), Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Friederike Fless (President of the German Archaeological Institute), Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Hans-Jochen Schiewer (Rector of the University of Freiburg), Marcel Thimm (Chairman of the Board, Sparkasse Freiburg-Nördlicher Breisgau).

UCF thanks all guests and supporters for being part of the 2017 award ceremony!

Prof. Dr. Margret Wintermantel, President of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), gave the UCF Lecture 2016. Her keynote speech was on “Internationalization of Higher Education – Opportunities and challenges”.

The Erasmus Prize 2016 was awarded to Dr. Cristina Espinosa for her PhD thesis “Apart from Nature or a Part of Nature? Discourse Analyses of the Politics of Redefining the Relationship between Humans and Nature.” The dissertation was submitted to Prof. Dr. Michael Pregernig at the Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources of the University of Freiburg.

In her dissertation, Dr. Espinosa analyzes the definition and redefinition of the relationship between humans and nature in the context of political initiatives and processes at various levels, from the local to the global. Her work exemplarily integrates approaches from the natural and the social sciences, and has a dedicated focus on epistemological questions.

FLTR: Prof. Dr. Michael Pregernig (Supervisor of Dr. Espinosa), Herr Erich Greil (Deputy Chairman of the Board, Sparkasse Freiburg-Nördlicher Breisgau), Dr. Cristina Espinosa (Prize Winner), Prof. Dr. Margret Wintermantel (President of the DAAD), Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Hans-Jochen Schiewer (Rector of the University of Freiburg), Prof. Dr. Hans-Joachim Gehrke (UCF Director of Outreach)

Thanks to all who were involved in organizing the 2016 annual UCF event and for the ongoing support for UCF!

The UCF Lecture 2015 was given by Prof. Dr. Dr. Andreas Barner. Prof. Barner is Chairman of the Board of Boehringer Ingelheim and President of the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft. His keynote lecture was on “Hochschul-Bildung und Beschäftigungsfähigkeit heute und morgen”.

The Erasmus Prize 2015 was awarded to Dr. Susanne Gundermann for her PhD thesis “English-Medium Instruction: Modelling the Role of the Native Speaker in a Lingua Franca Context“. The dissertation lies at the interface between linguistics and epistemology. By using ethnographic methods of field research in English language teaching situations at the University of Freiburg, the importance and role of Native Speakers of English as a language of instruction and as a lingua franca was investigated.

FLTR: Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Christian Mair (Supervisor of Dr. Gundermann), Herr Marcel Thimm (Chairman of the Board, Sparkasse Freiburg-Nördlicher Breisgau), Dr. Susanne Gundermann (Prize Winner) Prof. Dr. Dr. Andreas Barner (President of the Stifterverband für die deutsche Wissenschaft), Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Hans-Jochen Schiewer (Rector of the University of Freiburg), Prof. Dr. Hans-Joachim Gehrke (UCF Director of Outreach)

Prof. Moreno Ocampo, former Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in Den Haag, held the UCF Lecture in 2014. His keynote speech focused on the importance of globally-oriented higher education. At the same event, Prof. Harm Hospers, Dean of University College Maastricht, was appointed as Honorary Professor of the University of Freiburg.

The Erasmus Prize 2014 was awarded to Dr. Martin Brösamle for his PhD thesis “Sketches of Wayfinding Design: Empirical Studies of Architectural Design Processes”. His thesis sheds light on the interface between behavioral science and design in general and between cognitive science and architecture in particular. The dissertation was submitted to Prof. Dr. Gerhard Strube at the Institut für Informatik und Gesellschaft, Abteilung Kognitionswissenschaften. 

FLTR: Herr Marcel Thimm (Chairman of the Board, Sparkasse Freiburg-Nördlicher Breisgau), Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Hans-Jochen Schiewer (Rector of the University of Freiburg), Dr. Martin Brösamle (Prize Winner), Prof. Dr. Christoph Hölscher (Professor of Cognitve Sciences, ETH Zürich, Supervisor of Dr. Martin Brösamle), Prof. Dr. Hans-Joachim Gehrke (UCF Director of Outreach)

For the UCF Inauguration and the first Erasmus Prize award ceremony in 2013, Prof. Dr. Hans-Jörg Rheinberger, gave the keynote speech. Prof. Rheinberger is former director of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin and gave his talk on interdisciplinarity in teaching and research.

The Erasmus Prize was awarded for the first time on 24 June 2013 and on the occasion of the University College Freiburg Inauguration in the Sparkasse Freiburg-Nördlicher Breisgau. The prize was presented to Michael Schonhardt for his Master’s thesis “Ortus ventorum sunt comfi phylosophorum. Untersuchungen zum Umgang mit Wissen im Prämonstratenserstift Arnstein an der Lahn im frühen 13. Jahrhundert” (“Inquiries into Knowledge Practices at the Premonstratensian Arnstein Abbey in the Early 13th Century”) in which he explores the medieval, monastic book and knowledge culture using state-of-the-art science studies approaches. Shortly after having received the prize, Michael Schonhardt started his PhD project “Tradition and Reception of Theoretical Knowledge about Nature in the 12th Century” under the supervision of Prof. Birgit Studt, Chair of Medieval History.

FLTR: Marcel Thimm (Chairman of the Board, Sparkasse Freiburg-Nördlicher Breisgau), Prof. Dr. Birgit Studt (Supervisor), Michael Schonhardt (Prize Winner), Prof. Dr. Hans-Joachim Gehrke (UCF Director of Outreach), Prof. Dr. Hans-Jochen Schiewer (Rector of the University of Freiburg)

Erasmus of Rotterdam, after whom the prize is named, was one of the most important representatives of European Humanism in the sixteenth century. He emphasized the value of humanistic education and learning, forces that he saw as fostering peace and tolerance. Many characteristics of his work are recovered in the concept of Liberal Arts and Sciences in Freiburg, which draws on humanistic educational principles, is inspired by Dutch study programs, and encourages transcending boundaries. And, Erasmus of Rotterdam has a special connection to Freiburg: Towards the end of his career, he worked and lived in the Haus zum Walfisch, a building that today houses the donor institution of the Erasmus Prize – the Sparkasse Freiburg-Nördlicher Breisgau.