Welcome to the website of European Studies at Saarland University

Issues and questions

Our work is dedicated to the in-depth investigation of complex, changing processes of boundary formation in Europe and beyond. A fundamentally geographical – and hence spatial – perspective on these processes is enriched with political, economic, ecological, social, and individual etc. considerations to shed light on prevalent patterns of interpretation with special reference to ongoing and emerging breaks and transformations.

Our approach

The underlying theoretical approach is constructivist, the basic assumption being that social reality is a human product – an approach that will also inform other topical urban, regional and landscape research issues with a European focus. Depending on the issue in question, our work is not only analytical but also application-oriented – i.e. taking explicit account of options for practical action.

Teaching

Our teaching is informed by ongoing research into the complex and differentiated character of social reality, spatial, and boundary constructs. General insights into the objectives and trajectories of human geography go hand in hand with qualitative and quantitative methods.

We offer the major "Geographies of Europe" within the new study programs "European Studies". Further courses are aligned to the requirements of the (discontinued) teacher training program in geography, to the historically oriented cultural studies programs (Bachelor HoK), as well as to the Master in Border Studies