On 9 and 10 November 2019, the members of the subcluster Urban ROOTS gathered in Hodorf (Schleswig-Holstein, Germany) for the first retreat of the subcluster. The retreat was an opportunity to welcome the newcomers among the team as well as to obtain insights into each member’s research. 15 participants, including PIs, associate members, associate researchers and doctoral candidates, presented the results of this first year’s research and outlooks into the research agenda for 2020. Intense discussion addressed interdisciplinary research topics and how to unfold present and forthcoming results in the frame of scientific meetings planned until 2022. These will include two international conferences, which will convene in June and October 2020 in Kiel, to address topics related to “Mental concepts of the city in picture and text media during the premodern age” (link) and “Urban neighborhoods and communities” (preliminary title). In addition, the publication of the proceedings of the first international conference “Urban Water”, which was organized by the subcluster in October 2018 (link), is expected for the beginning of 2020.

Furthermore, the subcluster is working on the creation of a “Studienzertifikat Urbane Kulturen”, which aims to offer a specialization on urbanity, including various disciplines such as archaeology, history, geography, arts and literature, to students of Kiel University.

Pictures by: Nicola Chiarenza