New cluster of excellence Imaginamics illuminates social conflicts!

New cluster of excellence Imaginamics illuminates social conflicts!

Erfurt, Deutschland - On May 22, 2025, it was announced that the cluster application "Imaginamics" of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena will be funded in the next seven years as part of the federal and state excellence strategy. This decision was announced by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Science Council. The Excellence Cluster "Imaginamics. Practices and Dynamics of Social Imagining" aims to better understand social relationships through shared ideas, narratives and worldviews, as well as future designs.

Current crises such as climate change, pandemics and geopolitical conflicts show the complex role of social imagination. This can promote solidarity and cause conflicts. Prof. Dr. Johannes Grave, the spokesman for the cluster, underlines the relevance of this research today.

interdisciplinary approaches and research institutions

The research network of "Imaginamics" comprises nine other institutions in addition to the Friedrich Schiller University Jena. These include the University of Erfurt, the Max Weber-Kolleg and regional cooperation partners such as the Bauhaus University Weimar and the Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology. Such interdisciplinary structures are crucial in order to combine different perspectives and approaches such as phenomenology, history of knowledge, narration theory and theory of vision.

A central aspect of the cluster is the "Theory Hub", where, among other things, Prof. Dr. Hartmut Rosa and Prof. Dr. Lambert Wiesing work. Theories and practices of social imagination are reflected here. In addition, Prof. Dr. Bernhard Kleeberg in his working group "Mediating Difference, Substantiating Truth" the border figures between science and religion. The aim of this group is to promote an interdisciplinary discussion about political epistemology and the practices of truth from antiquity to the present.

status and future perspectives

The promotion of the "Imaginamics" cluster is an important step for the Friedrich Schiller University, which can apply with this support in autumn 2025 for the title "Excellence University". This is done with regard to the existing funding of the cluster “Balance of the Microverse” cluster, which has been running since 2019, from the University of Jena, which is also supported.

The excellence strategy, which already includes several funding lines, was initiated as part of a competition that started in 2017. 88 application sketches from 195 submitted documents were selected here. The DFG played a central role in the assessment of these projects, and many of them build on previous clusters and graduate schools, which underlines sustainable development in the German university landscape. Further information on the excellence strategy can be found on the website of the DFG .

For the Friedrich Schiller University, this funding is a clear indicator of its research strength and the importance of its interdisciplinary approaches in a dynamic social context. Visitors and interested parties will find detailed information on the initiative "Imaginamics" on of the website of the University of Jena.