Beyond Boundaries: Politische Bildung aus interdisziplinärer und internationaler Perspektive

Anyone who describes today’s major challenges as transcending national borders is hardly venturing onto thin ice: the pandemic and climate change are putting democracy under just as much pressure as right-wing populism in the form of political parties and social movements, the coarsening of language and discourse, fake news, and filter bubbles. Added to this is structural change driven by digitalization, segregation, and urbanization, accompanied by the depopulation of rural regions.

This transformation of political and social spaces is not without consequences for political education, whose primary goal—among others—is to empower (young) citizens to participate competently in precisely these spaces. The concept of participation is broadly defined here—it extends into social, political, and economic spheres of life. In this respect, it is hardly surprising that the practice of political educators draws from—and indeed must draw from—a wide range of academic disciplines.

Against this backdrop, it is essential to scientifically explore both the intersections of political didactics with other academic disciplines and those of political education with other fields, and to foster a constructive dialogue in light of the global challenges of our time. What answers does political didactics offer to the pressing questions of the present, and what do the didactics of history, geography, or economics offer? Can we identify approaches within the didactics of sociology that should be taken into account in light of the aforementioned diagnoses? What insights do the various relevant academic disciplines provide? What expectations, wishes, and hopes regarding political education can be articulated by these relevant academic disciplines? And last but not least: What possible answers are being discussed beyond the sometimes narrow German discourse? What normative foundations, intellectual-historical roots, historical origins, and approaches to empirical measurement shape subject-specific didactics in neighboring European countries as well as at the international level?

We look forward to exploring these and other questions with you at our conference and appreciate your interest.