Interview with Head of Research Group Mareike Schmidt more

What happens when anthropologists spend months in a foreign place, immersing themselves in the lives of others? Where does their research take them and what insights does it bring? In the exhibition “Wechsel Deine Perspektive – Ethnologie öffnet Türen”, researchers of the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Halle (MPI) and the Institute for Social and Cultural Anthropology at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg open doors into their work. The exhibition will be on display from 17 April to 7 July 2024 in the main building of the university (Löwengebäude, Universitätsplatz 11). It is open Wed–Sun between 13:00 and 18:00; admission is free. more

On 1 February 2024, Biao Xiang, Director of the Department ‘Anthropology of Economic Experimentation’, begins his term as Managing Director of the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology (MPI). He takes over from Ursula Rao, who has performed this function since 1 February 2022. more

Paralleljustiz – reliance on “parallel” justice to resolve conflicts – is often invoked as a threat to the rule of law in Germany. But does such an informal system of extrajudicial justice in disregard of state norms even exist? This is one of the questions that will be addressed at the conference “Konfliktregulierung in Deutschlands pluraler Gesellschaft: ‘Paralleljustiz’?” on 1 December 2023 in Harnack House in Berlin. Researchers from the MPI for Social Anthropology will present the results of their fieldwork in immigrant communities and state institutions and discuss their findings with representatives of the ministries of justice of Berlin, Bremen, and North Rhine-Westphalia. A publication based on the conference papers is planned for the first half of 2024. more

Interview with IMPRS coordinator Patrick Desplat more

Ursula Rao, the Managing Director of the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology (MPI) has been elected a member of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BBAW), receiving her certificate of appointment in June 2023. The BBAW is an association of outstanding scholars with a tradition of more than 300 years. Its mission includes the advancement of science, policy consulting, and the promotion of dialogue between academia and society. Scholars who have distinguished themselves through scientific achievements are eligible to be elected as members. more

Christoph Brumann, Head of Research Group at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology and Honorary Professor at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, has been elected as a member of the Senate of the Max Planck Society (MPS). He fulfills these duties as the newly elected speaker of the Scientific Staff Representatives of the Human Sciencies Section of the MPS. As such, he has also become a member of the Perspective Council of the section. more

Will recognizing oceans, rivers, and forests as legal subjects entitled to special rights allow us to protect them more effectively? In 2008, Ecuador became the first nation in the world to enshrine the rights of nature in its constitution. Since then, the idea has continuously gained momentum around the world, with local initiatives, social movements, NGOs, and even courts invoking rights of nature in their activities and decisions. But what effect do ecocentric rights actually have in practice? This question is the focus of a new research project at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology (MPI). The two-year project is funded by a €350,000 grant from the Volkswagen Foundation. more

How is artificial intelligence changing psychotherapy and what does it mean for patient-therapist relationship? Why are terms like “clan crime” and “parallel justice” not merely problematic, but also basically wrong? And what is so remarkable about the astronomical research being conducted in Africa? Three MPI researchers – Claudia Lang, Hatem Elliesie, and Hanna Nieber – will shed light on these questions during Science Night in Halle on Friday, 7 July in the Melanchthonianum. The lectures, which will be held in German, start at 17:00. more

The Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology (MPI) has submitted a joint bid for a new Cluster of Excellence on the topic “New Global Dynamics: Worlds in Crisis?” together with the Universities of Leipzig and Halle and six other elite non-university research institutions. The cluster will bring together social and environmental researchers to study the worldwide crises and transformation processes that we are facing today. The draft proposal has been submitted to the second competition phase of the Excellence Strategy of the German state and federal governments. more