The partnership between the Institute of European Ethnology and Cultural Analysis at LMU Munich and the UC Berkeley’s Folklore Program recognizes the importance of international research collaboration in the field of Folklore and Empirical Cultural Analysis. This cooperation facilitates transatlantic scholarly exchange and offers our institute's faculty members the opportunity to collaborate within two of the worlds most dynamic research environments.
In an era of profound global transformation, transatlantic exchange in the humanities and social sciences is more critical than ever. Our Partnership Program is built on the conviction that complex cultural phenomena can only be fully understood through multi-perspective, cross-border research. By bringing together the traditions of German-speaking European Ethnology and the perspectives of North American Folklore, we foster a unique intellectual synergy.
The cooperation focuses on thematic fields that define the current research agendas in both Munich and Berkeley. Shared interests encompass among others:
- Cultures of Technology and Knowledge: Critical analysis of digital transformations, AI, and the impact on traditional everyday cultures
- Urban Anthropology: Researching global urban societies and social dynamics.
- Heritage Studies and Museology: Innovative approaches to objects, heritage, and representation.
- Political Anthropology: Investigating power structures, marginalization and identity processes in a globalized world.
- Narrative Cultures: the worlds of traditional and contemporary storytelling, including the digital narrative cultures of social media and AI
The LMU Munich – UC Berkeley Folklore Partnership is designed as a living network for academic exchange in the fields of Folklore and Empirical Cultural Analysis. We invite faculty members and junior researchers from both partners to actively participate in this cooperation. Our long-term vision is to further solidify these ties through increasingly integrated research initiatives and transatlantic cooperations in teaching.
- Research Exchange: Facilitating connections between faculty members and junior researchers (doctoral candidates) for collaborative projects and joint publications.
- Mobility: Support and guidance for research stays up to two weeks in Munich or Berkeley
- Joint Ventures: Facilitating the planning of collaborative workshops, transatlantic symposia, and shared research clusters.
- Financial support: our program is
a) covering travel costs of up to 3.000 Euros
b) supporting joint workshops, guest lectures or publications with a sum of up to 1.000 Euros
Who can apply?
The exchange is exclusively open to faculty members in the UC Berkeley’s Folklore Program and faculty members and junior researchers at the Institute of European Ethnology and Cultural Analysis, LMU Munich.
How to apply?
Interested and qualified candidates from both partner institutions are invited to submit their applications to their respective program directors. The applications must include the following:
- Application Letter: A statement of interest outlining the research/work objectives for the stay (maximum two pages).
- Short CV: A concise academic curriculum vitae (maximum two pages).
- Support Letter: Applicants from Berkeley must provide a letter of support from a faculty member at LMU Munich. Applicants from LMU Munich must provide a letter of support from a faculty member at UC Berkeley.
Selection decisions are made jointly by a committee representing both institutes. This collaborative process usually allows for two exchange phases per year.
LMU MUNICH
Prof. Dr. Manuel Trummer
Manuel.trummer@lmu.de
UC BERKELEY
Prof. Dr. Jeroen Dewulf
jdewulf@berkeley.edu
For further academic exchange between the universities of Munich and Berkeley that extends beyond the field of empirical cultural analysis and folklore and the two partner institutes, we would like to highlight the central LMU-UCB Research in the Humanities program.