Reader
Here you will find various readers, prepared by the AStA of the University of Hamburg, on different topics. These readers have been prepared so that all students can get a well-founded picture of these topics. All information has been researched with the greatest possible care. If you would like to use these readers for other purposes, please contact our office.
- Information sheet on student self-administration at the University of Hamburg (PDF, german)
Have you always wanted to know how exactly the AStA is elected or what you have to do to get into the student parliament? Everything is explained in detail here! - Series of readers on the topic of sexual and sexualized violence
- Reader on sustainable development (PDF, german)
Two key social problems of our time are increasing global warming and environmental degradation. Universities have a responsibility to contribute to the sustainable development of society through education, research and the organization of university life. Sustainable development is a necessary process towards social justice in the present and the future. Sustainability is only possible if the mantra of more growth, consumption and increased performance is overcome in favor of thinking and acting in solidarity. Against this backdrop, the AStA is committed to making the destruction of the natural foundations of life as a central issue of our time an even greater focus of scientific research at the University of Hamburg and to continue to work on solving the problems in terms of science policy. We also want to support and politicize projects and campaigns and integrate them into our joint work. In this sense, this reader is an impetus for discussions and real improvements, as well as documentation of the work done so far in the AStA Department for Ecology and Sustainable Development. - Reader on self-administration at the University of Hamburg (PDF, german)
The higher education policy landscape in Hamburg and almost all other federal states is divided into two independent strands. On the one hand, there is the constituted student body (VS) - Part I of the reader - and on the other hand, there is the academic self-administration - Part II of the reader. The legal basis of the VS is the Hamburg Higher Education Act (HmbHG) and the statutes of the VS, which you can find at asta-uhh.de. We strongly recommend reading these documents. - Reader on open spaces & other self-manmaged spaces at the UHH (PDF, german)
The cafeteria smells of food and is full. Airport prices apply in the “Guests Only” café and you are not allowed to eat your bakery roll. You are not allowed to stay in seminar rooms without a lecturer. And it's raining outside. Where to go? The university should be designed much more as a place to stay and a center of life. In the individual buildings of the University of Hamburg there are open spaces where there is no pressure to consume, where you can hang out, where people can come together to discuss, learn or simply spend time. In your hands you are holding the reader in which the individual open spaces at Universität Hamburg introduce themselves to you. Each open space has its own history, its own structure and its own orientation. Nevertheless, all Freiräume have the same concept, which is designed for user participation. As you will read in this reader, open spaces did not fall from the sky, but were fought for by students and sympathizers, often through occupations during student protests. In order to not only preserve existing free spaces in the future, but also to be able to fight for new ones, we need your, your, OUR participation. - Reader on opportunities from the crisis (PDF, german)
The crisis is and remains on everyone's lips. In 2008, we were still talking about a real estate crisis. In short, so many houses were absurdly built that people became homeless. Later it was called a banking crisis. Billions were pumped into the banks from the public purse. Today, in 2012, the media and politicians are talking about a national crisis. The democratic rights of the population are now being massively curtailed in order to “save” the states. Whatever the case, one thing remains: Crisis. A time of danger that represents the climax and turning point of a dangerous development.Despite all attempts at concealment, the effects of the crisis and its management policy affect everyone. Whether it is radical pension cuts imposed by the troika in Greece, the privatization of public goods in Spain or the university cuts legitimized by the debt brake here in Hamburg. The causes and argumentation patterns are the same everywhere and the effects are similar. Yet it is actually capitalism that is deep in crisis. In view of its complexity, global nature and drastic nature, we are sometimes somewhat powerless in the face of developments. This is because we are experiencing the biggest crisis of capitalism since 1929, an assessment that has recently even been accepted by the bourgeois media, large sections of the political parties and the trade unions. However, capitalism means the permanent destruction of the environment as well as common life and solidarity.
- Reader on the liaison (dis)order in Hamburg (PDF, german)
Right-wing extremist associations are also based here in Hamburg. Although the clown-like appearances with cap and sash are relatively rare, lively activities take place behind closed doors. Lectures and festivities are held to cement their own image as the nation's elite. For some time now, the intellectual right has been discussing a “battle for brains”. Right-wing ideas are to be made socially acceptable again via the universities.
Critical academics, anti-fascist students and the Office for the Protection of the Constitution have been observing the fraternity scene for some time. The blurred distinction between conservatives and right-wing radicals is often particularly obvious in this milieu. It is precisely for this reason that many student corporations perform this hinge function.
So what is it about the men with the strange sashes and caps who invite you to a party or to live “on” their house and promise you lifelong friendship as you pass by? What danger does the fraternity system pose to society? What role do racism and anti-Semitism play in fraternities? Where are minorities and other socially disadvantaged groups excluded? Does the general ban on women joining have anything to do with sexism? We will address these and other questions in the following chapters.