Ethnographic Short Films: Sustainability on Campus
10/07/2025Walks around the Würzburg Hubland campus with University Chancellor Uwe Klug, with the "Living Campus" initiative or with students in the campus garden: A total of 20 new short films deal with sustainability at the university.
For almost three years, researchers, students and employees of the university at the Hubland campus engaged in intensive discussions, research and joint walks. In competitions and numerous other encounters, they explored and documented what sustainability actually means on campus.
Behind this was also the question of how a socio-ecological transformation of the campus can succeed as part of a living culture of sustainability.
The activities took place as part of two work packages of the REKLINEU research network. They were organised by the Chair of European Ethnology/Empirical Cultural Studies, with Professor Michaela Fenske, Head of the Chair, responsible for conception and management.
Two Film Series Have Been Produced
The results of the two work packages are now available - neatly organised on the chair's website. The key findings are presented in 20 short ethnographic documentary films in German language.
Dr Sandra Eckardt was responsible for the cinematic realisation. She worked with members of various status groups at JMU for almost three years. Two film series were produced in close cooperation with the research partners:
- Campus Walks (13 films)
- Insights into REKLINEU work packages (7 films)
All films are available on the homepage of the Chair of European Ethnology/Empirical Cultural Studies.
Impressed by the Commitment to Sustainability
A short film from the second series was realised in collaboration with Peter Schmitt (visual-thinking, Würzburg) and presents the two work packages. In the film, Sandra Eckardt and Michaela Fenske are impressed by the wide-ranging commitment to sustainability on campus.
Michaela Fenske has particularly fond memories of breakfast with the employees of Technical Operations, while Sandra Eckardt has fond memories of the lively campus life at night.
The REKLINEU research network
The other films in the second series provide in-depth insights into the tasks and perspectives of the other REKLINEU work packages, most of which will run until the end of January 2026.
Under the leadership of JMU Vice President Anja Schlömerkemper, the interdisciplinary REKLINEU network ("Regional Pathways to Climate-Neutral Universities") brings together three universities, the University of Würzburg, Würzburg-Schweinfurt University of Applied Sciences and Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences, and more than ten disciplines. The aim of the alliance is to take stock of CO₂ emissions at the universities and to avoid, reduce and offset them, also in combination with establishing a culture of sustainability.
