Universität Passau
Research
Research support
When conducting world-class research, academics must rely on their creativity; but they also require administrative structures that reliably and comprehensively support them in their work. The Research Services Division provides professional advice and support on gaining funding from German and international donor organisations.
By its 50th anniversary in 2028, the University of Passau intends to become one of the leading centres in Europe for basic interdisciplinary research on the effects of digitalisation on society. The University focuses its research on the guiding themes of ‘Digitalisation, Networked Society and (Internet) Cultures’, ‘Europe and Global Transformation’ and ‘Migration, Sustainable Development and Just Order’.
Digital Research Magazine
The Digital Research Magazine presents selected projects on the University's research themes in a high-quality online format. The profiles of the researchers behind major projects are also showcased in the magazine.
The research themes in detail
The overarching research themes are a logical extension of the founding principles of the University of Passau, which was established in 1978 as a so-called ‘borderland’ university. At the time, due to its proximity to both Austria and the Iron Curtain, the issues facing Europe were quite literally ‘close to home’. This history is taken up by the research theme ‘Europe and Global Transformation’.
University of Passau - the movie
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BMBF-project “’Welfare Queens’ and ‘Losers’: a critical race and intersectional perspective on the U.S. American welfare state”
What power structures determine the U.S. welfare state? In the research project "'Welfare Queens' and 'Losers'", a team from the American Studies department at the University of Passau led by Dr. Grit Grigoleit is taking a closer look at racial and gender discrimination.
The socio-economic and structural inequalities in the U.S. between the white majority and racialized minorities have been steadily increasing. Current research on the U.S. welfare state seeks an explanation in the interaction of state, market, and family. Categories that create social inequality, such as race and gender, and their interactions, however, are rarely considered in the formation, implementation, and outcomes of welfare policies. The project "'Welfare Queens' and 'Losers'" addresses this research gap: Based on theoretical approaches of Critical Race Studies, this intersectional analysis shows for the first time the interconnectedness of race and gender in the development of the welfare state and scrutinizes underlying power structures.
"Our research project provides a critical race perspective on the welfare state," explains Dr. Grit Grigoleit, principal investigator of the project at the Professorship for American Studies / Cultural and Media Studies at the University of Passau. "We are pursuing the thesis that race and gender have determined the development path of the U.S. welfare state since its inception and have gained such institutional stability that no fundamental changes occur even in phases of social change." With her team, she examines, among other things, which sociopolitical frames and discourses regarding the inequality-creating categories of race and gender are established in the mass media. In addition, she uses two empirical case studies from Texas and Minnesota to show how regional conceptions of race and gender, as well as racist practices, determine the allocation and distribution of scarce resources.
The interdisciplinary research project presents an important contribution to the understanding and impact of racism and thus strengthens the American Studies at the University of Passau with the research focus Ethnic and Racial Studies.
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is funding the project according to the funding guideline area studies for an initial period of three years.
| Principal Investigator(s) at the University | Prof. Dr. Karsten Fitz (Professur für Amerikanistik / Cultural and Media Studies) Dr. Grit Grigoleit-Richter (Professur für Amerikanistik / Cultural and Media Studies) |
|---|---|
| Project period | 01.03.2021 - 29.02.2024 |
| Source of funding |  BMBF - Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung |
In recent years, Europe's responsibility to respond to global challenges with appropriate strategies has increasingly prompted researchers at the University of Passau to make development questions a matter of academic enquiry. The interdisciplinary path taken has brought about not only the interfaculty master's programme in Development Studies but also the research theme ‘Migration, Sustainable Development and Just Order’.
BMBF-project “’Welfare Queens’ and ‘Losers’: a critical race and intersectional perspective on the U.S. American welfare state”
What power structures determine the U.S. welfare state? In the research project "'Welfare Queens' and 'Losers'", a team from the American Studies department at the University of Passau led by Dr. Grit Grigoleit is taking a closer look at racial and gender discrimination.
The socio-economic and structural inequalities in the U.S. between the white majority and racialized minorities have been steadily increasing. Current research on the U.S. welfare state seeks an explanation in the interaction of state, market, and family. Categories that create social inequality, such as race and gender, and their interactions, however, are rarely considered in the formation, implementation, and outcomes of welfare policies. The project "'Welfare Queens' and 'Losers'" addresses this research gap: Based on theoretical approaches of Critical Race Studies, this intersectional analysis shows for the first time the interconnectedness of race and gender in the development of the welfare state and scrutinizes underlying power structures.
"Our research project provides a critical race perspective on the welfare state," explains Dr. Grit Grigoleit, principal investigator of the project at the Professorship for American Studies / Cultural and Media Studies at the University of Passau. "We are pursuing the thesis that race and gender have determined the development path of the U.S. welfare state since its inception and have gained such institutional stability that no fundamental changes occur even in phases of social change." With her team, she examines, among other things, which sociopolitical frames and discourses regarding the inequality-creating categories of race and gender are established in the mass media. In addition, she uses two empirical case studies from Texas and Minnesota to show how regional conceptions of race and gender, as well as racist practices, determine the allocation and distribution of scarce resources.
The interdisciplinary research project presents an important contribution to the understanding and impact of racism and thus strengthens the American Studies at the University of Passau with the research focus Ethnic and Racial Studies.
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is funding the project according to the funding guideline area studies for an initial period of three years.
| Principal Investigator(s) at the University | Prof. Dr. Karsten Fitz (Professur für Amerikanistik / Cultural and Media Studies) Dr. Grit Grigoleit-Richter (Professur für Amerikanistik / Cultural and Media Studies) |
|---|---|
| Project period | 01.03.2021 - 29.02.2024 |
| Source of funding | BMBF - Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung |
Since 2011, the University of Passau has consistently dealt with another global development across academic disciplines and faculty borders: the societal effects of digitalisation. The Technik Plus development programme and the second phase of the successful DFG Research Training Group ‘Privacy’ have provided a sustained impetus for interdisciplinary co-operation between the faculties. One example of this co-operation is the BMBF-funded SKILL project (website in German), which analyses the societal effects of digitalisation on teaching and learning environments and places a strong focus on information and media literacy. Another example is the Passau Centre for e-Humanities (website in German), which is also funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Due to the successful co-operation in these and many other projects, the academics at the University of Passau developed the focus ‘Digitalisation, Networked Society and (Internet) Cultures’.
BMBF-project “’Welfare Queens’ and ‘Losers’: a critical race and intersectional perspective on the U.S. American welfare state”
What power structures determine the U.S. welfare state? In the research project "'Welfare Queens' and 'Losers'", a team from the American Studies department at the University of Passau led by Dr. Grit Grigoleit is taking a closer look at racial and gender discrimination.
The socio-economic and structural inequalities in the U.S. between the white majority and racialized minorities have been steadily increasing. Current research on the U.S. welfare state seeks an explanation in the interaction of state, market, and family. Categories that create social inequality, such as race and gender, and their interactions, however, are rarely considered in the formation, implementation, and outcomes of welfare policies. The project "'Welfare Queens' and 'Losers'" addresses this research gap: Based on theoretical approaches of Critical Race Studies, this intersectional analysis shows for the first time the interconnectedness of race and gender in the development of the welfare state and scrutinizes underlying power structures.
"Our research project provides a critical race perspective on the welfare state," explains Dr. Grit Grigoleit, principal investigator of the project at the Professorship for American Studies / Cultural and Media Studies at the University of Passau. "We are pursuing the thesis that race and gender have determined the development path of the U.S. welfare state since its inception and have gained such institutional stability that no fundamental changes occur even in phases of social change." With her team, she examines, among other things, which sociopolitical frames and discourses regarding the inequality-creating categories of race and gender are established in the mass media. In addition, she uses two empirical case studies from Texas and Minnesota to show how regional conceptions of race and gender, as well as racist practices, determine the allocation and distribution of scarce resources.
The interdisciplinary research project presents an important contribution to the understanding and impact of racism and thus strengthens the American Studies at the University of Passau with the research focus Ethnic and Racial Studies.
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is funding the project according to the funding guideline area studies for an initial period of three years.
| Principal Investigator(s) at the University | Prof. Dr. Karsten Fitz (Professur für Amerikanistik / Cultural and Media Studies) Dr. Grit Grigoleit-Richter (Professur für Amerikanistik / Cultural and Media Studies) |
|---|---|
| Project period | 01.03.2021 - 29.02.2024 |
| Source of funding | BMBF - Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung |
Passau International Centre for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies (PICAIS)
The University is currently in the process of establishing the Passau International Centre for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies (PICAIS) as a visible place on campus for the advancement of exemplary research, international network-building and for the support of early career researchers. It will be designed as a permanent, autonomous University institution that is particularly suited to furthering the visibility of our research output, as another cornerstone of the internationalisation of our research.
Advancement of early career researchers
Any university that strives to maintain sustained excellence in research and teaching must provide a first-rate support base for those setting out on their research careers. To this end, the University has made it a core objective to give its early career researchers the best possible support when it comes to gaining qualifications and participating in (international) networks. We place particular emphasis on promoting female early career researchers and increasing the number of women professorial positions.
Research support
When conducting world-class research, academics must rely on their creativity; but they also require administrative structures that reliably and comprehensively support them in their work. The Research Services Division provides professional advice and support on gaining funding from German and international donor organisations.
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