StreitBar: Between Lecture Hall and Debate Room – Studying (Un)politically? A Conversation Between Student Generations at UOS.

This post was automatically translated from the German original at
StreitBar: Zwischen Hörsaal und Debattenraum – (un)politisch studieren? Ein Gespräch zwischen Studierendengenerationen der UOS..

“Politics? I don’t have time for that” – a phrase that can be heard repeatedly at universities. Between academic pressure, earning a living, growing up, and the supposedly “best time of life,” there seems to be little room for political engagement for many students.

At the same time, political disputes are currently shaking universities in Germany, students are engaging as citizens in political processes, and their voices are also present in higher education policy contexts between academic self-governance and disputes over study and working conditions at universities.

How have political engagement during studies and at universities developed over the decades? And what role do universities play as places of opinion formation and social discourse?

These questions are at the centre of our next StreitBar event, which is organised as part of the accompanying programme for the exhibition #Challenging Democracy – From Helmut Schmidt to Today as a joint project of the Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt Foundation, the University Library Osnabrück, and the Chair of Contemporary History and Historical Migration Research.

On Thursday, 12 June 2025, at 7:00 PM, we cordially invite you to the University Library at Westerberg.

Participants will include, moderated by Lisa Querner (BKHS), Gloria Sherif, Frederik Göcke, both current students at the University of Osnabrück, as well as Heike Tennstädt and Heiko Schulze, who completed their studies in Osnabrück in the 1970s.

This is what makes this evening special: We are bringing together students from Osnabrück University from the 1970s with today’s students. Since the 1970s, German universities have been increasingly democratised – more participation, more involvement, but also more responsibility. The University of Osnabrück was founded in 1974, right in the middle of this process.

How did the students of that time experience this transformation? How do today’s students use the democratic spaces available to them at UOS?

Fishbowl: Participation Welcome

After the generational conversation, it’s your turn! In the interactive fishbowl format, free seats at the discussion table are available. Take a seat, contribute your perspective, and later give up your place for others. This creates lively discussions in which different viewpoints are heard.

#ChallengingDemocracy

The StreitBar is embedded in the accompanying programme of the exhibition #ChallengingDemocracy – From Helmut Schmidt to Today, which can be seen directly in the foyer of the University Library. The exhibition connects biographical insights into Helmut Schmidt’s political work with current democratic challenges. Questions that arose then – What protects democracy? How social and sustainable can it be? – are more relevant today than ever.

The curators from BKHS will be on site and are happy to provide insights behind the scenes of the exhibition.

Practical Information

When: Thursday, 12 June 2025, 7:00 PM
Where: University Library Osnabrück, Westerberg
Nelson-Mandela-Platz 1, Building 96, 49076 Osnabrück
Registration: Not required
Refreshments: Drinks and snacks will be provided

Why This Dialogue Matters

In times of social polarisation and democratic challenges, we need spaces for constructive exchange. The university has always been more than just a place of knowledge transmission – it is a place of social reflection and political learning.

Because science needs democracy & democracy needs science.