Class and the post-industrial/post-socialist nexus (Exkursion) - Detailseite

The emergence of significant changes in the realm of work can be attributed to the parallel occurrence of major transformations in recent decades, including significant industrial decline and, in former socialist contexts, the transition to capitalism. In the urban sphere, these transformations have particularly reshaped neighbourhoods that were once home to significant manufacturing and/or large housing estates for workers. Relatively little scholarly attention has been paid to the ways in which the social and political affects of post-socialist transformation and deindustrialisation are intertwined, and how this continues to affect class formation.

To explore this intersection, a nine-day field trip to Warsaw will use a range of qualitative research techniques to examine the changing urban fabric of two post-industrial landscapes in the Polish capital. The trip will explore what happens to class in neighbourhoods where industrial work no longer plays a dominant role in structuring life. The field trip will take place in two Warsaw neighbourhoods that can be compared to an ongoing research on two Berlin neighbourhoods, thus touching on the possibilities and pitfalls of comparative urban research. Through a critical spatial analysis of loss, ruination and other forms of transformation, students will explore (new) forms and spaces of urban collective identity at the intersection of race and class, the role of right-wing nationalism, urban lifestyles and the impact of the creative class, as well as visual representations of the (white) working class.

Very good knowledge of qualitative research techniques is desirable for attendance, as is knowledge of the Polish language. The course will be held in English and it is compulsory to read the seminar literature before attending.

The Erasmus+ Office at HU Berlin is subsidising the excursion by €450 per student and the offer is limited to 10 participants.

Excursion period: 1–10 October 2025.

Interested students should submit a one-page letter of motivation in English (maximum 500 words) to stadt.arbeit.sowi@hu-berlin.de by 31 August 2025.

The letter should include the following information:

1. Methodological skills (especially qualitative), and relevant language skills (if applicable).

2. Prior knowledge of, and/or personal research interest in, the field of deindustrialisation studies, post-socialist transformation, cultural class analysis and/or urban sociology.

3. A proposal for either a theoretical question or an empirical mini-field study on the topic of class formation in relation to societal transformation. What theoretical and/or empirical questions would you propose studying?