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European Ethnology

Bachelor minor

  1.  University of bamberg
  2. Faculties
  3. Humanities
  4. Institutes
  5. History and European Ethnology
  6. European Ethnology
  7. Studies
  8. Bachelor minor
  9. Qualification Goals

Bachelor minor - Qualification goals

Grazvydas Jurgelevicius

As a direct consequence of the Bologna Process, focus has shifted to competence-oriented teaching. As a result, the formulation of qualification objectives has also gained importance. They serve students, prospective students and potential employers as a guideline for the competences that are acquired with a degree programme.

Academic proficiency

  • Graduates of European Ethnology have acquired fundamental knowledge of cultural phenomena of European societies in past and present in the specialized modules. These include, for example, questions of cultural heritage, structural change in rural areas, gender and generational debates, or the analysis of popular discourses. They are able to place cultural phenomena and developments with regard to the organization of our everyday life and living together in an increasingly pluralized society in their historical, spatial and social contexts.
  • From the two foundation modules, one on academic skills, the other on the history of the discipline and current discourses, graduates are familiar with methodological approaches in European Ethnology (e.g. empirical methods such as the qualitative interview or working with archival materials such as estate inventories, field post letters, poetry albums or register books) and understand the basics of qualitative research. They are familiar with other methods of cultural anthropology (e.g. participant observation) through fieldwork and can elaborate their basic features independently.
  • In presentations and term papers, graduates have proven that they are able to analyze everyday cultural phenomena of past and present areas of life (e.g. clothing, food, housing, festive culture, customs). For this they are able to plan and carry out the necessary steps in a goal-oriented manner. They are able to work according to the principles of good academic practice, i.e. lege artis, to maintain strict honesty with regard to their own and third parties' contributions, to consistently review all results, and to accept critical discourse. Specifically, they learn to:
    • classify a cultural phenomenon in historical and current discourses of European Ethnology,
    • develop a European ethnological research question (e.g. continuity and change of cultural processes),
    • identify and structure different sources and relevant literature of European Ethnology and reproduce them in a presentation,
    • explain and apply the methodological approaches of the subject (European Ethnology, Cultural Anthropology, Folklore) in general terms,
    • interpret cultural phenomena in the context of interdisciplinary and (inter)national research.

Competence for skilled occupation

  • Graduates acquire profound knowledge in one of the following areas within the framework of a practical training course: Museum education, analysis of archival sources, project/cultural management or field research. They are able to explain important aspects of the respective field of work and to put them into practice under supervision. This qualifies them for further education in the area of cultural studies (e.g. archive, museum).
  • Further knowledge of migration or digitalization obtained by the graduates in practical courses and research projects opens up professional fields in the field of city marketing and cultural management, intercultural communication as well as in publishing houses or public relations. They are able to conduct extensive research and deal with different sources. In addition, they recognize complex cultural contexts and can thus develop new ideas for current challenges, as they have shown in term papers.
  • By spending time in the field, graduates are also able to recognize and analyze phenomena relevant to the subject outside of the usual learning environment in university. They are able to structure and critically assess the insights they have gained. They can illustrate complex cultural contexts using tangible examples from everyday culture. This competence in cultural mediation enables activities in the field of education or (inter-)cultural communication.
  • After having attended the three advanced modules, graduates of the minor option with 45 ECTS credits are able to understand contents oriented towards occupational fields, such as issues of intangible cultural heritage or material world heritage, and present them in a target group-oriented manner.
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Social Outreach

  • Graduates understand the cultural diversity of European cultures in past and present. Due to their empathetic approach, they are able to represent different positions, which they convey in the sense of a democratic attitude.
  • Graduates are able to explain cultural tensions from a historical, social and regional perspective. They can compare developments such as the resurgence of nationalism and populism with historical events and thus identify parallels.
  • They have gained an overview of culturally relevant topics and have a sense of Europe's cultural diversity (e.g. housing, food). They have become familiar with comparative cultural aspects and can recognize similarities and differences.
  • They are used to thinking in a nuanced way and also include minorities and/or marginalized groups in their considerations. They are able to reconstruct their emic point of view and reproduce it in a non-judgmental way.
  • Graduates are able to weigh different perspectives against each other. They are familiar with different social and cultural challenges in both the past and the present, so that they can contribute to new problem-solving approaches.

Personality development

  • Graduates develop an academic and professional ethos as scholars in the Humanities. They are aware of their responsibility to create important fundamentals for decisions about current issues and challenges in our society (e.g. dealing with colonial heritage).
  • They are able to work individually and cooperatively on a real-life project in a problem-discovering and problem-solving manner.
  • Through planning their studies by themselves, they are self-organized and can reflect on their own actions as they communicate within the subject and with laypersons, which they have demonstrated in the context of team-building activities.
  • They design self-controlled learning processes and acquire new knowledge.
  • They develop a culturally sensitive attitude and are able to design response concepts for the individual needs of different social groups.