At the graduation ceremony of the Department of Social Sciences, which was very well attended with 500 guests, the graduates were once again able to receive their certificates in person in the presence of family and friends. The Dean of Studies, Prof Dr Sandra Seubert, hosted the evening. The event was accompanied by musical contributions from pianist Lan Phien Pham.
The event was opened with a welcoming address by the Dean, Prof Dr Christopher Daase. The Dean particularly addressed the hardened fronts with regard to the discussions surrounding the Middle East conflict and urged graduates to make use of the skills they had acquired during their studies, to evaluate positions independently and not to allow themselves to be influenced by truncated and distorted discourses.
The students of the faculty, represented by Philomena Höner, also congratulated the graduates in their speech. In her speech, Ms Höner addressed the various phases of the degree programme and gave a very entertaining account of the experiences of students with regard to the events of recent years.
Prof Dr Uta Ruppert then gave her keynote speech entitled ‘Feminist foreign policy? Your answers please!’. Uta Ruppert began by explaining the United Nations' definition of feminist foreign policy and presented the associated guidelines. Feminist foreign policy, Uta Ruppert concludes, is a ‘foreign policy for all’. With Adorno, Horkheimer and Hans Christoph Koller, Ms Ruppert establishes a direct link between the social sciences and feminist foreign policy and illustrates the controversies within the academic debate by presenting a joint discussion round with the political scientist Claudia Zilla. Finally, Uta Ruppert congratulates all graduates and sends them off into the world with a quote from the writer Toni Morrison:
The ceremonial presentation of the certificates to the graduates was the highlight of the evening. The Dean of Studies Prof. Dr Sandra Seubert, the Dean Prof. Dr Christopher Daase and the programme directors Prof. Dr Claudius Wagemann, Prof. Dr Alexander Schmidt-Catran, Prof. Dr Doris Schweitzer, Prof. Dr Markus Lederer and Prof. Dr Dirk Jörke personally congratulated all graduates. Around 150 graduates from the BA Political Science, BA Sociology, MA Political Science, MA Sociology, MA Economic Sociology, MA International Studies Peace and Conflict Research and MA Political Theory programmes were ceremoniously presented with their certificates.
After the ceremony, there was a drink for all guests of the ceremony and many of the participants stayed until late in the evening.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who contributed to the success of the 2024 graduation ceremony.
