A Transformation of Culture
The Off-Off Cultural Scene in the Ruhr

Ruhrpott-Battle 2007 / Photo: Bernd Schäfer

The project rests on certain basic assumption:
• Culture is an embattled realm regarding identities, production sites, content, distribution channels, opportunities to present and types of participation and viewing
• Cultural identities in the Ruhr have a specific relationship to the region's structural change and globalization processes, which can be identified as cultural and communicative processes of de- and re-territorialization
• The "invisible" cultural activities in particular are a vital part of the Ruhr identity and symbols of the region's cultural change; they also make substantial and sustainable contributions to cultural change.

It is furthermore assumed that the dominant cultures will not always prevail in these processes and that mixed forms or hybrid cultures are established. Hence, such categories as inclusion, exclusion, assimilation and hybridation can be defined for cultural processes.

By means of a field study using the methods of critical ethnography, the project aims to describe cultural actors, activities, movements and developments not covered by the media and their impact, particularly on the Ruhr's cultural change.

These processes will be determined using qualitative studies in the areas of football, street culture, visual media, theatre and music. The project is designed take place over the period of a year, from July 2009 to July 2010, with results to be documented and published.

Contact Person
Dipl. Ing. Bernd Schäfer, M.A.
Institut für Medienwissenschaft
Ruhr-Universität Bochum
E-Mail: bernd.schaefer@ruhr-uni-bochum.de

Other persons involved in the project
Prof. Dr. Franz R. Stuke
Dr. Arne Westermann
Marlena Fiestelmann (SHK)

You can find further information at:
www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/ifm/index_en.html