Repair as a topic of the future: Lecture at HafenCity University!

Repair as a topic of the future: Lecture at HafenCity University!

On July 1, 2025, HafenCity University Hamburg (HCU) will host a special lecture by Prof. Dr. Hanna Göbel organize. The inaugural lecture entitled “Repairing Environments” begins at 6:15 p.m. in the university auditorium. She treats repair as a cultural practice in everyday life and as an urgently needed cultural technique of the future. The lecture will be held in German and will shed light on how repairing can be understood in the techno-scientific age and in the context of the Anthropocene. Following the lecture, a reception will be organized, supported by the student councils for Urban Design and Culture – Digitalization – Metropolis.

Prof. Dr. Hanna Göbel was appointed to the HCU on February 1, 2025 and has been professor of “Methods of Urban Practice” ever since. She previously worked as a substitute professor for “Urban Anthropology and Ethnographic Methods”. Her research interests include urban studies, anthropology and the sociology of the body. Her current research examines physical disabilities and the influence of digital technologies on society and design.

Topics of the inaugural lecture

In her inaugural lecture, Göbel will give a programmatic outlook on cultural productions in the area of ​​“Methods of Urban Practice”. The context of repairing is viewed in terms of both material and social aspects. From this perspective there will also be a discussion about resource consumption, the obsolescence of technical objects and the ecological challenges of our time.

An important contribution to the discussion can be found in the publication “The Objectivity of Repairing: Lifespan, Repairability and Obsolescence in the History of Mass Consumption of Technology”, which sheds light on various aspects of repair. Chapters cover, among other things, the sociological exploration of recycling in Germany and India as well as repair practices in times of fast fashion.

Social relevance of repair

Against the backdrop of the current ecological crisis, topics such as resource conservation and sustainable development are becoming increasingly important. A significant amount of environmental degradation is reinforced by growth-oriented narratives of progress. In Germany alone, 400,000 new apartments are planned, which contributes to the construction sector accounting for around 40% of global CO2 emissions. Funding such projects conflicts with the urgent needs of climate protection.

The project “The Great Repair”, which is being discussed at the Academy of Arts, offers a promising approach. The exhibition presents 25 different positions from art, architecture and other spatial practices and addresses repair as a new design approach. In addition to the practical aspects, cultural and social dimensions are also taken into account in order to develop new strategies for reducing resource consumption.

The social relevance of these topics is reinforced by the contemporary discussion about the relationship between growth and ecology. It is required that, in addition to economic values, social values ​​such as solidarity and care work are taken into account. Prof. Dr. Hanna Göbel will make a valuable contribution to this important debate with her inaugural lecture.