Excellence Strategy

The Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences contributes in numerous ways to Heidelberg University’s Excellence Strategy. It joins the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Behavioural and Cultural Studies as one of the core collaborators of the Field of Focus IV – “Self-Regulation and Regulation: Individuals and Societies”. The central aim of this Field of Focus is to better comprehend processes of human (self-)regulation at the individual and organizational levels through interdisciplinary dialogue.

Through its participation in the Field of Focus, the Faculty furthermore contributes to the Flagship Initiative II “Transforming Cultural Heritage”. Situated at the intersection of the humanities and social sciences, this interdisciplinary research network investigates cultural heritage as an outcome of changing societal negotiations. In addition to questions of continuity and change in how cultural heritage is understood empirically and normatively, the network will ask crucial questions about the origins, meanings, and effects of cultural heritage – taking into account individual, group-based and societal perspectives. The Flagship Initiative conceptualizes cultural heritage dynamically, encompassing not only material cultural artefacts, but also languages, norms, or legal systems. The Flagship is hosted by the Heidelberg Center for Cultural Heritage.