Everybody is talking about energy. But how do we know from which resources it can be obtained, how it can be measured and how much is available at all? Since the 19th century, physical and technical research on energy has been intertwined with political, cultural and economic discourses. In the seminar, we explore the knowledge regimes of energy from the 19th century until today.

Science has become a subject of research in its own right since the 20th century: the field of "science studies" examines the organization of science, its social benefits, its contribution to economic growth or its impact on people and nature. The seminar introduces the history of this research and sheds light on its applied and critical dimensions.

From its beginning, the history of neoliberal thought has been linked to debates about the status of knowledge in society. In the seminar, students learn to understand fundamental debates in the theory of science in their political and economic contexts; moreover, we explore to what extent neoliberal thinkers actually shaped specific forms of science policy and research funding in the 20th century

The seminar deals with the history and present of working conditions in science. Research requires time, a place to work, instruments, financial resources. How do social and economic relations, how do institutions and the ways of funding shape the working conditions in science?

The seminar deals with the history of the "green revolution" in the 20th century. Based on historical sources, it provides insights into the both political and scientific debates about the modernisation, productivity, and sustainability of agricultural production.