UNI NOVA – Research Magazine of the University of Basel
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Research
Emotions as key to the Middle East conflict.
Text: Stephanie Kirchmayr / Many consider the conflict between Israel and Palestine as intractable. Political scientist and social psychologist Oliver Fink investigates the role of emotions such as humiliation and empathy in this seemingly irreconcilable struggle. To undertake his project, Fink lived and worked in Jerusalem for three years.
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Alumni
A historian in the age of the data deluge.
Interview: Bettina Volz-Tobler / Historian Franziska Bühler of the Swiss Federal Statistical Office is responsible for coordinating the exchange of population data between the Swiss residents’ registers and Federal Statistical Office. Bühler serves as Section Head of sedex and Register Development, and she and her team play a key role in Switzerland’s federal data management.
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Alumni
On being human in Africa.
Text: Divine Fuh / Divine Fuh completed his doctorate at the University of Basel from 2005 until 2009 at the Institute of Social Anthropology and Center for African Studies. Today, he is director of the Institute for Humanities in Africa (HUMA) at the University of Cape Town.
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Column
Science meets the culinary arts.
Text: Michael Podvinec / My book: Molecular biologist Michael Podvinec recommends two favorite books from his cookbook collection.
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Dossier
From male provider to marriage for all.
Text: Christoph Dieffenbacher / What exactly constitutes a family is mostly determined by society – with genetics and reproductive medicine also playing an increasingly prominent role. The legal system is hard pressed to keep up, and laws have to be regularly revised.
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Dossier
Role models in conflict situations.
Text: Pascale Hofmeier / Arguments and disputes are a part of everyday family life. They only really become a problem if they are chronically destructive – as Dr. Letizia Gauck and her colleagues observe on a daily basis at the Center for Developmental and Personality Psychology.
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Dossier
Loving fathers and education at home.
Text: Eva Mell / Two historians are studying the role of knowledge transmission and emotions in Basel families of the eighteenth century. Research has long overlooked the fact that the Enlightenment was focused not only on reason, but also on emotions.
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Dossier
Love and care until the very end.
Text: Angelika Jacobs / Most people who develop a chronic or degenerative disease are cared for intensively by a female partner or daughter. Medical ethicist Christopher Poppe interviewed family carers of individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to find out more about their situation and needs.
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Dossier
Between old norms and new aspirations
Text: Samanta Siegfried / These days, balancing family and work is an issue for mothers and fathers alike. The Center for Gender Studies is examining why we find it so difficult to break out of traditional roles.