We view Ethnology as a social and cultural science with tremendous potential for understanding and addressing the global challenges of our time.

Together with our students, we explore the effects of climate change, the cultural diversity of local community life, the dynamics of advancing urbanization, the creative use of digital media, the richness of material culture, the driving forces of migration, the conflicts surrounding religion and identity, and other pressing issues of our time.

To this end, we focus our attention on the complex changes in local living environments in the Global South, which we examine from the unique perspective of ethnological field research. This approach enables us to understand the realities of life from the culturally specific perspective of the people with whom we work in West and East Africa, Oceania, and Southeast Asia. This cooperation is also reflected in a large number of scientific partnerships between the Göttingen Institute of Ethnology and universities in Africa, Oceania, and Asia. As a result, studying ethnology at our institute allows for direct engagement with the perspectives, postcolonial conditions, and current challenges of the Global South. At the same time, it offers the opportunity for direct intercultural encounters and a wide range of opportunities for practical involvement in research projects, exhibitions, and the media communication of ethnological knowledge.