The departmental working group on anti-discrimination was established by staff members and students at the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Cologne in 2021. Our collective mission is to actively address and counteract various forms of discrimination, with a focus on the areas of studying and teaching. Our objectives include fostering greater awareness and sensitivity to discrimination patterns as well as advocating for structural changes and actively supporting their implementation. Furthermore, we aim to stimulate a critical and reflective exploration of our academic history and the discipline’s conventions. The past few years, the working group has among others organized workshops on unconscious bias for teaching staff, initiated revisions of specific course content, advocated for a user notice at the departmental library, and established an awareness concept and awareness team for the GASCA-conference in Cologne in 2025.

In addition to this broader work, the working group members can also be approached in case of specific suggestions with regards to anti-discrimination measures or in case of individual experiences of discrimination. The working group can support with documentation, with referring you to one of the many central services at our university (also listed below) and with bringing specific topics to the attention of the department’s board. You can send an email to the working group:

ag-antidiskriminierung[a]uni-koeln.de 

You can also contact one of the working group members of your choice directly via their university email. The following people are currently active in the working group (new members are welcome!): Gerda Kuiper, Michaela Pelican and Sina Plücken.

Some central contact & reporting points of the University of Cologne (beyond the department)

1. Faculty Liaison Officers at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities (contact person for BA and MA students in cases of discrimination for confidential counselling – website text is in German but the officers can be addressed in English)
2. Ombudsperson for doctoral students at the graduate school a.r.t.e.s. (contact person for PhD-students at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities in case of problems or conflicts with PhD-supervisors or mentors)
3. Central Office for Protection against Discrimination and Abuse of Power (confidential counselling for staff and students of the university)
4. Service Centre Inclusion (university-wide counselling around illness, disability or stress) and the Inclusive peer support at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities (support by students for students with regards to questions around studying with a disability, chronic illness, mental illness or neurodivergence)
5. Central Gender Equality Officer of the university (offers advisory services to all university members in matters of equality)
6. Anti-discrimination office of the autonomous BIPoC-Unit (student-run documentation and reporting office for all cases of discrimination related to racism)

Further relevant counselling offers within and beyond the university are listed on the website of the Office for Equal Opportunities. Their website also has a page with relevant policies and guidelines at UoC.