warauduati

Today, in the heart of Munich at the Marienplatz, a place frequently visited by residents on their way to work or to shop as well as by tourists because of the famous town hall with its glockenspiel, there was some hot protest action going on. The students of the Department of Cultural Anthropology and African Studies of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität had organized the demonstration since almost all the part-time lecturers had layed down their work this semester.

The situation is the following: part-time lecturers are a valuable base for the academic education at our institute, especially for the upcoming introduction of Bachelor and Master Study Programs. Mostly they are PhDs who are trying to follow a sientific career within the area of Ethnology. Their lectures are valuable to the students because they concern up-to-date investigation, theory, methodology and current interests in general, apart from the usual curriculum held by the professors. Unfortunately though their work is financially not hold in high esteem. Recent calculations led to the conclusion that for every hour of work, which includes the lecture itself, class preparation, revision, and correction of exams, papers, and presentations, payment is approximately by 1,90 Euros. Apart there is no refund for the journey nor for any working material, not even copies.
(Read Newspaper Article: AZ 04.02.2006)

To blame is not the institute itself, maybe not even the faculty, maybe higher not even the university, but rather the ministry of education and cultural affairs, which is not willing to spend more money on academic education, especially on the so-called „luxury“ or „remote subjects“ such as cultural sciences, such as cultural anthropology. The ridiculous is that Bavaria is introducing tuition fees soon, money used to fill in the blanks of the general budget rather than to attribute to where the money comes from … the students.

Therefore, after the part-timers went on strike, this is the first protest action taken by the students who work hand in hand with everyone else in our institute. Speakers were e.g. Wolfgang Wohlwend and Jens Zickgraf as representatives of the student council, Dr. Alexander Knorr as representative of the non-professorial staff as well as Prof. Dr. Heidemann. A combination of protest against the current situation at our institute and against the upcoming use of tuition fees or let’s say „tuition fees as such“.

Be a jugde of yourselves by viewing today’s pictures. (source and more pics in higher resolution: Fabian Klenk)

More information: PROTEST-Blog and Ethno::log.

Some more impressions of bygone travels … this time Australia.

I know the quality is horrible, but at the moment all this is especially for me playing around on this site!

Here are some photos I took in Cuba several years ago … enjoy! Click here!

(Maybe someone could help one day on how to embed the simpleviewer/flash player into the actual post!?)

Although it seems hard at times after seven years in Munich to once again live back in my hometown and to shuttle back and forth between the two places, this has its advantages as well. Yesterday for example the annual Jazz-Frühlung started in Kempten. Initiated 20 years ago with just a few gigs this jazz-festival evolved to one of the most extensive ones in Germany, nine days of about 90 concerts and sessions on app. 32 stages. Within these years the organisation was able to get some real celebrities within the wider community of Jazz: Ray Anderson, Jazzkantine, Nils Landgren, McCoy Tyner, Carolyn Breuer, Maria Joao, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dave Brubeck Quartet, Klaus Kreuzeder, Giora Feidman, Irakere, Sigi Schwab, Paul Kuhn … just to name a few.

Supported and completed is this event by young and often powerful and groovy local bands which seem to rock the house even more. ( … ;-) … remembering some really hot and funky belle-affaire-nights!) It’s simply amazing how many great bands there are even in a region like the Allgäu.

Last night was one of these nights. Unfortunately not a lot of people showed up due to little publicity, I guess, but the ones who were there had fun anyway and danced their asses off. Reason for this was Vokale Küche – a hiphop-funk-soul-jazz- indie-house-band from a town nearby … „Good music for good people“. And indeed … oh my, their drummer and bass player do it funky. When these two start on their groovy dance-vibes accompanied by turntables, synthie and guitar, when some very cool raps by various mc’s hit and once in a while a beautiful voice appears, flirting with the audience at all times … then the house really rocks! Complemented is the group by a small but precise horn section … hey, the trumpeter took his lessons from Belle Affaire for a little while ;-). To make a long story short … I just had in mind to go to a jazz session with some old friends … we turned out partying till four in the morning, enthusiasticly planning to return to the stage ourselves.

Vokale Küche should have a great future. I wish them the best of luck for sure. Check out their website for releases, tunes, gigs and pics.

A great start into the extended weekend (holiday on Monday!). After last night I will hit the bars and clubs once again … today’s program: Latin Dance Night with Azucar Cubana. Time to remember some bygone days in Cuba …

Well, whoever comes across this site within the next days … I greet and welcome you very much indeed! But have patience and stop by again, because so far the only thing to do here is to surf a few links I already posted.

It’s yet passed midnight, April the 29th, a Saturday … and finally I put into action what for so long I had been planning. I once used to be quite up-to-date with novelties when it comes to cyberspace. Now it’s anno 2006 and I am way behind in blogging and programming in particular! This also comes because of all the troubles installing every template as one finally wants it to be (foolish me who isn’t satisfied with one of the „all-inclusive-packages“). I have been working basicly two days and nights straight and still haven’t figured out every option there is. Not even was I able to put a nice photograph of one of my travels into my header (which is due rather to the bad quality of scanned pics … way behind in digital photography as well!). So for the next days I simply should stick with the pleasant layout by Shawn (ty). Heck, I am getting started, a bloody beginner…

The reason for yet another blog might be simply the fact of personal satisfaction. I guess so at least, because I won’t be led by the misconception that someone actually might read this blog continually. But to me it will serve just as my personal diary (with notes, ideas and thoughts from home) and later on as my anthropological fieldnotes (the work I should actually be doing for my thesis) … and who knows, someone might pass by and be interested.

Maybe blogging is the modern way of comunication? In the last months friends were dispersed all over the world, travelling, doing research, hanging out, whatever … almost no one wrote a personal e-mail, a letter or even a postcard but nearly everybody was dropping lines in their little weblogs sitting at the end of the world in a tiny internet-café keeping their folks at home posted. Hey I will just do the same …

The actual reason really is, on the one hand to digest my own thoughts, especially during fieldwork, take them into consideration, use them as some sort of database for myself and information platform for others … and on the other hand to keep in touch with modernity, to experiment and to test myself in various skills – even if it might just be getting in touch with my long-lost English again … too much Spanish lately!
Maybe it doesn’t matter! „All you have to decide, is what to do with the time that is given to you!“ And I dicided to open my personal blog!

Greets and Cheers. Stay tuned, there definitely will be more to come …

Marc aka warauduati