[Antiquitas] Fw: Closure of Archaeology at the Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin

[Nissin, Laura H]

Allekirjoituksia tarvitaan!

Antiikintutkimuksen verkosto seuraa myös tilannetta ja lähettää erillisen vetoomuksen mikäli sellaista toivotaan. Jaamme linkkiä myös kanavissamme.

Yt., Laura

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From: Classicists <CLASSICISTS at LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK> on behalf of Michael Squire <0000141eae46676f-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK>
Sent: Friday, February 20, 2026 6:55 PM
To: CLASSICISTS at LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK <CLASSICISTS at LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK>
Subject: Closure of Archaeology at the Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin

I’ve been asked by colleagues in Berlin to alert list-members to the plight of archaeology – including the renowned Winckelmann-Institut für Klassische Archäologie – at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.

A petition to stop the phased closure can be found via the link below, and I have copied the relevant text at the bottom of this message:

https://weact.campact.de/petitions/schliessung-des-instituts-fur-archaologie-an-der-hu-berlin?source=rec-wa&utm_medium=recommendation&utm_source=rec-wa&share=aed5af72-e319-42ae-89e4-a9c9d018135f

I am told that every signature counts, and that the President of the H-U zu Berlin, Prof. Dr. Julia von Blumenthal, can be reached via email on praesidentin at hu-berlin.de .



"PETITION AGAINST THE PLANNED CLOSURE OF ARCHAEOLOGY AT THE HUMBOLDT-UNIVERSITÄT ZU BERLIN

Archaeology has been part of the scholarly tradition of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin for almost 200 years. Its closure would mean the rupture of a long-established research tradition and a permanent weakening of Berlin’s academic landscape.

The argument that archaeology is already offered at another university falls short. Scholarship thrives on diversity, distinct profiles, and competing approaches. Eliminating a discipline at one university simply because it exists elsewhere is not a substantive academic argument, but an expression of pure cost-cutting logic.

The decision is the result of drastic budget cuts by the Berliner Senat. When austerity policies lead to the abandonment of entire disciplines, the damage is not merely financial but cultural and political. Archaeology is fundamental to understanding history, culture, and social development.

A “phased closure” stretched out over years destroys planning security, devalues ongoing research, and deters students as well as early-career scholars. The loss is permanent—the discipline does not simply return.

The planned closure is not a necessity, but a political decision. And political decisions can be changed.

With this petition, we oppose the medium-term closure of Archaeology at the Humboldt University of Berlin announced by the university administration as a result of the current austerity measures. This decision threatens a nearly two-hundred-year scholarly tradition and permanently weakens Berlin as a center of academic research. We call for the reversal of the closure decision and for the development of viable alternatives to preserve the discipline at Humboldt University.

We therefore urgently demand:
1. the suspension of the initiated closure process,
2. the transparent disclosure of the bases for the decision,
3. a serious examination of alternatives to the complete dissolution of the institute, in particular through structural reforms or cooperation agreements,
4. a clear political commitment by the Berliner Senat to the preservation of core disciplines in the humanities."

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