Welcome…

…to the BMBF junior research group “Mentalities in flux: imaginaries and social structure in modern circular bio-based societies”.

From a sociological and historical perspective, we study how people’s basic mindsets, attitudes, and common imaginations change through the rise of the bioeconomy. Our research explores the social consequences of energy and resource transformations that are moving societies away from the use of fossil fuels and other non-renewable resources and turning them towards a production based on biological materials and renewable forms of energy.

On the following pages we would like to introduce ourselves, provide some insights into our research, and inform you about our current work as well as upcoming events.

If you are interested in the topic or have questions about our research, you are welcome to contact us at flumen@uni-jena.de. You will find some more information about the project in our Flyer.


Latest Publications
flumen active

Article
Friedrich, J., Holz, J., Koch, P., Pungas, L., Eversberg, D., Zscheischler,, J. (2023):
“Rural bioeconomies in Europe: Socio-ecological conflicts, marginalized people and practices” GAIA. More


Article
Holz, Jana and Koch, Philip (2023):
“Wie die Bioökonomie versucht nachhaltig zu sein” in the reader “Sustainability Dilemmas”. More


Article
Gebauer, J., von Yorck, G., Pungas, L., (2023): 
“Degrowth Enthusiasm and the Transformation Blues of the East“ for the Institute for International Political Economy Berlin. More


Article
Holz, Jena (2023):
“The concept of the human-forest relationship (HFR) – Definition and potentials for forest policy research” in Forest Policy and Economics. More



Article
Pungas, Lilian (2023): “Dachas and food democracy—What makes a (good) food citizen?” in Frontiers in Food Systems. More


Article
Eversberg, D., Koch, P., Lehmann, R. et al. (2023): “The more things change, the more they stay the same: promises of bioeconomy and the economy of promises” in Sustainability Science. More



Article
Holz, Jana (2023): “Threatened sustainability: extractivist tendencies in the forest-based bioeconomy in Finland.” More



Article
Pungas, Lilian (2023): “Invisible (bio) economies: a framework to assess the ‘blind spots’ of dominant bioeconomy models.” More


Article
Koch, Philip (2022): “Ecuador: Bioökonomie und Biodiversität.” More


Book Chapter
Eversberg, Dennis (2022): “Kämpfe um die Lebensweise
Praktische Dimensionen des sozial-ökologischen Transformationskonflikts”
More


Article
Eversberg, Dennis/Holz, Jana/Pungas, Lilian (2022): “The bioeconomy and its untenable growth promises: reality checks from research” More


Article
Fritz, Martin et al. (2022): “Ecological ceiling and social floor: public support for eco-social policies in Sweden” More


Book Chapter
Pungas, Lilian et al. (2022): “Same, Same but Different? The ‘Right’ Kind of Gardening and the Negotiation of Neoliberal Urban Governance in the Post-socialist City.”
More


Article
Schmelzer, Matthias (2022): “From Luddites to limits? Towards a systematization of growth critiques in historical perspective”
More


Article
Dennis Eversberg (2022): “The social-ecological transformation conflict and the Socialist Youth in Germany 2022”
More


Article
Dennis Eversberg (2022): „Klimarassismus – Neue Polarisierung oder ,innerimperiale Kämpfe reloaded‘?“ More


Article
Dennis Eversberg, Philip Koch, Jana Holz, Lilian Pungas & Anne Stein (2022): Social relationships with nature: elements of a framework for socio-ecological
structure analysis More


Article
Pungas, Lilian (2022): Who stewards whom? A paradox spectrum of
human–nature relationships of Estonian dacha gardeners. More


Article
Venghaus, Sandra, /Eversberg, Dennis/Fritz, Martin/Pungas, Lilian (2022): Editorial to the Special Issue: Promises of growth and sustainability in the bioeconomy.



Article
Eversberg, Dennis & Fritz, Martin (2022): Bioeconomy as a societal transformation: Mentalities, conflicts and social practices. More


Article
Fritz, Martin et al. (2021): Habitus and climate change: Exploring support and resistance to sustainable welfare and social–ecological transformations in Sweden. Mehr


Working Paper No 5
Eversberg, D.; Fritz, M.; Holz, J.; Koch, P.; Pungas, L.; Schmelzer, M. (2021): Mentalities Matter. Social-Ecological Mentalities and their significance in post-fossil transformations



Working Paper No 3
Büttner, Melissa und Matthias Schmelzer (2021): Fossile Mentalitäten. Zur Geschichte der fossilen Durchdringung moderner Vorstellungswelten (pdf)


Article
Eversberg, Dennis (2021): “Beliefs and knowledges – Socio-Ecological Mentalities and the Trilemmas of Covid and Climate”, In: The European Sociologist (Issue 46: Pandemic (Im)Possibilities vol. 2)




working paper No 1 Eversberg, Dennis (2020): Bioeconomy as a stake in polarising social conflicts? The distribution of socio-ecological mentalities within the German population in 2018 and the resulting potentials for support and resistance to bio-based transformations.


Article
Eversberg, Dennis (2020): „The social specificity of societal nature relations in a flexible capitalist society.“ In: Environmental Values (fast-track pdf e-print).

Event
Presentation of the “BioMentalitäten” survey by the BMBF junior research group flumen followed by a panel discussion on 21 September 2023.
More


Junior Scientists
Flumen’s research assistants Linda von Faber and Moritz Harzbecher accepted into Honours Programme for research-oriented students
More


Lecture
Jana Holz, Lilian Pungas and Matthias Schmelzer at the 9th international Degrowth Conference in Zagreb, 29 August – 02 September. More


Lecture
Martin Fritz at the colloquium on the history of science at the Ernst-Haeckel-Haus of the FSU Jena, 22 June 2023
See post


Presentation
Martin Fritz and Linda von Faber at KSG Erfurt on “Inequalities in the context of energy crisis and socio-ecological transformation”, 31 May 2023
See post


Article
Flumen in the MDR Climate Update issue #91 of 02 June. “And where do you like to bubble around?”
To the article


Interview
„Von Yuppies, Ökos, Egos und dem kleinen Mann“ – Interview with Jana Holz and Martin Fritz in the taz |
13 May 2023.
To the article


Save the Date & Call for Participation 
Sociological Forest Symposium at FSU Jena, 01 December 2023
More


Workshop
As part of the transfer event in Finland Jana Holz co-organizes the workshop “(Bio)diversity in forests” from 16 to 17 May in Jyväskylä. More


Interview
Dennis Eversberg in “Studio 9” in Deutschlandfunk Kultur | 29 March 2023. More


Matthias Schmelzer and Melissa Büttner in “Zeitfragen.Feature” of Deutschlandfunk Kultur | 29 March 2023. More


Presentation
Jana Holz presents her paper “Paradox relationships with forests in Central Finland: A critical discussion from a qualitative, sociological perspective” at JYU.Wisdom lunch colloquium | 17 May 2022. More


transfer event
Jana Holz presents research results in Finland | 15 -26 May 2023. More


Scientific Coffee “Human-Forest-Relationships”
Next Scientific Coffee with Peeter Vihmar (Estonian University of Life Sciences) on “Origins, peace negotiations and failures in Estonian ‘forest war'” | 15 February 2023, 1-3 p.m. CET. More


Call for Sessions
The University of Helsinki is calling for abstracts and sessions for the 2023 Sustainability Science Days, May 24–26. More


Colloquium

Research colloquium “Sustainability and Social Transformation” in the winter semester 2022/23
More


transfer event
Lilian Pungas discusses first research results in Eastern Estonia | 8 & 11 September 2022


Dennis Eversberg in kulturWelt on Bayern 2 bioenergy villages, regenerative energies and how a change of mentality can succeed

Scientific Coffee Human-Forest-Relationships
Next scientific coffee with Maija Halonen from the University of Eastern Finland: “Socio-economic forest relations in Northern peripheries” on 1 June 2022, 1-3 pm CET. More


Dr. Martin Fritz as a guest at Lund University in Sweden


keynote online now Cara Daggett (Virginia Tech, USA): Desiring Energy: Toxic Fantasies of Fuel, Freedom, and Work

Workshop
Mental Infrastructures of Modern Fossil and Bio-based Societies | Workshop | 19 & 20 May 2022. More


Scientific CoffeeHuman-Forest-Relationships” with M.Sc. Dominik Menton-Enderlin from Forest Research Institute Baden-Württemberg (FVA): „Basically this is all my forest“ | 6 April 2022, 1-3 pm CET. More


Presentation
Martin Fritz and Max Koch present their paper “Habitus and Climate Change: Exploring support and resistance to sustainable welfare and social–ecological transformations in Sweden” online at the Lund University on 30 September 2021. More

Discussion
Matthias Schmelzer takes part in a panel discussion on climate policy on 22 April 2021 as part of the Climate & Economics Workshop of the Institut für Sozioökonomie der Universität Duisburg


Presentation
Matthias Schmelzer presents his paper „From Luddites to Malthus: Towards a history of growth critiques“ on 21 April 2021 at the Environmental History Week of the American Society for Environmental History.


Workshop
Contested Society-Nature-Relations. Forest related Emotions, Practices & Conflicts in Times of Societal Change, 27/28 May 2021. More


Presentation
Jana Holz takes part in the workshop “potentials of the concept of circular economy” on March 24, 2021. More


Presentation and 3MT-challenge participation
Jana Holz takes part in the 3rd International Forest Policy Meeting, 17-18 March 2021. More


Presentation
Matthias Schmelzer participates at the workshop „The Ecology of Economic Thought“ at the Weatherhead Center/Harvard University, 03 Feb 2021. More


Presentation
Lilian Pungas speaks about oil shale extraction and dacha-gardening in Estonia, 26 November 2020


Presentation
Dennis Eversberg at the research colloquium of Prof. Dr.
Stephan Lessenich
on 24 November 2020


Presentation
Jana Holz’ presentation on forest bioeconomy as an extractivist practice at the Doc­toral Stu­dents’ Annual Conference in Helsinki


Article
Dennis Eversberg: „The renegotiation of our relation to nature


Interdisciplinary Workshop
It’s the (bio)economy, stupid! – The future of growth and the promise of the bioeconomy
7 / 8 Oktober 2020, Jena (Germany)


Webinar: “The policy legend of the circular bioeconomy: A biophysical view of the sustainability predicament


Martin Fritz’ presentation “Social and ecological economy. Concepts and varieties of degrowth”


Out and about: Lilian Pungas and Jana Holz doing field research


Flumen contributions at the Degrowth Conference 2020