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 under flumen@uni-jena.de. You will find some more information about the project in our Flyer.
Latest Publications
flumen active

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

Working Paper No 6
Fritz, Martin. 2022. Employment and Working Conditions in the Bioeconomy in Finland and Germany

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

Artikel
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.: Mentalities Matter. Social-Ecological Mentalities and their significance in post-fossil transformations

Working Paper No 4
Koch, Philip. 2021. Back to old virtues? Olive growing in the province of Jaén between tradition and (bio-economic) modernity

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.
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

Workshop
Mental Infrastructures of Modern Fossil and Bio-based Societies | Workshop | 19 & 20 May 2022. more
Next Scientific Coffee Human-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