Modeling Nature
This faculty research area combines some of the current approaches at Universität Hamburg, including those in the new DFG center for advanced study in the humanities and social sciences Imaginaria of Force. They begin with the cultural perspectivation of nature—a ubiquitous yet hard-to-grasp subject matter that is thus a rich source of information—and follow twists and turns of its artistic, scientific, technical, and social ramifications. The term “modeling” thus describes the ongoing interplay between interpretation and manipulation, and between representation and change. It also targets the description, presentation, and construction of nature, and the preparation of its final appearance, while also comparing scientific, artistic, and technical methods deployed when dealing with nature. The Research Group Images of Nature, funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, has its eye trained on the relationship between visual representations and abstract concepts. The research area Modeling Nature will draw more heavily on linguistics and mathematics.