This department is devoted to analysing cultural patterns and processes of societal change as articulated in art, literature and architecture, including various fields of popular culture and knowledge production. It is concerned with images and the imagination in a broad sense as well as with the significance of culture for the formation of societies. This endeavour centres around visual material and narrative sources but also comprises performative practices. With this profile, the department offers a framework for interdisciplinary studies across a broad spectrum of cultural and historical subjects. 

Its current research has three main strands: »Heritage and Canon«, »Knowledge and Truth«  and »Visions for the Future«, all building on current societal debates. They are closely interwoven with the GWZO’s main themes and connected to the Leibniz Research Alliance »Values of the Past« in which several of the department’s employees are involved.

The department is headed by Prof. Dr. Arnold Bartetzky.