Arrive, Distribute, Draw

How do Freiburg residents shape their city? And how does the city of Freiburg leave its mark on the people who live there? Led by Dr. Sarah May, Master’s students of the University of Freiburg’s Institute of Cultural Anthropology and European Ethnology are examining a variety of aspects of the culture of life in Freiburg. Since October 2019 and in conjunction with this year’s anniversary of the city’s founding, the students have been working on the teaching project “Alltag findet Stadt” ("Daily Life Finds City"). They have been researching aspects of living here such as, for example, work and leisure, housing and mobility, or shopping and waste disposal. To conclude the project, the students are presenting their results to the public in an illustrated book which is accompanied by an Instagram video series and a poster campaign in Freiburg itself.

Whether it’s a student exchange at the university, the distribution of food using “Fairteiler” (“Fair Distributors”), or graffiti on lavatory walls – many practices, routines, and places characterize everyday life for people in Freiburg. Students carried out a total of sixteen studies with titles such as “Arrive,” (“Ankommen”), “Distribute Fairly,” ("Fairteilen") or “Draw” (“Kritzeln”). They spoke with people and followed them as they went about their day, carried out observations in the town, and analyzed media reports and records. They let the interviewees describe their lives and activities in the city. In doing so, they established the cultural relationships between people, practices, objects, and places in Freiburg.  May and the students want to use the illustrated book “Alltag findet Stadt” (“Daily Life Finds City”) to help make the studied topics understandable and accessible to the general public.

Website of „Alltag findet Stadt“ (in German)

The project on Instagram

Illustrated book „Alltag findet Stadt“