Auf gute Nachbarschaft!

Companies' community involvement turns out to be spatially relevant and–in many cases–to be focused on the near surroundings of the place of business. Some companies strategically align their involvement in order to systematically address local challenges. The essay at hand addresses the subject of corporate social responsibility from a local development perspective. Using the example of two family-owned enterprises based in Duisburg, Haniel and Grillo, it illustrates how socially committed companies can get involved with their local community by acting as good neighbours. Furthermore, it argues that socially committed companies can function as producers of space concerning matters of urban and local development. The specific local settings as well as the economic conditions of the local community serve as an explanatory background of the companies' involvement. The cases presented in this paper prove the firms' specific knowledge of local development needs and possibilities. This makes them qualified partners for local government actors and civil society actors. Thus, in the future, it is worth addressing corporate local responsibility from a governance point of view both in theory and in practice.     

On the life and work of Korbinian Brodmann (1868–1918)

This study describes the life and work of early-twentieth-century German scientist Korbinian Brodmann (1868–1918). His medical training at universities in Munich, Würzburg, Berlin, and Freiburg and his further education are illustrated. His early Leipzig career and cooperation with brain researchers Oskar and Cécile Vogt in Berlin are portrayed, as are his contributions to a localization theory of the cerebral cortex—namely, Brodmann’s cytoarchitectonic approach—and the invention of a cortex area nomenclature, further developed until the beginning of World War I. His Tübingen professorship and being nominated to manage a major department of Emil Kraepelin’s Munich research unit represent further aspects of this study, a promising career ahead, harshly interrupted by an early and unexpected death.     

Quedlinburg—10 Years on the World Heritage List: East–West Transformations of a Small Historic Town in Central Germany

While the conservation efforts and constraints in the medieval town of Quedlinburg are typical of the conditions in the smaller historic towns in the former German Democratic Republic, they also resemble those of small heritage towns in other countries. Shifts and changes are assessed for a time frame of about 25 years, before and after the pivotal event of German reunification of 1990. Located in a previously prosperous but now depressed region with more than 20% unemployment, Quedlinburg has suffered from the breakdown of the former agricultural and other industries in the region after 1990 and subsequent out‐migration. Some valuable historic buildings were lost before 1990, owing to neglect and lack of funding. Since then, improved funding, combined with public–private partnership, has helped the town to make very considerable conservation progress. The town’s World Heritage status since 1994 has been utilised as a significant supporting factor in tourism promotion, which has become an important part of the ongoing conservation processes.     

The Modern Girl around the World: A Research Agenda and Preliminary Findings

Our research collaboration examines how the Modern Girl emerged as a global phenomenon in the first half of the twentieth century. By wearing provocative fashions and pursuing romantic love, Modern Girls everywhere appeared to disregard the roles of dutiful daughter, wife and mother. We develop the Modern Girl as a heuristic category that allows new insights into forces of globalisation and manifestations of gendered modernity. Through a case study of cosmetics advertising in China, India, South Africa, Germany and the United States, we show that the Modern Girl in each locale was shaped through multidirectional citations of elements from elsewhere, through transnational processes of racialisation and through distinct articulations of nationalism.