Research Project

The "closure" of mines

Due to upcoming mine closures in the Ruhr and the Saarland, significant consequences for economy, politics, and last but not least for the inhabitants of the regions and their social structures will occur. These processes will be monitored in their local, regional and cultural dimension by the project which is funded by the RAG-Foundation. Thus, both the historical experiences of closures of mines and current control processes as conducted by the public policy and economy will be analyzed. A closer look will be taken at the opportunities and limits of cultural processes arising from the mining traditions of the local area. The project is carried out by an interdisciplinary team, which will present the scientific results in a final report which will form the basis of a wide range of support of the mine closures by representatives of the public and businesses.

For more information please contact:
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Mittag

The project is being handled by
Kathrin Oerters, M.A.
Dipl.-Soz. Wiss. Marco Förster
Dr. Gunnar Gawehn