Johannes Stengel

Education

• Since 10/2024
  Ph.D. candidate, Institute of Geography, Chair of Social Geography, Friedrich Schiller University of Jena (funded by a doctoral fellowship from the Hans Böckler Foundation starting 01/2026)

• 10/2020 - 03/2022
  Certificate Program in Educational Organizational Consulting, Friedrich Schiller University of Jena
  
  
• 10/2016 – 09/2019
  M.A. in International Development Studies, University of Marburg
• 09/2017 – 12/2017
  Semester Abroad, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada
  
  
• 10/2012 - 09/2016
  B.A. in Sociology, Friedrich Schiller University of Jena

Professional Career

• 09/2023 - 07/2025
  Research Assistant, Faculty of Education, University of Leipzig, ▪ externally funded project “KliNaTrEm” - Climate change as a transdisciplinary field of action - Sustainability and empowerment in teaching and knowledge transfer
  
  
• 02/2022 - 08/2023
  Project Manager, Voluntary Ecological Year (FÖJ), Internationaler Bund (IB), Jena
  
  
• 05/2020 - 02/2022
  Assistant, Career & Welcome Point, Friedrich Schiller University of Jena
  
  
• 08/2019 - 09/2019
  Internship in the area of diplomacy-civil society networking, Federal Foreign Office, Berlin, International Diplomatic Training (Division 1-DA)
  
  
• 04/2019 - 05/2019
  Internship and research stay as part of my master’s thesis at the University of Tallinn (Estonia), Institute of Humanities, Department of Western European Languages and Cultures, under Prof. Dr. Maris Saagpakk

• Socio-ecological Transformation and Solidarity
• Social Justice and Participation
• Education for Sustainable Development
• Sustainable Urban Development
• Ethnographic Research

Dissertation Project

„Solidarität in der sozial-ökologischen Transformation. Eine ethnografische Untersuchung sozialer Praxis in ausgewählten Transition-Town-Initiativen." - english: “Solidarity in the Socio-Ecological Transformation: An Ethnographic Study of Social Practices in Selected Transition Town Initiatives.”

My dissertation examines the social dimension of ecological transformation at the local level. While the focus is often on the macrosocial dynamics of sustainability strategies, this research aims to shed light on how people develop and implement concrete alternatives to fossil-fuel-based economic and lifestyle models in their everyday lives. The concept of solidarity is central to this doctoral project. The sociological origins of a universal claim to solidarity are identified, and the study then investigates which understandings of mutual aid are currently being practiced in grassroots environmental initiatives. From a geographical perspective, solidarity is also examined in terms of the spatial and structural conditions that make its emergence possible in the first place.

Transition Town initiatives form the empirical field of study for my work. They see themselves as local spaces for experimentation where sustainable lifestyles and solidarity-based economies are put into practice. In previous research, Transition Towns have often been examined in terms of resilience, local economic cycles, or climate protection. The role of solidarity as a social practice has received less attention to date, as has the connection to concepts of society with minimal hierarchy as a framework for enabling change. How, for example, can participatory economies, radically democratic approaches, and egalitarian forms of decision-making help resolve conflicts arising from transformation?

To examine these questions empirically, several Transition Town initiatives in Germany are being studied ethnographically. Data collection involves participant observation and guided interviews. In addition, various documents (strategy papers, agendas, and brief descriptions) that were made available during the fieldwork are collected and subsequently analyzed. The data will then be analyzed using grounded theory and sequence analysis methods. With this work, I am making a social-geographical contribution to transformation research by examining the material and spatial conditions under which practices of solidarity emerge, stabilize, or face challenges.

Summer Semester 2025

Seminar at the Center for Teacher Education and School Research, University of Leipzig: Learning Through Engagement—Participatory Design of Local Climate Adaptation.

Winter Semester 2024/25

Seminar at the Center for Teacher Education and School Research, University of Leipzig: Learning Through Engagement—Participatory Design of Local Climate Adaptation.

Stengel, J. (2026): Solidarität als soziale Praxis in Transformationsprozessen – Projektvorstellung und Diskussion. Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, Einführungsseminar für Promovierende, 22.01.2026, Springe.

Stengel, J. (2025): Pitch your PhD-project: Vorstellung im Rahmen des Herbstforum-Promotionsworkshops der Hans-Böckler-Stiftung zum Thema "Sozial-ökologische Transformation: Herausforderungen, Spannungsfelder und Handlungsmöglichkeiten." 11.-12.11.2025, Berlin.

Stengel, J. (2025): Visual Assembly: Workshop zu demokratischer Imagination im Rahmen der ALOTA Universität Jena. 09.10.2025, Jena.

Stengel, J. (2025): Soziokratie – gleichberechtigte Entscheidungsfindung in Gruppen: Beitrag im Rahmen der Netzwerk-Calls der Transition Initiativen D-A-CH. 27.08.2025, Online.

Stengel, J. (2025): Kommunale nachhaltige Entwicklung erfahrbar machen – Gestaltungskompetenzen durch Service-Learning im Hochschulkontext vermitteln: Workshop-Konzept beim Hochschuldidaktischen Zentrum (HDS) der Universität Leipzig. 26.06.2025, Leipzig.

Stengel, J. (2024): Projektmanagement im Kontext von nachhaltiger Campusentwicklung: Workshop-Konzept im Rahmen der Public Climate School (PCS) der Universität Leipzig. 16.05.2024, Leipzig.

Stengel, J. (2023): Der Klimawandel als ein transdisziplinäres Handlungsfeld - Nachhaltigkeit und Empowerment in (der) Lehre und (im) Transfer: Vortrag im Rahmen der Veranstaltung „Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung in der Lehre“, Dies Academicus der Universität Leipzig. 04.12.2023, Leipzig.