German Migration Research Network (GMRN)

The German Migration Research Network (GMRN) offers a teaching-learning approach to the history of migration from Germany and Austria to Australia and the United States.

The project, funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), acts as a continuation of the international German Migration to Missouri digital courses. The GMRN originates from a collaboration of the Universität Hamburg, the University of Missouri–Kansas City, the Indiana University–Purdue University, the University of Vienna, and the Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia.

The GMRN courses are hosted on the homepage of the Hamburg Open Online University and – starting in summer of 2022 – provide Open Educational Resources for synchronous and asynchronous learning-teaching modules. The GMRN courses are tuition-free and open to the public. Participants receive written confirmation of the skills and knowledge acquired during the courses.

The project offers

• problem-based learning: participants are introduced to the field of migration history. They investigate, transcribe, comment on, and interpret hand-written primary sources. Participants acquire and consolidate the academic skills necessary during the course.
• explorative learning: participants work on unexplored primary sources. By employing previously acquired academic skills and methods, participants conduct their own research in the field of migration history. They formulate research questions, study academic literature, and explore and interpret the sources. Teachers accompany the research process and act as coaches. 
• project work: participants conduct their research projects within transnational teams. The team members plan and carry out their projects largely autonomously. Thus, participants are guided through the research process in its entirety, from initial planning to research and the presentation of their results. During the duration of the course, the participants acquire the various competencies needed for research, for example in the field of Digital Humanities and the IT-supported transcription of hand-written sources.     

Contact:

Catharina Köhnke, Philipp Wendler (project coordinator)