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Students sit on the steps of the Bayreuth Canal downtown.

Bayreuther Stadtgespräche: City Talks

Bayreuther Stadtgespräche (Bayreuth City Talks) have been taking place regularly at Iwalewahaus since July 2014. On the first Wednesday of each month from 6 to about 7.30 p.m., changing speakers offer insights into exciting and current topics. The lectures are open to all interested parties without registration – admission is free.

The basic idea of Bayreuther Stadtgespräche is to strengthen the connection between the City and the University. That is why the series of events is aimed at all Bayreuth citizens.

The venue is the Iwalewahaus (Wölfelstraße) in the heart of Bayreuth – right next to the Margravial Opera House. The speakers come from the University of Bayreuth, other universities or research institutes, or from (university) politics. (Higher education) policy issues are taken up and questions are discussed that are currently of concern to academia or citizens. This is done in an understandable way for people who are not familiar with the subject, and for non-academics.

The lectures are organised by the University of Bayreuth together with Universitätsverein Bayreuth e. V. and with the support of Universitäts-Forum Bayreuth – Kollegium Bayreuther Univ.-Professoren i. R.

Bayreuth City Talks: Upcoming events

3 December 2025, 6 p.m.:  "Changing cityscape: Prof. Kelly reads from Schwarz. Deutsch. Weiblich" 

Portrait photo of Prof Dr Natasha A. Kelly

Speaker: Prof. Dr. Natasha A. Kelly
Professor of Global African Arts and Academic Director of the Iwalewahaus

Prof. Dr. Natasha A. Kelly talks to Dr. Cassandra Mark-Thiesen (Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence) about her new role in Bayreuth and her highly acclaimed book ‘Schwarz. Deutsch. Weiblich.’ (Black. German. Female.)

In her book, Kelly links her personal development with 400 years of Black feminist history in German-speaking countries. The London-born communication scientist, author, curator, and multimedia artist impressively shows how elitist thinking and racist structures continue to shape Western feminism to this day—and why an intersectional view of discrimination is urgently needed. The publication has been praised by media outlets such as rbb Kultur, hr2, and FAZ as “courageous,” “well-founded,” and “socially relevant.” The FAZ writes the following about the book: “Natasha A. Kelly, a scholar with political experience, has not merely presented a feminist book, but a cultural history of Black women in Germany from the seventeenth century to the present day, inspired by personal experiences and extensively researched.”

Following the discussion and reading, Prof. Kelly will answer questions from the audience.

Past highlights of the event series (partly in German language)

For further information, please contact

Mann mit Brille

Gert Dieter Meier

Wissenschaftskommunikation, Abteilung Presse, Marketing und Kommunikation

Telefon: 0921 / 55-5356
E-Mail: gert.meier@uni-bayreuth.de  

Zentrale Universitätsverwaltung (ZUV), Büro 3.09
Universitätsstraße 30, 95447 Bayreuth