At the end of the year, there is a need for something reflective. That’s why, for many years, the Chair of New Testament Studies at the Department of Catholic Theology has hosted a Christmas lecture. This called for a secular alternative, and since December 2023, there have been two Christmas lectures: one for Christians and one for those who believe more in the five essential ingredients in Nutella. Fittingly, the debut lecture focused on a substance that is plentiful in Nutella: sugar – presented here as a world-historical drama in five acts. The event featured candlelight, seasonally appropriate baked goods, and a hefty dose of rhetorical bombast. It wasn’t exam-relevant, but it was an experience. And perhaps – hopefully! – this will someday become the Bochum cult lecture that anyone who studied history in Bochum simply must have experienced.

The next Christmas lecture will take place on Monday, 15 December at 10 a.m. c.t. in lecture hall HGA 30. I would like to thank my colleague Stefan Berger for making the last session before Christmas available for this purpose as part of his lecture on the history of the Ruhrgebiet.

What’s better than a good book? Exactly: talking about it with intelligent people. That’s why, at the start of my first semester at RUB, I organized an event where I, along with Tina Asmussen and Sandra Maß, discussed new books on the history of capitalism. The faculty liked it so much that they are planning a follow-up in the upcoming winter semester 2024/25 – details to follow here soon. All staff and students interested in historical topics are invited. The idea is to have an open and possibly controversial discussion about interesting books once a year, to explore new topics and get to know our colleagues. And perhaps we’ll come up with a better name for it than "Book Club."

When you’re studying history, you read loads of books, write essays and might even nibble on some biscuits during the Christmas lecture. It’s all very nice, of course, but hey – it won’t get you fit. A bit of exercise to balance things out helps, and because exercising in a group is simply more fun, there’s a dedicated team for history enthusiasts at the annual AOK company run at Lake Kemnade: “HIOB – Historians of Bochum”.

Since 2024, a spirited group of students and academic staff have been taking to the starting line to celebrate the diversity of our discipline: from the overambitious tenured professor, who, in complete disregard for the principles of teaching methodology, leaves everyone else in his wake, to those at the back of the field showing solidarity. Right in the middle of it all trots a well-known environmental historian, who noted with deep satisfaction in 2026 that he had managed to keep the gap to his colleague specialising in Eastern European history under six minutes. We optimise mediocre results using the methods of modern historical scholarship, as was the case in 2025, when we were able to boast two women among the top 100 female runners. Among them was a man who had stepped in at short notice for a fellow student who had fallen ill, but we were able to sort that out by drawing on Judith Butler. Incidentally, when it comes to running times, much like university marks, numbers aren’t everything.

You can recognise the HIOB runners by the ceremonial jersey of the Bochum Institute of History: a dark blue shirt adorned with the biblical motto from Job 2:13: "...for they saw that his suffering was very great."

Knowing the runners' athletic abilities, the professor places particular importance on ensuring that the back of the jerseys looks just as impressive as the front. Keep an eye out for this distinctive running shirt in the parks and green spaces of our city. And if it inspires you to take part yourself, the next Run of History is already firmly set for 2027.