Germany

Born in 1989 in Gladbeck, Germany
Christina is about to finish her PhD about intercultural diplomacy in early modern West Africa and is working at the University of Münster as research assistant in the department of early modern history. (Last updated 2013)

"Fractures - the lives of workers, in times of restructuring" (2005)

In her study, Christina Brauner uses the example of her hometown of Gladbeck to address the subject of structural change in the Ruhr region. Although she chooses an eyewitness-based perspective, the 18-year-old student avoids portraying mineworkers simply as victims of restructuring. Instead, her work focuses more on the question of personal adjustments to structural change and its consequences. She detects two opposing tendencies: On one hand, since the 1950s, one can observe continuous improvement of working conditions and of work itself. But increasing mechanization went hand in hand with job reductions. Despite various attempts to restructure the Gladbeck economy, including bringing in a Siemens factory, the region still has one of the highest unemployment rates in western Germany. Christina Brauner concludes that "the structural change led to 'fractures' in the lives of eyewitnesses: These fractures refer to an end of traditions, beliefs and ways of life, but - very pragmatically - they also refer to the search for work and the differences between 'old' and 'new' work."

Christina Brauner's study "Fractures - the lives of workers, in times of restructuring" won first prize in the 2004/2005 German Federal President's History Competition. The competition's topic was: "Hard work pays off. Work in history."