The HfG bids fare­well to Prof. PD Dr. habil. Ange­lika Karger

Prof angelika karger hfg

The long-stan­ding Professor of the Scien­tific Foun­da­tions of Design and Design Theory was employed at the HfG from 1 March 2005 to 31 August 2018. With her passing, the univer­sity loses a distin­gu­ished thinker, a dedi­cated mentor and a figure who has shaped the HfG commu­nity both acade­mi­cally and perso­nally over many years.

Her academic career was charac­te­rised by a passion for the inter­sec­tions of philo­sophy, semio­tics and design. After comple­ting her studies, she obtained her docto­rate in 1981 at the Faculty of Philo­sophy at the Univer­sity of Stutt­gart. She subse­quently completed her habi­li­ta­tion in Stutt­gart in 1986 under the super­vi­sion of the renowned philo­so­pher Max Bense. She subse­quently taught Scien­tific Foun­da­tions and Philo­sophy of Science at the Insti­tute for Philo­sophy of Tech­no­logy and Philo­sophy of Science at the Univer­sity of Stutt­gart. Before her appoint­ment at the HfG, she held visi­ting profes­sor­ships at, among others, the Univer­si­ties of Frei­burg im Breisgau and Osna­brück and the Darm­stadt Univer­sity of Applied Sciences – and taught at the Univer­sity of Ulm and the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stutt­gart.

As Professor of the Theo­re­tical Foun­da­tions of Design, she placed parti­cular emphasis on design theory and semio­tics. She enthu­si­a­sti­cally imparted the theo­re­tical foun­da­tions of crea­tive design to her students. She also led the Master’s programme in Product Plan­ning and Design with great dedi­ca­tion and played a key role in shaping its curri­culum.

In addi­tion to her teaching and rese­arch duties, Ange­lika Karger also took on respon­si­bi­li­ties in academic self-gover­nance. As a long-stan­ding Equal Oppor­tu­ni­ties Officer, she cham­pioned equal oppor­tu­ni­ties and the inte­rests of women at the univer­sity.

In 2018, Ange­lika Karger retired. The mark she left on the HfG Schwä­bisch Gmünd – both in terms of the university’s academic profile and in personal inter­ac­tions – remains alive.

Our deepest sympa­thies go out to her family and all those who accom­pa­nied her on her journey. The HfG will honour the memory of Ange­lika Karger.