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| Semester | fall semester 2020 |
| Course frequency | Every fall sem. |
| Lecturers | Kenny R. Cupers (kenny.cupers@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | This course explores research methods focused on the materiality of cities and landscapes. The process of urbanization is not only an economic, social, and political process, but also a transformation in “bricks and mortar.” As they focus on understanding urbanization as a dynamic process, social scientists often regard the built environment as not more than a passive reflection or manifestation of abstract forces. Yet the city exerts power through its material constitution and transformation. The city shapes and is shaped by the production, circulation, consumption of materials and things—from gold to waste, and from oranges to cell phones. Buildings and streets shape not only meaning and experience but also social identities and cultural difference. And the city's physical form and transformation over time guide, however fickle and unpredictably, the agency of its residents. The seminar explores some major and minor intellectual traditions upon which materially oriented methods of urban research have been based. Our principal focus is on relating current theoretical debates about materiality (often under the banner of “new materialism”) to concrete methods of material analysis. The latter include formal analysis and phenomenological approaches in architecture and urbanism, analyses of the city as a metabolic system, and archaeological research. From Karl Marx to Bruno Latour and through concepts from meaning to performance, the seminar provides students with conceptual tools and research skills to study the city as a socio-material complex. To put these tools and methods to work, students will explore a specific case study and develop it into a collaborative research project. |
| Learning objectives | - An understanding of key conceptual approaches to the material analysis of cities and landscapes - An ability to analyze environments in aesthetic and architectural terms, using lenses such as style, form, meaning, experience, affect, and performance - An ability to analyze (and distinguish between) the intentions of physically designed spaces and their social and political effects - An ability to develop independent urban research projects focused on the materiality of cities and landscapes |
| Comments | ***Important note**** Due to Corona measurements and health and safety reasons - This course is on a first serve basis with Master Students of Critical Urbanisms being prioritised over students from other subject areas. ONLINE PRESENCE - ***Important note*** - a blended model of in presence and online teaching is aimed for - however, please do follow the instructions of the lecturer each week. Please do not show up at the room without double checking the course model of each week and keep up to date 24 hrs prior to the next course. |
| Admission requirements | ***Important note**** Due to Corona measurements and health and safety reasons - This course is on a first serve basis with Master Students of Critical Urbanisms being prioritised over students from other subject areas. |
| Course application | Please follow corona measurements instructions - further inforamtion below. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|
No dates available. Please contact the lecturer.
| Modules |
Modul: Fields: Media and Imagination (Master's degree program: African Studies) Modul: Materialitäten (Master's degree program: Cultural Techniques) Module: Projects and Processes of Urbanization (Master's degree program: Critical Urbanisms (Start of studies before 01.08.2020)) Module: Ways of Knowing the City (Master's degree program: Critical Urbanisms) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | as often as necessary |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Urban Studies |