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| Semester | fall semester 2021 |
| Course frequency | Irregular |
| Lecturers | Maren Larsen (maren.larsen@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | This seminar explores current theories in and for urban studies. Through intensive reading, students in the course will explore how urban theory, postcolonial studies, feminist theory, science and technology studies, theories of capitalism, the environmental humanities, and critical race studies have been brought to bear on urban research. Our central goal is to problematize the relationship between the intellectual project of various strands of self-identified theory and its purpose or intended domain of “application” in urban studies. Rather than conceiving of theory as somehow hovering above reality or disciplinary purviews and therefore universally applicable to urban analysis, this course situates theoretical production in the specific intellectual, material, and geographical contexts from which it emerges. Central to this course is the ability to situate theory’s claims to validity in the urban. We will start from current urban debates that position “theory from the South” against renewed efforts to theorize global change and planetary transformation. Of particular interest here is an understanding how specific histories of global conflict as well as current anti-colonial, feminist, queer, environmentalist, and indigenous struggles spur theories of urbanity and urban transformation. Our focus will also be on the relationship between technology and subjectivity in the conceptualization of cities, and how race and gender can be analyzed as both constitutive of and constructed by the urban. We will also examine recent conceptualizations of nature and capitalism can inform new approaches to our understanding of cities, territories, and landscapes. In addition to discussions of texts and media, the course will feature targeted assignments for students to mobilize theoretical arguments in their ongoing urban research. |
| Learning objectives | - An understanding of current theoretical debates in and for urban studies - An ability to contextualize theoretical arguments and situate their claims to validity in the urban - An ability comment upon, revise, and re-purpose theory for the argument of an urban research project |
| Comments | This course is mainly for Second Year Master Students in Critical Urbanisms and on timely registration students from the Critical Urbanisms will be prioritised before students from other subject areas. |
| Admission requirements | Recommended for second year MA in Critical Urbanisms and Ph.D. in Urban Studies students |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Tuesday | 16.00-18.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 115 |
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday 28.09.2021 | 16.00-18.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 115 |
| Tuesday 05.10.2021 | 16.00-18.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 115 |
| Tuesday 12.10.2021 | 16.00-18.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 115 |
| Tuesday 19.10.2021 | 16.00-18.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 115 |
| Tuesday 26.10.2021 | 16.00-18.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 115 |
| Tuesday 02.11.2021 | 16.00-18.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 115 |
| Tuesday 09.11.2021 | 16.00-18.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 115 |
| Tuesday 16.11.2021 | 16.00-18.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 115 |
| Tuesday 23.11.2021 | 16.00-18.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 115 |
| Tuesday 30.11.2021 | 16.00-18.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 115 |
| Tuesday 07.12.2021 | 16.00-18.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 115 |
| Tuesday 14.12.2021 | 16.00-18.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 115 |
| Tuesday 21.12.2021 | 16.00-18.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 115 |
| Modules |
Modul: Fields: Knowledge Production and Transfer (Master's degree program: African Studies) Modul: Interdisciplinary and Applied African Studies (Master's degree program: African Studies) Modul: Transfer: Europa interdisziplinär (Master's degree program: European History in Global Perspective) Module: Projects and Processes of Urbanization (Master's degree program: Critical Urbanisms (Start of studies before 01.08.2020)) Module: The Urban across Disciplines (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 |