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58597-01 - Course: Material Investigations (3 CP)
| Semester | fall semester 2023 |
| Course frequency | Every fall sem. |
| Lecturers | Fabrizio Furiassi (fabrizio.furiassi@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 tend to regard the built environment as a passive reflection or side-effect of economic, social and political forces. Yet the city exerts power through its material constitution and transformation. Places and urban landscapes shape and are 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 are based. Our principal focus is on relating current theoretical debates about materiality (such as “new materialism”) to concrete methods of material urban analysis. The latter include formal analysis and phenomenological approaches in architecture and urbanism, analyses of the city as a metabolic system, archaeological research, and critical heritage studies. As such, the seminar provides students with both conceptual tools and research skills to study the city as a socio-material complex. |
| Learning objectives | - an understanding of different approaches to the material analysis of cities and landscapes - an ability to analyze materials, buildings, and environments in aesthetic and architectural terms, using lenses such as style, form, meaning, experience, affect, heritage, 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 centered on the materiality of cities and landscapes |
| Comments | This course is on a first come first serve basis with Master Students of Critical Urbanisms being prioritized over students from other subject areas. Max. capacity 35 |
| Admission requirements | This course is on a first come first serve basis with Master Students of Critical Urbanisms being prioritized over students from other subject areas. |
| Course application | Anmelden: Belegen; Abmelden: nicht erforderlich |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Thursday | 14.15-18.00 | Alte Universität, Seminarraum -201 |
Dates
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday 28.09.2023 | 14.15-18.00 | Alte Universität, Seminarraum -201 |
| Thursday 05.10.2023 | 14.15-18.00 | Alte Universität, Seminarraum -201 |
| Thursday 26.10.2023 | 14.15-18.00 | Alte Universität, Seminarraum -201 |
| Thursday 02.11.2023 | 14.15-18.00 | Alte Universität, Seminarraum -201 |
| Thursday 23.11.2023 | 14.15-18.00 | Alte Universität, Seminarraum -201 |
| Thursday 30.11.2023 | 14.15-18.00 | Alte Universität, Seminarraum -201 |
| Thursday 21.12.2023 | 14.15-18.00 | Alte Universität, Seminarraum -201 |
| Modules |
Modul: Materialitäten (Master's degree program: Cultural Techniques) Module: Ways of Knowing the City (Master's degree program: Critical Urbanisms) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | Anmelden: Belegen; Abmelden: nicht erforderlich |
| 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 |