16911

Places and Non-Places

Gregor Hens

Kommentar

Topic: Towards the end of postmodernism – and at the dawn of the "internet age" – thinkers such as Michel de Certeau and Marc Augé developed a conceptual model to describe the rather vague feeling of arbitrariness and interchangeability of space they experienced in modern cities, the idea that the few remaining identifiable "places" in our contemporary urban environments were mere remnants of earlier, culturally inscribed sites, re-manufactured for commercial (touristic) purposes. The vast remaining areas of the city were "non-places" and urban "filaments" that did not provide a sense of belonging. This freed city dwellers to (artistically or otherwise) misappropriate or re-inscribe objects of the urban fabric. In the early 1990s, the term hypermodernism (or supermodernism) was introduced to provide a framework for these observations in fields ranging from philosophy to anthropology and architecture. Program: We will consider this concept and its more recent iterations with respect to new and planned buildings in Berlin (by international firms such as OMA and Herzog & de Meuron), to places of infrastructure (train stations, airports), shopping centers, so-called POPS (privately owned public spaces) and urban wilderness areas. Course participants will be encouraged to explore the city on their own and respond to particular sites through visuals, audio recordings, (creative) texts and other forms of expression. Can I take this course? Yes, if you are interested in urbanism, architecture, and related fields; willing to read some theoretical texts; eager to explore the city on your own; open to (artistic) experimentation. The course has no further prerequisites. Requirements and Grading: To earn five ECTS credits, you will need to attend a minimum of ten meetings, including the first and final sessions of the semester (April 14, 2025 and July 14, 2025); carefully read the assigned texts; participate in seminar discussion; present a topic to the class; and pass a written exam on the final day of class. Schließen

12 Termine

Regelmäßige Termine der Lehrveranstaltung

Mo, 12:00 - 14:00 12 Termine

Mo, 14.04.2025 12:00 - 14:00

Dozenten:
Gregor Hens