In this course, which is co-taught by Selma Bidlingmaier and Martin Klepper, we prepare an encounter with our partner groups from Warsaw and Oregon. All three groups will have the same general program and we will meet in-person or virtually to discuss everybody's project and research. Which will be the following:
The 2023 Transatlantic Students Symposium examines the interrelationship between space, time, and social life. Imaginaries of space (George Lipsitz) have always undergirded, expressed, supported and sometimes even created social hierarchies. Let's remember that even seemingly innocuous spaces like National Parks were segregated and still define America's identity as a settler colonial state. The title "interstitial spaces" tries to describe a perspective on space, in which one space always stands in relation to other spaces (beyond, around, before or after) – the parks stand in relation to the surrounding industrial spaces, the borderlands stand in relation to the heartlands. Interstices are also intervals of time (such as on your analog watch) – so interstitial spaces also refer to ephemeral or transitional spaces (Marc Augé has called some of them "non-lieu:" non-spaces). Moreover, interstitial spaces can refer to spaces of transition, through which e.g. migrants move when they enter a country: Ellis island, Angel Island, and, perhaps, Little Italy, Lower East Side, and Chinatown in New York.
Eric Prieto writes "Space is a fundamental, ineliminable dimension of existence, which manifests itself in every aspect of material, psychological, and social life." In this class we will explore the influence and significance of spaces, the cruelty and affordance of spaces, the liberation and limitations through spaces.
The course will – as of now – take place in the classrooms, but it will possibly include formats such as colloquia, digital forums, student-run workshops – partly with our partners in Warsaw and Oregon. As part of the seminar we will also do some field work – exploring specific spaces in Berlin.
The course will culminate in the 21th Transatlantic Students Symposium to be held (hopefully in presence) in March 2022.
Course requirements include active class participation, in-class presentations, independent project work (spezielle Arbeitsleistungen) and a symposium presentation (MAP).
Please register for the course via AGNES.
Reading: tba
Classroom Format: As of now this class is planned as a course taught in presence! You should still register for the class through Agnes so that we can send you the Moodle key and communicate with you if Covid strikes again. If you cannot register for some reason, please send me an email (martin.klepper@hu-berlin.de or bidlings@hu-berlin.de).
Support: There will be a Moodle site with information and links. |
