| The critically acclaimed US-American TV series "The Wire" was broadcasted over five seasons by the subscription television channel HBO from 2002 to 2008. In this series, the city is not the backdrop of the events, but - as the author and creator of the series David Simon (2009:3) pointed out- the actual subject of the narrative itself. This comprehensive work presents a "very ordinary US-American city" (Simon 2009) and offers a broad range of topics to explore in a cultural studies and critical urbanism course, such as: a) The city, local economy and urban culture, b) the city and urban studies and c) the city and urban researchers We will link these different perspectives on the city, its main actors and localities to contemporary debates on `urban regeneration´ and other neoliberal agendas within urban development debates. To explore these themes, this interdisciplinary urban theory seminar brings together students from both European Ethnology and Cultural Studies. This seminar will be in English. A deep knowledge of The Wire is not required, if available, however, it would benefit us all greatly. Different levels of expertise will be accommodated and we will figure out how to deal with this together. The course is co-taught by Dr. Thomas Bürk (Institute for European Ethnology, Humboldt University) and Stefan Höhne (Institute for Cultural Studies, Humboldt University). It is offered as a compact course (Blockseminar) on the following dates: Introductory Meeting: 2.11. 2012: 12 p.m. – 2 p.m. Block I: Fr. 23.11.2012, 2 p.m. – 8 p.m. Block II: Fr. 14.12.2012, 2 p.m. – 8 p.m. Block III: Fr. 11.01. 2013, 2 p.m. – 8 p.m. Block VI: Fr. 25.01. 2013, 2 p.m. – 8 p.m. Block V: Fr. 08.02. 2013, 2 p.m. – 8 p.m. Participation is limited, so students interested in the course are asked to apply beforehand via email to shoehne@culture.hu-berlin.de and tombuerk@gmx.de. Introductory Meeting: 2.11. 2012: 12 p.m. – 2 p.m. Block I: Fr. 23.11.2012, 2 p.m. – 8 p.m. Block II: Fr. 14.12.2012, 2 p.m. – 8 p.m. Block III: Fr. 11.01. 2013, 2 p.m. – 8 p.m. Block VI: Fr. 25.01. 2013, 2 p.m. – 8 p.m. Block V: Fr. 08.02. 2013, 2 p.m. – 8 p.m. Participation is limited, so students interested in the course are asked to apply beforehand via email to shoehne@culture.hu-berlin.de and tombuerk@gmx.de. |
