16915

SoSe 24: Reading the city

Susanne Scharnowski

Information for students

Workload and Assessment: To obtain 5 ECTS credits, you will have engaged with the course materials (an average of 15-20 pages of English texts per week plus some film clips and recorded lectures). You will have to submit one “walking & writing” assignment (ca. 750 words) and pass a mid-term test as well as the final written examination (ca. 1250 words). close

Additional information / Pre-requisites

Is this the right course for you? You should be prepared to study academic texts in English from the social sciences and cultural studies as well as literary texts (German authors in English translation), and you should be interested in a critical analysis and interpretation of cultural and social phenomena. close

Comments

Topic: The city has frequently been described as a ‘text’ that, like a book, can be read and interpreted, or as a ‘palimpsest’ with multiple layers from different historical periods. But what does it mean to read a city? What does the ‘text’ of a cityscape tell us, where do we find this text, and how do we ‘read’ it? Is it in plain sight, in the buildings, facades, streets, shopfronts, signs and inscriptions, or is it hidden beneath the surface, so that it requires a specific form of ‘literacy’, deciphering and knowledge to find the ‘text’ and to understand its meaning? Berlin, in any case, is hard to read: While it is a place where German, European and even world history has been written, it has also been said that Berlin has no connection to history, tradition, and identity, that it is the epitome of modernity and therefore always changing, forever developing into something new. Program: The course aims to develop students’ ‘urban literacy’ and their ability to reflect upon their expectations and perceptions of the urban environment. To achieve this, students will first learn to critically analyse different ways in which the city as text has been represented and understood in literature and film, focusing in particular on the so-called ‘golden’ 1920s. We will study texts from the 20th and 21st centuries which describe and interpret Berlin. Students will then engage with the cityscape, applying the theoretical and historical knowledge to the city of today; they will learn to spot traces of history and how to interpret what they see as signs of social and cultural developments. To practice observational skills, one class will take us to the streets of Berlin. Some of the materials (presentations and film clips) will be available on Blackboard; additionally, students have to purchase the reader (a collection of photocopied texts in printed form) from the copy shop at Königin-Luise-Str. 39, near U-Bahnhof Dahlem Dorf. close

13 Class schedule

Regular appointments

Mon, 14:00 - 16:00 13 Class schedule

Mon, 2024-04-15 14:00 - 16:00

Lecturers:
Dr. Susanne Scharnowski