Modern Culture/4 Cities: Urban Cultural History; Urbanism and Architecture: Urban Imaginaries

This course addresses urbanism and architecture from a cultural studies perspective. We will look at how cultural imaginations and imaginaries are interwoven in the urban fabric and can be used as inroads for engaging with the aesthetics and politics of urbanism and architecture.

Each week we convene around a set of theoretical and analytical texts that sets the frame for discussing different modes of experiencing and engaging with architecture and the urban fabric.

We place a series of themes and concepts that currently dominate the urban discourse, such as “care”, “gender”, “speculation”, “home”, “invisibility”, “smartness”, in a longer cultural historical trajectory and unpack them through various forms of analysis and theory.

Emphasis is put on student participation. As students on this course come from many different disciplines, a key aim is also to foster a fruitful interdisciplinary and inclusive dialogue where the students can bring their own case studies to the class for joint discussion.

The course is taught by Associate Professor Kristin Veel and involves guest lectures by experts in the field.

Students at the University of Copenhagen can follow this course as part of the “Kandidattilvalg i Urban Kultur” ( https://hum.ku.dk/uddannelser/aktuelle_studieordninger/moderne_kultur/urban_kultur_katv/)  which also includes Henrik Reeh’s course on Urban Cultural and Cultural Theory”. It is offered in English as part of the European MA “4 CITIES” (www.4cities.eu). Lectures as well as seminars mixes international and KU-students and provides Danish-speaking students with an opportunity to practice academic English in the classroom.

Exam can be in English or in Danish.