Building on the Transformations I module this seminar will centre on discourses on public space. The production and uses of public space in complex and conflictual societies will be debated by reading and jointly discussing key texts from social sciences, urban planning and architecture. Through the engagement with theoretical approaches to public space the dichotomous relations of the public and private sphere will be explored. The introduction of postcolonial, feminist and activist perspectives will serve to critically revise common conceptions of public space. In relation to the annual theme of UD ‘Luxury. Spatial Politics of Comfort’ we will seek to assess whether, how and under which circumstances public spaces in contemporary cities constitute luxury and what the costs and benefits of the luxury of public spaces are.
We encourage a nexus thinking of the production and usage of (public) space through the lens of theoretical and historical thinking and academic discourses. The seminar serves to deepen skills in critical reading and writing for academic purposes. Requirements are regular attendance and active engagement in class, preparation of texts and discussion formats, group presentations (possibly in the field) and a written individual paper.