| Beschreibung |
This specialist module focuses on the creation of a series of self-published zines, framed as both a research approach and an artistic practice that are eventually compiled into a collective publication. The course engages with the local natural environments, drawing inspiration from Let’s Become Fungal! Mycelium Teachings and the Arts by Yasmine Ostendorff-Rodríguez, which reflects on decay, transformation, and perception. Students are encouraged to question distinctions between toxic and non-toxic nature through their own observations and interpretations. Emphasis is placed on subjective experience, intuition, and alternative ways of knowing, by reflecting on human/non-human relationships and our own impulses toward extraction and control. Interdisciplinarity | The topic is inherently interdisciplinary and welcomes students from different backgrounds. Students with artistic disciplines and students from theory or research-oriented programs engage with ecological thinking and observation differently. Working together allows different perspectives on nature, materiality, and representation to intersect. The collaboration between disciplines enriches the project by combining visual, conceptual, and analytical approaches, resulting in a collective publication that reflects different ways of understanding ecological processes and human environment relationships. The lecturers bring artistic and research-based approaches. Introductory inputs on zine-making, collective discussions, and ecological observation input support students with differing backgrounds. Learning Objecitves | After completing the module, students will have explored ecological concepts through their own observations and experiences of Weimar and Thuringia. Students will apply methods of field observation, illustration, photography, and research to investigate ecosystems and examine questions arising from their perceptions of the environment. They will learn technical processes of zine-making and self-publishing, including typography, layout, paper selection, and printing. Building on skills from their disciplines, students will translate conceptual inquiries into visual and tactile print forms. The module supports experimentation with modes of knowledge-sharing such as poetry, scores, photographs, interviews, and video stills, alongside reflection on how content, material, and format shape meaning. Through producing zines compiled into a collective publication, students will develop ways of communicating research-based ideas through print as an artistic and critical practice. Didactic Concept | The module is structured as a practice oriented seminar and workshop combining theoretical input, hands-on experimentation, and self directed project work. Teaching takes place primarily in face to face sessions alongside independent fieldwork and production phases. Input lectures introduce ecological perspectives, zine practices, and technical aspects of self-publishing, establishing a shared foundation for students from different disciplines. Selected inputs also introduce the use of the microscope as a tool for cultivating a micro-level perception and alternative modes of observation.
Learning is structured through a collective excursion and field observations in the environments of Weimar and Thuringia, followed by studio-based workshops in zine making and production. Plenary discussions and peer feedback support reflection and interdisciplinary exchange. Different experience levels are supported through guided technical introductions, shared exercises, and open-ended assignments. |
