| Beschreibung |
In this seminar we approach the city through the perspective of everyday practices of maintenance and care. For a long time, the attention of the public, journalists, scholars and policymakers has focused on concepts related to urban change, development, innovation, and the replacement of existing structures by new ones. However, urban life crucially rests on processes of maintaining existing material and immaterial structures, repairing and caring for them. Only recently and against the background of several unfolding crises has critical engagement problematizing the disregard, invisibility and underpayment of these aspects gained momentum. This seminar will pay close attention to urban maintenance in relation to different aspects of urban life, exploring the manifold agents, practices, institutions and dimensions involved in this process. How are cities maintained and by whom? How do urban communities contribute to the social maintenance of urban life? What is the role of bureaucracy in maintaining urban order and institutions? How do non-human agencies contribute to maintaining cities? And how is the invisibility of everyday maintenance related to urban equality? During the seminar participants will acquire profound knowledge on different aspects related to urban maintenance with a particular focus on everyday practices as well as on materiality and infrastructures and get to know innovative theoretical positions and conceptual approaches for scholarly engagement in this field. Besides joint readings, presentations and discussions, students will also gain first-hand experience in exploring different assemblages of maintenance within the city of Weimar. |
