| Beschreibung |
Twenty-one years ago, Anthony D. King reflected on the Eurocentrism of the discipline of urban and planning history, observing the “vast changes” and shifts of paradigms since he had begun publishing on the topic three decades earlier. In this block seminar, we will take King’s reflection as a starting point to ponder what writing urban history “beyond Europe” means nowadays. Through the joint and individual readings, as well as a discussion of core texts, we will try to understand better how discourses on the built environment under global conditions have changed over time.
As theoretical as this undertaking might seem, it will be the first step towards developing a critical glossary of the key concepts of urban history, such as “the local”, transnational/national, exported/imported, colonial/neocolonial – and most importantly of all, positionality. The participants of the seminar can also propose other themes. This glossary shall be presented in the form of posters in order to make the results of the seminar visible and contribute to the programme of the jubilee of IfEU. The ultimate goal is to critically consider our own frameworks of thinking about what consists of urban history, what limitations and biases can be identified – and how we might attempt to overcome them. |
