Matters of Life and Death (gLV) 
The seminar explores the problems of human survival on an ecological, technological, cultural and personal level. It aims to engage students critically with survival strategies and their cultural manifestations.
- Kategorie: Ökologie / Umwelt
- Keywords: Ethik, Ästhetik, Gesellschaft
Angebot für
| Nummer und Typ | BDE-BDE-T-WP-AK-5012.01.22H.001 / Moduldurchführung |
|---|---|
| Modul | Wahlpflichtmodul Theorie 5. Semester |
| Veranstalter | Departement Design |
| Leitung | Dr. phil. Björn Franke |
| Zeit | Mo 26. September 2022 bis Mo 19. Dezember 2022 / 17–18:30 Uhr |
| Anzahl Teilnehmende | 8 - 24 |
| ECTS | 2 Credits |
| Voraussetzungen | For DDE Bachelor students: None For ZHdK students of other degree programms or specializations, binding enrollment takes place within the scope of the open lectures (gLV) from 1. - 15.9.22 via ClickEnroll https://intern.zhdk.ch/?clickenroll (limited number of places). Participation may not overlap with other courses or must be agreed in advance with the course of studies responsible for the student. |
| Lehrform | Seminar |
| Zielgruppen | Compulsory elective subject (Wahlpflichtfach) for students of the Department Design, 5th semester |
| Lernziele / Kompetenzen | The seminar explores the problems of human survival on an ecological, technological, cultural and personal level. It aims to engage students critically with survival strategies and their cultural manifestations. Furthermore, the seminar will introduce the students to scholarly methods, to explore and evaluate relevant literature and to critically engage with texts, films, images and artefacts. |
| Inhalte | The long term survival of humans on earth seems to be in jeopardy in the face of massive social, technological and ecological problems. Many are paralysed given the scale of these problems, as they seem to be to large for any individual or collective effort to solve them and are thus postponed to an undetermined future. This is particularly difficult for designers as they are habitually in pursuit of holistic solutions that would solve these problems once and for all. Very much in line with the modernist tradition, these solutions often would involve the redesign of the entire global system of production. An alternative strategy, however, would be not to change the system, but to explore possibilities and strategies for survival by questioning, changing or giving up accustomed ways of living and thinking. In this seminar, we will explore issues of human survival in a very broad sense—form ecological and technological survival to making good decisions in everyday situations—based on texts, films, images and artefacts that focus on key topics such as shelter, climate, crisis, accidents, escape, decision making and foresight. |
| Bibliographie / Literatur | Bostrom, Nick. Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. Emmott, Stephen. 10 Billion. London: Penguin Books, 2013. Klein, Naomi. This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2014. McKibben, Bill. Eaarth: Making a Life of a Tough New Planet. New York: Times Books, 2010. Mitchell, Richard G., Jr. Dancing at Armageddon: Survivalism and Chaos in Modern Times. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001. Mulgan, Tim. Ethics for a Broken World: Imagining Philosophy after Catastrophe. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2011. Rowlands, Mark. A Good Life: Philosophy from Cradle to Grave. London: Granta Publications, 2015. Virilio, Paul. Unknown Quality. London: Thames & Hudson, 2003. Additional Literature will be announced in the seminar. |
| Leistungsnachweis / Testatanforderung | Active and regular attendance (min. 80%); reading and preparing the weekly reading assignments; term paper.. |
| Termine | Every Monday from 26 September until 12 December 2022. |
| Bewertungsform | bestanden / nicht bestanden |
| Bemerkung | The seminar will be in English, including discussions, literature and films. |
