Search result: Catalogue data in Autumn Semester 2017

GESS Science in Perspective Information
Only the topics listed in this paragraph can be chosen as GESS Science in Perspective.
Further below you will find the "type B courses Reflections about subject specific methods and content" as well as the language courses.

6 ECTS need to be acquired during the BA and 2 ECTS during the MA

Students who already took a course within their main study program are NOT allowed to take the course again.
Type A: Enhancement of Reflection Competence
Suitable for all students
Students who already took a course within their main study program are NOT allowed to take the course again.
History
NumberTitleTypeECTSHoursLecturers
851-0549-00LWebClass Introductory Course History of Technology Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 100.

Particularly suitable for students of D-BAUG, D-INFK, D-ITET, D-MATL, D-MAVT.
W3 credits2VD. Gugerli
AbstractWebClass Introductory Course History of Technology is an introductory course to the history of technology. The students are challenged to discover how technological innovations take place within complex economical, political and cultural contexts. They get introduced into basic theories and practices of the field.
ObjectiveStudents are introduced into how technological innovations take place within complex economical, political and cultural contexts. They get to know basic theories and practices of the field.
ContentWebClass Einführungskurs Technikgeschichte ist eine webgestützte Einführung in die Technikgeschichte. Technikgeschichte untersucht Angebote technischer Entwicklungen, die in bestimmten historischen Kontexten entstanden und von sozialen Gruppen oder ganzen Gesellschaften als Möglichkeit sozialen Wandels wahrgenommen, ausgehandelt und schliesslich genutzt oder vergessen wurden.
Der Onlinekurs wird von zwei obligatorischen Präsenzveranstaltungen begleitet. Die aktive Teilnahme und das erfolgreiche Bearbeiten von Onlineaufgaben werden vorausgesetzt.
Lecture notesInformationen zur Arbeit mit WebClass finden Sie unter Link. Sobald Sie eingeschrieben sind, haben Sie Zugang zum Skript und zu weiterführenden Materialien.
LiteratureLink
Prerequisites / NoticeOnlinekurs kombiniert mit zwei obligatorischen Präsenzveranstaltungen. Einführungssitzung: 25.9.2017, zweite Präsenzsitzung: 13.11.2017. Die aktive Teilnahme und das erfolgreiche Bearbeiten von Onlineaufgaben werden vorausgesetzt.
Die Zahl der Teilnehmenden ist auf 100 beschränkt. Anmeldung: In der Einführungssitzung am 25.9.2017, zudem schriftliche Einschreibung sowohl unter Link wie auch auf dem Olat-Server.
Verspätete Anmeldungen können nicht berücksichtigt werden.

Weitere Informationen unter Link
851-0551-05LThe Moon Over Cape Canaveral. History of Manned Space FlightW3 credits2SD. Gugerli
AbstractManned space flight is certainly a crazy and fascinating project. We will read new and contemporary texts about an enterprise which may be understood as a closely observed journey to mankind.
ObjectiveThis seminar deals with new and contemporary studies, reports, and projects about manned space flight. It will test the hypothesis, that everything concerned with the moon "over" Cape Canaveral had to be dealt with by means of organizational displacements, technical translations, and cultural learning processes in the sublunary world. A syllabus will be provided at the beginning of the seminar.
Lecture notesA syllabus will be provided at the beginning of the Seminar.
Prerequisites / NoticeDie Zahl der Teilnehmenden ist auf 40 beschränkt.
853-0725-00LHistory Part One: Europe (Modernization in the 'Old Continent' 1815-1992) Information W3 credits2VD. Speich Chassé
AbstractA range of fundamental processes have transformed European societies in the course of the 19th and the 20th centuries. This lecture series asks whether one single model of modernization prevailed on the 'Old Continent' or whether we need to differenciate regionally. A special focus lies on the Swiss experience.
ObjectiveAt the end of this lecture course, students can: (a) highlight the most important changes in the "long nineteenth century" in Europe (b) explain their long-term effects; and (c) relate these changes to global developments today.
ContentThe thematic foci include: Industrialization on the British Isles, urban growth in Switzerland, the difficult road to democracy in Germany, and French individualism.
Lecture notesPower Point Slides and references will be made available in digital form during the course of the semester.
LiteratureMandatory and further reading will be listed on the course plan that is made available as from the first session.
Prerequisites / NoticeThis lecture series does not build upon specific previous knowledge by the students.
851-0551-06LPaper and Papers. The History of Print Technologies and its ApplicationsW3 credits2SD. F. Zetti
AbstractIn the second half of the 20th century, print technologies and applications have dramatically changed. Communication today is computerbased. The lecture offers problem oriented insights into this sociotechnical process of translation.
ObjectiveStudents become familiar with the mutual interdependence of social and technological change that characterises the history of computing, media and communication.
851-0101-42LCulture, Conflict and Consumerism: A Global History of Jazz in the 20th CenturyW3 credits2VH. Fischer-Tiné
AbstractDer Kurs gibt einen Überblick über die hundertjährige Geschichte der improvisierten Musik. Nach einem ersten ausführlichen Block, der die Rolle des Jazz als spezifisch afro-amerikanischer Kunstform in den USA nachzeichnet, wird deren Adaption in Europa, Asien und Afrika analysiert. Zentral ist jeweils die Einbettung der Musik in die politischen und sozialen Kontexte der Zeit.
ObjectiveDie Vorlesung verfolgt zwei zentrale Ziele. Zum einen sollen den TeilnehmerInnen anhand der Rekonstruktion der Geschichte einer neuen Kunstform exemplarisch Prozesse der kulturellen Globalisierung und deren Auswirkungen auf unser Alltagsleben nahe gebracht werden. Zum zweiten dient der narrative Strang der Jazzgeschichte dazu, zentrale überwölbende Transformationsprozesse der Moderne zu analysieren und die mannigfaltigen Krisen, Brüche und Konflikte welche von ihnen hervorgerufen wurden (Rassengegensätze und Bürgerrechtsbewegung, Nationalsozialismus, Ost-West-Konflikt, Studentenunruhen um 1968) sichtbar zu machen. Der darstellende Teil wird durch den Einsatz von Film- und Audioclips ergänzt.
851-0101-20LPeople on the Move: Migration and Diaspora in Modern History (1750-2000)W3 credits2SH. Fischer-Tiné
AbstractThe massive intensification of long-distance migration processes and the almost ubiquitous emergence of diasporas are among the most obvious social expressions of globalisation. The course attempts to provide a historical perspective on these phenomena, thereby also exploring the important issues of assimilation and integration of immigrants.
ObjectiveThe participants will be acquainted with the historicity of issues surrounding migration and diaspora and encouraged to relate the historical case studies to current debates revolving around these phenomena. In the process they will be made familiar with the analysis of both historical sources and state of the art research literature.
LiteratureINTRODUCTORY LITERATURE:

MCKEOWN, Adam, ‘Global Migration, 1846-1940’, in: Journal of World History, 15 (2), 2004, pp. 155-89.
851-0101-53LHistorical Collections in Context: Putting Butterflies, Stones, and Orchids on Film
Particularly suitable for students of D-BIOL, D-BSSE, D-USYS
W3 credits2SB. Schär, M. Greeff
AbstractZurich holds huge scientific collections. They contain objects from around the world, some of them dating back to the 18th century. In this interdisciplinary seminar, students will visit and explore the histories of these collections, and present some of their findings on film.
ObjectiveThe aim of this seminar is threefold: Firstly, students will become familiarized with how historical collections in Zurich yield surprising new insights into the Global History of Science, Zurich, and Switzerland. Secondly, students will learn how old collections can produce new insights for current scientists working, e.g., on questions of ecology. Thirdly, the seminar will explore new ways of presenting historical narratives, namely on film. To this end, students will be supported by ETH communication experts in producing a short film on the Global histories of the Zurich collections.
Students are expected to engage with historiographical readings and historical source materials, participate in discussions with curators, and produce a film-script by the end of the term.
851-0101-55LIntroduction to the History of Economic Thought Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 25

Particularly suitable for students of D-MTEC
W3 credits2SN. Kamenov
AbstractThe course offers a historical introduction to modern economic thought. It looks at texts of 'classical economics' as well as 'neo-classical', 20th century texts. In addition, the course addresses some modern contributions in the history of economics - in particular extra-European economic history - and their potential for the enrichment of mainstream economic thought.
ObjectiveThe course is conceptualized as an introduction to the history of economic thought. It acquaints students with the basic tenets of the 'classical economics' through historical accounts of the work of 'worldly philosophers' as well as primary reading of authors such as Adam Smith, David Ricardo and Karl Marx. Further, the course introduces students to 'neoclassical economics' of the 20th century, again looking at authors of particular significance in the furtherance of economic debates such as John Maynard Keynes, Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman. The course, however, takes also a closer look at authors whose work is usually situated beyond conventional economic thought, such as Karl Polanyi. Additionally, the course devotes also time to some extra-European economic thought - drain theory, world system and dependency theory, etc. - and its implications/applications in the history of the 20th century. Finally, a particular attention will be paid to some important contributions in the extra-European history of economics and to specific notions such as 'commodity chains', 'divergences' and 'modernization'. Combining these various items, the course aims not simply at introducing students to the 'evolution' of economic thought, but more broadly to ongoing academic debates, political and ideological tensions as well as to critical interventions. The ambition of the course is to inspire through a historical approach and to enrich the 'understanding' of economic theory with a questioning of its underlying structures and tenets and, ultimately, to advance critical thinking among students interested in modern economics.
851-0105-00LBackground Knowledge Arabic WorldW2 credits2VU. Gösken
AbstractThis lecture will discuss important topics of the Arab culture involving concepts relating to history, the role of literature, sciences and religion, concepts of 'the West', meaning of education, understanding of culture as well as current concepts and discourses relevant at the sociocultural level.
ObjectiveTeaching about epistemic contents relating to the Arabic world that constitute modern Arabs' self understanding and are relevant for adequate behavior in practically dealing with the Arabic world. What basic knowledge about 'their' culture are Arabs taught? What educational goals are pursued? What is the relationship they build with the West?
The topics that are discussed on the basis of a scientifically critical approach are concepts and understandings of history, the role of literature, sciences and religion, concepts of the West and relationship with the West, the role of education, understanding of culture and cultural refinement, current concepts and discourses relevant at the sociocultural level.
051-0311-00LHistory of Art and Architecture III Information
Expiring study program according to BSc 2011 regulations.
W3 credits2VL. Stalder
AbstractThe two-semester course offers an introduction to the history and theory of architecture from the industrial revolution up to now. Based on current questions a variety of case studies will be discussed.
ObjectiveThe aim is to give an overview on crucial events, works of art, buildings and theories since the beginning of the 19th century up to today. The course should enhance the comprehension of historical and theoretical issues, and allow the students to localize their own practice within a broader historical context.
ContentThe subject of this lecture course is the history and theory of architecture since the beginning of the 19th century up to now. It examines the architectural answers to the changing technical inventions and social practices. Consequently, the focus will be less on individual architects or buildings than on various themes that determined the architecture of the period.
Lecture notesLink
051-0363-00LHistory of Urban Design I Information
Expiring study program according to BSc 2011 regulations.
W2 credits2GA. Gerber
AbstractThe lecture focuses on the history of the city and of its environment, on the processes and actors that foster and accompany their developments and transformations. Main objects of study will be urban situations in Europe and the USA.
ObjectiveThe lecture course concerns itself mainly with the definition of town planning as an independent discipline, in its relation to other disciplines that are concerned with the transformation of the city. This topic is (presented) projected? upon the history of the city – understood widely as urban landscape – with the complex network of human and non-human actors it encompasses. Town planning understood as “Kulturtechnik”, implies a consideration of its disciplinary limits. These are related to the scale and complexity of the urban dimension. Consequently, the “heroic history” of town planning is put in question.
ContentIn the first semester our specific approach and questioning of the history of town planning
is given along the thematic issues from the beginning of urban culture until the mid-19th century. 

01. Introduction: Which history for which discipline?

02. Once upon a time there was a town…

03: Greece and the birth of “democratic” space

04: Rome: „planetary urbanism“

05: Middle Ages: between shrinking and growth

06: Renaissance and its unaccomplished ideals

07: Renaissance gardens as urban laboratories

08: Roma! From “rotting giant” to renovatio urbis

09: Paris: La ville c’est moi?

010: Town planning between absolutism and enlightenment

011: English landscape garden as spatial politics
Lecture notesSome printed pages will be distributed before every lecture and together they will form the script for the semester. The script serves as an auxiliary means to the attended lecture compiling the most important illustrations showed and the names and dates of the buildings and its builders along with a short introductory note.
LiteratureFurther recommended literature to consult is listet within the script.
Prerequisites / NoticeHistory of Urban Design from antiquity to the 19th century
063-0366-00LThe Architecture of the City from Modernity to Today Information W2 credits2VR. Hanisch
AbstractThe lecture covers the time of the 20th century and describes with theories, projects and implemented plannings the history of the modern city. The lectures emphasizes on the historical plannings and methods and presents each specific urban development within a broader context.
ObjectiveThis course analyzes the history of urban architecture primarily in its existing three dimensional form as a complex human artefact. It also explores the inspirations that prompted the creation of this artefact: philosophical and religious concepts, social conditions, property relationships and the mechanisms that exploit the economics of real estate and the influence of building technology. Intellectual, literary or artistic modes of thought will also be assessed with regard to their impact on urban development. Urbanism has its own distinctive approach as a discipline, but it is also clearly responsive to the influence of related disciplines. Study is made of actual cities and urban expansion plans which are in the process of implementation, as well as unrealized projects and visions of the future. These projects sometimes illustrate ways of thinking that are equal to, or clearer than, actual urban situations.
ContentThe lecture which will be hold only in one semester includes the developments of the 20th century

1. Le Corbusier: theories, visions and clearcuts in the name oft he autorité

2. The United States in the Jazz Age: Between Metropolis of Tomorrow and Broadacre City

3. Italy in the Fascist Era: Monumental ensembles and new town between assiduousness of modernization and obsession of representation

4. Urban design under totalitarian regimes: The architects of the "Tausendjährige Reich" and the "engineers of luck" of the Soviet Union of Stalin

5. Coming to terms with the past and the Cold War: Reconstruction in the two German states

6. The myth of the human scale: the 1950s in Spain, Great Britain, Scandinavia and Italy

7. Postwar Experiments: Rationalistic classicism in France

8. Two new towns in the 20th century: Chandigarh and Brasilia

9. Fictions and visions: The international utopia of the city

10. The second conquest of the North American territorium: The automobile and the city in the USA

11. Analysis, analogy and renewal: The adventure of the typological city
Lecture notesTo each lecture an overview is listet within a script, that can be purchased at the chair for the history of urban design (HIL D 75.2) at the price of CHF 25,-. The script serves as an auxiliary means to the attended lecture compiling the most important illustrations showed and the names and dates of the buildings and its builders along with a short introductory note.
Aside this script the chair offers the ‚Quellentextbände' (sourcetexts) which help to extend the knowledge of theoretical discourses in the field of urban design. For the master program the institute offers one volume of texts at the price of CHF 5,-. The script is in German, the ‚Quellentextbände’ are reprinted in their original languages.
LiteratureFurther recommended literature to consult is listet within the script.
701-0791-00LEnvironmental History - Introduction and Overview Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 100.
W2 credits2VD. Speich Chassé
AbstractOur society faces a serious ecological crisis. Of what historical dimension is this crisis? How have human societies already in earlier times changed their environment, and, consequently, perhaps also ours? What were the main ecological challenges for societies and how did they change over time? And how did societies adapt to changing environmental conditions?
ObjectiveIntroduction into environmental history; survey of long-term development of human-nature-interrelations; discussion of selected problems. Improved ability to assess current problems from a historical perspective and to critically interrogate one's own standpoint.
Lecture notesCourse material is provided in digital form.
LiteratureMcNeill, John R. 2000. Something new under the sun: An environmental history of the twentieth-century world, New York: Norton.

Uekötter, Frank (Ed.) 2010. The turning points of environmental history, Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.

Winiwarter, Verena und Martin Knoll 2007. Umweltgeschichte: Eine Einführung, Köln: Böhlau.
Prerequisites / NoticeStudents are asked to write an exam during the second last session (11.12.2015).
851-0125-65LA Sampler of Histories and Philosophies of Mathematics
Particularly suitable for students D-CHAB, D-INFK, D-ITET, D-MATH, D-PHYS
W3 credits2VR. Wagner
AbstractThis course will review several case studies from the history of mathematics (Greek geometry, early modern European notions of infinity and 20th century constructive and axiomatic approaches). The case studies will be analyzed from various philosophical perspectives, while rooting them in their historical and cultural contexts.
ObjectiveThe course aims are:
1. To introduce students to the historicity of mathematics
2. To make sense of mathematical practices that appear unreasonable from a contemporary point of view
3. To develop critical reflection concerning the nature of mathematical objects
4. To introduce realist, dialectical, practical and constructivist approaches to the philosophy and history of mathematics
5. To open the students' horizons to the plurality of mathematical cultures and practices
851-0535-09LRegional Politics of the Arabian PeninsulaW2 credits2KE. Manea
AbstractThe course explores the complex nature of politics and history of the Arabian Peninsula. It takes a closer look at the political systems of several countries of the Arabian Peninsula, especially Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Oman and Bahrain.
ObjectiveTo highlight how the politics of the Arabian Peninsula is a product of two spheres: politics within states and politics between states.

Introduce the Arabian Peninsula as a political unit, but not a homogeneous one

An overview of the type of political systems prevalent in the region,
religious Denominations, sectarian rivalry, and how this shape its regional relations
ContentThe neighbouring states of the Arabian Peninsula - especially Saudi Arabia, Oman and Yemen - make for strange bedfellows. They are governed by different systems with different results, calling into question how their internal policies affect regional relations and vice versa. Saudi Arabia is a monarchy, a prosperous, religious and restrictive state increasingly facing problems of social/politica unrest. Oman is a small, thriving, stable sultanate, modernised and moderate but tightly controlled; and the republic of Yemen, which has the region's poorest economy, has still not shrugged off the legacy of its turbulent modern history. Each state adheres to a different Islamic sect, moreover, and though their populations are overwhelmingly Arab, differing tribal structures result in widely variant effects on the political process in their respective systems. Each state has also had extensive historical relationships with the Ottoman and British empires, the US and Russia, and these too have coloured regional relations. Recent events like the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, the American-led invasion of Iraq and the Arab uprisings of 2011 have also influenced these states' internal policy decisions, further affecting their dealings with one another and at with the world at large. This course examines each country in detail, from state formation to current affairs and from local to international government.
Literature
NumberTitleTypeECTSHoursLecturers
851-0301-10LTitle: What does the "Beautiful" mean? Elements and History of a Theory of the BeautifulW3 credits2SA. Kilcher
AbstractThe meaning of the "beautiful" seems hard to pin down. Yet intersubjective and objective criteria of the beautiful nevertheless exist. The foundation of aesthetics as a "science" of the beautiful based on sensuous experience temporarily suspended this tension. Since modernity, the question of the beautiful has been ever more open. We shall approach this question theoretically and historically.
ObjectiveThe meaning of the "beautiful" seems hard to define. At first glance, it rather constitutes a merely subjective sensation. Yet, on the other hand, intersubjective, collective and cultural ideas, or even objective criteria of the beautiful exist. Since antiquity, this irresolvable tension has characterized the discourse on the beautiful in the realms of art and philosophy. With the foundation of "aesthetics" in the 18th century, however, this debate was significantly altered. This new "science" aimed at a scientific investigation of the beautiful by situating sensuous impression above logic. While art had been hitherto understood as a learnable technique, it now appears as a sensuous and therefore subjective realization. The rejection of this optimism marks the turn to modernity that defined itself through a notion of art transcending the beautiful. Ever since, the question as to the meaning of the beautiful has been continuously open for debate. In the course of this seminar, we shall approach this question from a historical as well as theoretical perspective.

Texts: A reader will be supplied.
851-0301-11LThe Unconditionality of Knowledge. Faust-LiteratureW3 credits2VA. Kilcher
AbstractHis unconditional desire for knowledge made "Faust" the symbolic figure of the modern period. Since the Renaissance, a rich Faust-literature, ranging from Marlowe, Goethe, and up to Thomas Mann, has portrayed the highly conflictual emancipation of knowledge from theology as well as the self-assertion of a modern knowledge of nature and the human being.
ObjectiveLearning objectives: Faust is one of the most dazzling figures in European literature and cultural history. A pact with the devil, magic, sexual desire, power and knowledge, these are the great taboos of the medieval world, which, in 1500, the graduated theologian set out to dismantle. Through this demonstrative gesture of hubris, he became the much-disputed hero of the modern period. Since the "Historia von Johann Fausten" (1587), the wide range of Faust-literature also depicts the highly conflictual emancipation from theological knowledge in favor of an unconditional knowledge of nature and the human being that hides itself behind disciplines such as medicine, astrology and magic. Faust was thereby not only transformed into the epitome of the fortuneteller, he also became the cipher for the risky undertaking of modern knowledge as such, to which he then spectacularly fell victim in an experiment. Consequently, the course's treatment of this subject matter in the literature since the early modern period will center on the question of knowledge as it is negotiated through the Faust-figure. Initially, we shall take a look at examples from the early modern period (apart from the Faust-book from 1587, among others the drama version by Christopher Marlowe, 1589). Then we shall move on to new editions around 1800, which highlight the modernity of this norm-transcending and boundary-breaking knowledge paradigm (among others Goethe's Faust). Finally, we shall discuss Faust-figures of the 20th century, such as Friedrich Murnau's Faust movie (1926), Thomas Mann's novel, "Doktor Faustus", written in exile in 1947, or Klaus Mann's "Mephisto" (1936).
851-0301-12LThe "New Man" in Culture, Politics and ScienceW3 credits2VH.‑J. Hahn
AbstractSince Christian Antiquity the figure of the "New Man" concentrates ambivalent knowledge of human beings and their ability to transform. The lecture focuses on contemporary manifestations of the "New Man" which can be found in culture and popular culture, in politics as well as in human and social sciences.
ObjectiveThe lecture offers a critical survey of the figure of the "New Man" since Christian Antiquity until today. At the same time the lecture stimulates the theoretical analytical understanding while examining the heterogeneous functions for which this prominent figure of human transformability has been (and still is) required within culture, politics and science. Additionally analyses of cultural representations of the "New Man" also convey the importance of aesthetical aspects.
ContentSpätestens seit der Antike tritt eine Figur in vielfältigen Erscheinungsformen und historischen Augenblicken auf, die Verwandlung und Verbesserung verspricht: die Vorstellung vom Neuen Menschen. Mit ihr verbunden ist zugleich die Aussicht auf eine bessere Welt. Die Formel vom Neuen Menschen besitzt ein eigenes Narrativ, d.h. sie bildet den Kern historisch wandelbarer, sinngebender Erzählungen. Sie gehört zum Judentum ebenso wie zum paulinischen Christentum, zum Pietismus oder zu den politischen und ästhetischen Avantgarden des 20. Jahrhunderts. Offenbar hat der Neue Mensch sein utopisches Potential in den totalitären Bewegungen des 20. Jahrhunderts noch keineswegs erschöpft. So treibt die Frage nach der Perfektibilität des Menschen die Öffentlichkeit weiterhin um, wie sich an den Debatten um künstliche Intelligenz oder die Reproduktionsmedizin und deren bisweilen antimoderne Zurückweisung (etwa in Sybille Lewitscharoffs Dresdner Rede) ablesen lässt. Dabei artikulieren sich einerseits Ängste vor technischen Entwicklungen und den jeweils neuen Unübersichtlichkeiten unserer sozialen Lebenswelten. Ironisch schrieb Thomas Assheuer kürzlich in der "Zeit" (15.12.2016), dass in den Digitalmanufakturen des Silicon Valley und den Biotech-Laboren der Welt "an der Überwindung des fehlerhaften Altmenschen" gearbeitet werde. Dort scheint die Sehnsucht nach neuen Möglichkeiten und Intensitäten des Menschseins ebenso greifbar, wie sie in den utopischen Reichen der Produktwerbung oder der Esoterik immer aufs Neue in Erscheinung tritt. Schließlich eignet dem Topos vom Neuen Menschen eine universale Dimension, die in einem auch von Thomas Anz angeführten Satz des Expressionisten Ernst Toller steckt: "Wer keine Kraft zum Traum hat, hat keine Kraft zum Leben."
An Gottfried Küenzlens einschlägige Studie zum Neuen Menschen in der säkularen Religionsgeschichte der Moderne anknüpfend, schlägt die Vorlesung auf der erzähltheoretischen Grundlage von Albrecht Koschorkes "Grundzügen einer Allgemeinen Erzähltheorie" einen Bogen von der antiken Figur zu unserer Gegenwart und versucht zwischen verschiedenen Disziplinen den Diskurs zu erfassen, in dem sich der Neue Mensch gebildet hat. Im Zentrum stehen vor allem gegenwärtige Auseinandersetzungen mit dem Neuen Menschen, die sich in den Human- und Gesellschaftswissenschaften (Hondrich, Sloterdijk u.a.), den Medien, in Ausstellungen, in der Populärkultur sowie auch in belletristischen Veröffentlichungen finden.
LiteratureGottfried Küenzlen: Der Neue Mensch. Eine Untersuchung zur säkularen Religionsgeschichte der Moderne. Frankfurt a. M. 1997

Further literature will be provided in form of digitalised texts (pdf).
Prerequisites / NoticeApart from regular participation in the course there are no special requirements.
851-0129-00LWriting for Others - Science and Public Restricted registration - show details W2 credits2VU. J. Wenzel
AbstractLearning to write texts, that can present topics from the sciences to an interested public (in newspapers, non-specialist journals but also in papers for non-specialists in an academic context); to gain insights into the cultural, historical and philosophical contexts of science and the public.
ObjectiveLearning to write texts, that can present topics from the sciences to an interested public (in newspapers, non-specialist journals but also in papers for non-specialists in an academic context); to gain insights into the cultural, historical and philosophical contexts of science and the public.
ContentPractical exercises in writing articles for the feature pages of newspapers will be combined with the theoretical work on topics relevant for the historical, sociological and philosophical aspects of writing for others.
Prerequisites / NoticeVoraussetzungen: Die Bereitschaft, sich auf ein Projekt mit experimentellem Charakter einzulassen. GUTE BEHERRSCHUNG DER DEUTSCHEN SPRACHE.

Die Teilnehmerzahl ist begrenzt. SCHRIFTLICHE ANMELDUNG erforderlich (bis 31. August): Link
851-0315-01LWriting: Precision of Language as a Field of Research for Literature Restricted registration - show details W1 credit1GF. Kretzen
AbstractWhen we write a literary text we enter into a set-up for experiments and explore the possibilities ensuing from the specific structure and consistency of such a text. Literary writing allows us to go over to another kind of knowledge. Thus, the question: what is it that I want to write about? is replaced by: what do I write?
ObjectiveIn this course we shall analyze and apply conditions and criteria for literary writing on the basis of our own texts.
The course is intended for persons who are interested in literary approaches to exactitude.
Any attempt to write literature is confronted with an unforeseeable linguistic dynamism whose feasibility is determined by laws and rules quite different from those of science and technology. For the science-oriented writer, experiencing the self-evidence produced by literary approaches in his or her own writing project opens up a field of language with new content and new methods.
ContentIn the natural sciences as well as in engineering we set up experiments, analyze equation systems, and formulate theories. In order to complement these practices, the course «Writing» shall pursue precision in literary writing, its choice of word and its self-evidence.

When we write a literary text we also enter into a set-up for experiments and explore the possibilities ensuing from the specific structure and overall consistency of such a text. This form of writing takes us from the question: what is it that I want to write about? to the question: what do I write?
How do such literary approaches differ from the ways in which the natural sciences use language?
In this course we shall analyze and apply conditions and criteria for literary writing on the basis of our own texts.
The course is intended for persons who are interested in literary approaches to exactitude.
Any attempt to write literature is confronted with an unforeseeable linguistic dynamism whose feasibility is determined by laws and rules quite different from those of science and technology. For the science-oriented writer, experiencing the self-evidence produced by literary approaches in his or her own writing project opens up a field of language with new content and new methods.
Prerequisites / NoticeThose wishing to participate are required to send in between two and three pages text of their own writing that will be discussed in class. The next step will be writing a text on a preset topic as a basis for discussing the various realizations of a given task.
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