Encasing Bodies — Critical Perspectives on the Body in Architecture

Lehrende:
Prof. Dr. Jasper Cepl,
Dr. Ulrike Kuch,
MA Louis Oehler

What and who is "the" body? And how does our design practice align with "this" body? Current discourses around gender, racialization, handicap or age allow the question: How can a design practice be justified that clings to a (!) normative body? Especially in architecture this is still frequently practiced and since the early 20th century scholars of history and theory of architecture include "the body" as a general reference in their theories (e.g. art historian Heinrich Wölfflin) – but don't we urgently need an update of this general reference?

The Projektmodul Encasing bodies – Critical Perspectives on the Body in Architecture gathers students from different fields to actively research those questions. We are aiming for an adapted design practice, that includes data bodies, choreographed and composed bodies, deals with the encased bodies of architecture.

The course combines different forms of teaching and learning (workshops, group teaching, individual consultations, presentations, talks, design classes), with scholars and artists from various disciplines (architecture, art, dance, design theory). This course is explicitly for students who want to build a broad knowledge in the discourse around the "body". As we think that the topic has great social relevance, we aim at a formative practice that is aware of and includes the diversity of bodies. In terms of self-reliance, we want to encourage participating students to play an active role in developing the courses' program and thus once more be able to think critically about existing structures.

The project is accompanied by a Seminar and a Übung (field trip). Both courses provide participating students with further knowledge, in terms of inputs from experts in specific fields and intense examination of the body in design discourses. Also from a content-related point of view we therefore recommend to sign up for the three courses.

We kindly ask interested students to apply by email until October 10, 2022. Please send a short notice with the course’s name, your name, student number, field of study and a very short sentence why you are interested in the course to Louis Oehler and Ulrike Kuch (louis.oehler[at]uni-weimar.de and ulrike.kuch[at]uni-weimar.de). To ensure equal chances for all students only applications via email can be considered (not via Bison!).

The course will be conducted by Jasper Cepl, Ulrike Kuch and Louis Oehler, while weekly classes will be held mainly by Ulrike Kuch und Louis Oehler.

The course is part of a trias of courses that form a "Projektmodul":

1. the Projekt Encasing Bodies — Critical Perspectives on the Body in Architecture (6 SWS/9 ECTS)
2. the Seminar Multiple Bodies — Concepts of Corporeality in Architecture (4 SWS/6 ECTS)
3. the Übung Bodies in Motion — Field Trip (2 SWS/3 ECTS)

You may select and combine the courses as needed, we recommend of course to choose the complete set. If you choose the Projekt, we highly recommend to choose the Seminar as well. Please contact your academic advisor to make sure that your combination of courses is recognised and prepare the learning agreement. You may find further information on the Bauhaus.Modul-webpage.

Students should have an interest in interdisciplinary approaches. You should be willing to read and to write, to present and to discuss, to mold and to dance, to experiment and to design — and sometimes do several things at the same time.

As the course is part of the "Bauhaus.Modules", students from all faculties are welcome!

We will have our first meeting October 13, 2022, 9.15 am.

Zeit:       donnerstags, 09:15 Uhr
Ort: