Chronopolitics: the temporal structures of the city (2021W)

Social time structures have played a significant role in the spatial organization of the city since at least the modern era. Starting from urban phenomena shaped both spatially and temporally—deterritorialization, densification, and decoupling (Henckel, Herkommer: 2004)—the seminar examines commonalities in the spatial and temporal development of the European city and discusses the causes of continuous transformations as well as abrupt disruptions in urban temporality. Through a thematically structured analysis of underlying factors (work, housing, mobility, media, economy, politics), the seminar provides an overview of artificial timekeepers that shape urban space and everyday life, and explores additional spatio-temporal phenomena. It then turns to current conflicts in time-political debates within architecture and urban planning.

“Time unfolded at its usual sluggish, half-confused pace. They lived in a ramshackle house in one of the amorphous suburbs, a zone of endless afternoons.” (J. G. Ballard: Chronopolis)

The seminar is based on a selection of academic and non-academic texts from the fields of architectural and urban theory, science fiction, philosophy, sociology, sleep research, and political science. In addition to collective reflection on these texts, there will be short input lectures referencing specific architectural and urban projects, as well as discussions with invited guests from the respective research fields.

The seminar is aimed at Master’s students in Architecture and Spatial Planning. Architecture students may count the course as an elective worth 6 ECTS credits. Registration has been open in TISS since September 6.

Lecturers: Jerome Becker and Lukas Vejnik
Mode: Hybrid
Dates: Every Thursday, 5:00–7:00 p.m.
More information and registration:
https://tiss.tuwien.ac.at/course/courseDetails.xhtml?dswid=7626&dsrid=126&courseNr=280953&semester=2021W&locale=de

Selected Reading List:

Barbara Adam: Time and Social Theory (1990)

J. G. Ballard: Chronopolis (1960)

Beatriz Colomina: The Century of the Bed (2014)

Jonathan Crary: 24/7: Late Capitalism and the Ends of Sleep (2014)

Silvia Federici: Reproductive Labor in Global Capitalism and the Unfinished Feminist Revolution (2012)

Dietrich Henckel, Benjamin Herkommer: Commonalities of Spatial and Temporal Structures and Transformations (2004)

Henri Lefebvre: Rhythmanalysis: Space, Time and Everyday Life (2004)

Rasheedah Phillips: Placing Time, Timing Space: Dismantling the Master’s Map and Clock (2018)

Andreas Reckwitz: The Society of Singularities (2017)

Bernard Stiegler: Automatic Society: The Future of Work (2017)