[Discussion] Urban Spaces and Private Quarters

[Sule Tarakcioglu]

Panel: Urban Spaces and Private Quarters
Location:	Germany

International Conference:
Technisierung/Ästhetisierung -
Technological and Aesthetic (Trans)Formations of Society
12.10.2005-14.10.2005, Darmstadt

Panel: Urban Spaces and Private Quarters
In this panel the focus lies on spatial relations and the city both as 
object of
and as the location for scientific scrutiny. Perceptions of symbolic and
material artifacts in the city guide the everyday life of a majority of the
world's contemporary population. The tacit power of architecture, the subtle
influences of the aesthetics of things are constantly reconfigured by the
practices of the people moving through and using urban spaces. However, 
built
space is not the only hub of this panel. The staging of events in the 
city by
different actors and the conflicting uses of publically accessible spaces
directs our interest to presentations and representations of the city 
and its
diverse inhabitants. This area of inquiry connects discursive with 
visual and
performative aspects of urban life. Finally, we are interested in the 
multiple
ways in which the modeling and visualization of urban space in architectural
design influences the development and the decision making processes that
eventually solidify into concrete buildings, plazas, and parks. 
Regarding all
three of these hubs we want to encourage presentations that explicitly 
deal with
the ambivalent or dialectic character of aesthetics in the cities. Touristic
interests produce sites that are intended to attract people, their time, 
their
money and their attention. These sites become places of a specific 
cultural and
economic significance. At the same time other places are produced and 
presented
as repellent - the "no-go areas" of the modern ghetto, ethnic 
neighborhoods, and
the hidden or gated communities of the rich and powerful. Aestetics are a
central component of the processes of attraction and exclusion that 
regulate our
everyday practices. We are particularly interested in presentations that 
include
photographic, acoustic or audio-visual components. The presentetations 
should be
tied to empirical phenomena.

Abstracts from a wide variety of disciplines are welcome. These include 
history,
sociology, philosophy, economics, engineering and art history. Submit 
500-word
abstracts by Mai 15, 2005, as a Word or RichText document to:



Lars Frers/Lars Meier
TU Darmstadt
Fachbereich 2
Graduiertenkolleg “Technisierung und Gesellschaft”
Karolinenplatz 5 (Fach 1404)
64289 Darmstadt
Germany

Email: tagung-graduiertenkolleg@ifs.tu-darmstadt.de

Visit the website at
http://www.ifs.tu-darmstadt.de/fileadmin/gradkoll/Konferenzen/abschluss/main.html