Building Together: (Aesth-)Ethics of the Commons
Dr. Aude Florence Bertrand-Höttcke
Over the last 15 years, common spaces have re-emerged as open-access cultural, political, societal and economic projects. Current examples range from "Haus der Statistik", "exRotaprint" in Berlin, to "Alte Feuerwache" or "B63" in Witten.
While former communal projects originally stemmed from a counterculture and a search for alternative lifestyles, or even alternativ political programmes, today's commons are now at the epicentre of pragmatic and post-ideological experiments, where actors from various horizons meet and join to redefine viable ways of urban living, working, creating, sharing, and being together.
Departing from relations between commoners and (non)users, the seminar seeks to address potentials, but also the tensions inherent to common spaces - open access "for all" vs. in-grouping "for few", open governance vs. concentration of power, aesthetic singularity vs. commonplace usage, economic viability vs. non-profit, and symbolic rewards & benefits vs. invisibilization of "chores".
Dr. Aude Florence Bertrand-Höttcke
Aude Bertrand-Höttcke (born 1980 in Paris) is a senior researcher, lecturer, author and practitioner in the field of contemporary arts and culture.
She joined the WittenLab in 2023 as a research fellow after completing her PhD at the former faculty for cultural studies at Witten/Herdecke university.
Prior to joining Witten and in parallel to her dissertation, she worked for fifteen years in the field of contemporary art, with a focus on experimental projects in-between public and digital space.
She has been a visiting researcher in cultural sociology, aesthetic theory and cultural studies at MESHOPOLIS research institute, Aix/Marseille, ACTE Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris and New School for Social Research, New York. She is also part of the urban collective "common spaces" initiated by YesWeCamp in Marseille and Paris.
Ziele & Kompetenzen
How we will work: based on case studies, close reading and discussions.
We will work together on preparing our excursion to common spaces as a collective field study.
The objective of this course is to critically reflect upon
-(collectively & organisationally) questions inherent to implementing an open, democratic governance in various settings (e.g. students' initiatives, associations, group work...) - with issues such as modes of Assembly, Participation, Power and Representation vs. Invisibilisation, process efficiency vs. deliberation
-(individually) how, and following which motives, we personally relate to commons and community-based practices -> each participant is expected to interrogate their own imaginaries, roles, and interactions within groups and communities of practice
- (socially) the potential for renewing and futuring modes of living and working together within common spaces (to which extent and, most importantly, for whom)
- (aesthetically) modes of singularity and uniqueness vs. replication and co-construction in common spaces.
Maximale Teilnehmendenzahl
25 Teilnehmer