Fachsemester "Peace Out"

Abstract

In slang, “peace out” means “goodbye”. It also relates to the word “peace” which is, today, rarely used and hard to focus on. This double-meaning is the entry point for our Fachsemester. Can peace, in our present time, only be imagined as something that is over or yet to come? Are art or architecture peaceful as such? Does something like violent art or architecture exist?

Objective

Our aim is to increase the knowledge and sensitivity of architecture students toward the history of art and architecture, to make their voices heard and to develop new teaching formats for the history and theory of architecture. Students will learn to take position in a field, they will practice argumentation and increase their skills in writing and presenting.

Content

In slang, “peace out” means “goodbye”. It also relates to the word “peace” which is, today, rarely used and hard to focus on. This double-meaning is the entry point for our Fachsemester. Can peace, in our present time, only be imagined as something that is over or yet to come? Are art or architecture peaceful as such? Does something like violent art or architecture exist? Starting with a visit to the almost forgotten Paxmal, a monument for peace initiated exactly 100 years ago by Karl Bickel high over Walensee, we will dive into the history of pacifism and look backwards, forward and to the present. The Fachsemester in HS 2024 will deal with issues of ethics and esthetics in the largest sense. The syllabus will contain articles and book chapters on philosophy, performance, political science, poetry and history. Students are invited to develop their own texts in relation to the overall topic. Our aim is to increase the facility of students for understanding spatial, political and historical interrelations. We support students to develop their skills in writing and reading, to make their voices heard, and to experiment, together with the teaching group, with new educational forms for the history and theory of art and architecture. The group will meet on Wednesdays 10-13 at Kunsthalle Zürich and Thursdays 10-13 in our office. Start: Wednesday, 18 September 2024.

Resources