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Networks, Connections, Interruptions: A Cultural History of Infrastructure, 19th and 20th centuries
Netze, Verbindungen, Unterbrüche: Kulturgeschichte der Infrastruktur im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert
Last Updated: 2026-06-03 00:42:50
Abstract
The lecture provides an overview of cultural historical perspectives on infrastructures and its uses in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It analyzes how and why governments and experts promoted infrastructure projects, how the use of infrastructures changed people's daily lives, and it looks at the consequences for societies.
Objective
With regular attendance and sufficient preparation/follow-up work, you will achieve the following learning objectives: • You will have gained insights in cultural historical perspectives on infrastructures and you will be able to better understand current debates in their historical context. • You will have practiced analyzing historical sources and scholarly literature, orally and in writing.
Content
You are reading this course description via an internet connection, with electric light, perhaps sitting on a train or in a tram: Infrastructures enable – or prevent – workflows, communication, and mobility. Thus, they are a central prerequisite for the functioning of modern societies and at the same time their product. Infrastructures emerged through the planning of governments, administrations, and companies, as well as through the needs and appropriations of the people using them. Beyond their technical significance, they have social, cultural, and political impacts, providing insights into changing norms, practices, and ideals in historical and contemporary societies. The lecture deals with this impact of infrastructures on societies. It provides an overview of how governments and expert committees advanced infrastructure projects, how the use of infrastructures changed people's daily lives, and what societal consequences and unintended effects this had. Special attention is given to the diverse effects of infrastructures: how they constituted and fragmented spaces, the extent to which they enabled new social opportunities, and where they influenced and altered societal structures and habits. The temporal focus lies on the 19th and 20th centuries, the geographical focus on case studies from Europe. By engaging with historical sources and research literature, the lecture offers a historical perspective on the production and uses of infrastructures, such as infrastructures in telecommunications, transport, and energy supply. The lecture will include inputs from the instructor, as well as interactive elements with student participation (e.g., discussions, reflections on previously read texts, and source analyses in the whole class and in small groups). Prerequisites for participation and the exam are the willingness to engage in the interactive parts, regular reading of texts in English and German, and an interest in historical topics and questions.
General Information
- Language
- German
- Levels
- DS , MSC
Examination
- Type
- graded semester performance
Registration & Places
- Max Places
- 40
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| lecture | Netze, Verbindungen, Unterbrüche: Kulturgeschichte der Infrastruktur im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert |
|
28 h semesterly |
Offered In
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Science in Perspective (In “Science in Perspective”-courses students learn to reflect on ETH’s STEM subjects from the perspective of humanities, political and social sciences. Only the courses listed below will be recognized as "Science in Perspective" courses.)
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Type A: Enhancement of Reflection Competence (SiP courses are recommended for bachelor students after their first-year examination and for all master- or doctoral students. All SiP courses are listed in Type A. Courses listed under Type B are only recommendations for enrollment for specific departments.)
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