This course gives a first introduction to the Agenda 2030 (https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300) which was launched by the UN in 2015 with the goal to end poverty in all its forms and to achieve global sustainable development including all humans “nobody left behind”.

The  core of the Agenda 2030 are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) made up of 169 targets that provide a catalogue of highly interconnected yet also contradictory development goals. While designed to envision a better future for all on our planet, synergies, spill-over effects and ethical questions have to be addressed and frame decisions towards possible solutions for our global challenges. After an introductory part, we will have a closer look on some of the 17 goals (selected by the students) and reexamine them with a focus on inequality, gender and priority shifts due to the Coronvirus pandemic.

In the second part of the course we will discuss and examine the perspective of artistic strategies in addressing global challenges, in particular contemporary art’s role in current discussions. Exhibition visits, artist talks and inputs from experts of diverse fields are planned. 

80% attendance, active participation in group work and discussions, thought paper (3-5 pages) on a selected topic

Students from other faculties or universities will receive a place on the course subject to room capacities