Water for survival, water for the senses.

For thousands of years, people have been opening up the most diverse regions as living spaces, both by adapting their way of life to the geographical conditions and by redesigning the local environment according to their needs. Water management plays a central role in this. On the one hand, the transformation of  landscapes through water infrastructures serves the cultivation of territories, on the other hand, the aesthetic quality of water has always been used to express symbolic meanings, to delight the senses, to give pleasure to people. Its fascination lies in the change of its aggregate states, in the variety of its manifestations, in the horror of lack or overabundance, in other words in its multiformity and ambivalence. Water is both a basic substance of life and a significant material for art.

The topic of the winter semester is a cultural history of landscape transformation through water management and the use of water as an artistic medium in landscape design up to the 20th century. In the summer semester, we will deal with current developments.

The course format of the winter semester is a classic lecture with a written final examination.

(History and Theory of Landscapes II in the summer semester will consist of lectures, presentations by students, guest lectures and short excursions. Exam: Analysis and presentation of an agreed topic in class including delivery of a short written summary of this presentation. Active participation in the course. Exam interview in the form of a group discussion at the end of the semester.)

We are back in SR 10!

The course will be held in English.

Attending both courses – History and Theory of Landscapes I in the winter semester and History and Theory of Landscapes II in the summer semester – is recommended, as there are cross-connections in terms of content.