Ror Wolf, Collage, from ibid., Collagen (Romanfabrik, 2014).

The Dangers of the Great Flat Plane or How to Articulate a Stance in Architecture

In this seminar we chose a literary text as material to work with: Ror Wolf, The Dangers of the Great Flat Plane (in German only: Die Gefahr der grossen Ebene, 1976). We will exercise ourselves in articulating what it means to take a theoretical stance. Our interest is to explore what it means to acquire a kind of knowledge which is, first of all, an active ability. We mean by this a kind of knowledge that does not define itself through an "object", which one knows passively, but through actively knowing how to master whatever factors-in the articulation of an "object".

We want to learn to understand how theory

1) is never "useful" before it has "established" itself 

2) presupposes an involvement of both - the faculties of realist reason as well as those of speculation and imagination 

3) always triggers a certain alienation from what one is used to think and expect.

In all of these aspects, theory is as promising and exciting as it is uncomfortable. 

We want to proceed in a twofold manner:

With regard to context, we will place Wolfs text in the context of contemporary theory: we discuss Hans Blumenbergs "motivic" anecdote on the (ill)legitimity of theory in his book The Laughter of the Thracian Woman (in German only: das Lachen der Thrakerin); the ideas of a so-called Flat Ontology as developed by Manuel de Landa, Bruno Latour, Graham Harman and others; Wendy Chungs concept of Code Logos; Michel Serres concept of the Quasi-Object; Hannah Arendts notes on historiographical writing; and Martin Heideggers concept of the World Picture. We will discuss one of these texts in each Seminar session. 

With regard to method, we will take a given text and learn how to "wear it as a linguistic skin": we will exercise ourselves in what we want to call, provisionally, the architectonic art of articulation, or inversely: a dexterity in geometrically conjugating and declinating a particular theoretical stance. 

This means concretely: we will take the first 3 pages of Wolfs text and rewrite it several times during the semester: how would the words have to be put, if the protagonist were balancing on a sphere (rather than standig on a great flat plane, as Wolf has it)? or if he were standing in the center of a great circle? or attempting to set foot on a pedestal? or trying to keep balance while standing on the angle of a rotated square? or if the protagonist were caught up by the dynamics of a parallelogram? or if he had dissolved into a cloud?

We will organize two workshops in creative writing with the playwright Sebastian Michael, once early in the semester and once later on towards the end. (Dates: 22.3 und 31.5).

Presentations:

29.3 Serres: Theorie des Quasi Objekts
05.4 Dieter: Stasis
26.4 Harman: Road to Objects
03.5 Chung: You + Invisibly Visible, Visibly Invisible + On Sourcery and Source Codes
10.5 Serres: Einleitung Interferenzen + A Short Tall Tale
17.5 Heidegger: Zeit des Weltbildes
24.5 Serres: Kommunikationsnetz Penelope
14.6 Koolhaas: Bigness and the Problem of Large

The Seminar takes place Wednesdays 2-4 pm. 

Firs Meeting: March 15 2017, ATTP Seminarraum 

Please consider the plagiarism guidelines of TU Wien when writing your seminar paper: http://www.tuwien.ac.at/fileadmin/t/ukanzlei/t-ukanzlei-english/Plagiarism.pdf
Please consider the plagiarism guidelines of TU Wien when writing your seminar paper: Directive concerning the handling of plagiarism (PDF)Please consider the plagiarism guidelines of TU Wien when writing your seminar paper: Directive concerning the handling of plagiarism (PDF)

We expect a written Seminar Paper, in which you engage with the proposed secondary literature in order to develop an argument with regard to the seminar s theme (how to articulate a stance in architecture). Bachelor students: 8-10 pages, Master students: 15-20 pages.

You will present your idea for a seminar paper argument midways throughout the semester. 

We will provide a guide line document HOW TO WRITE A SEMINAR PAPER. And we offer individual meetings to support you in writing your seminar paper (appointments by email).

 

A Reader will be provided with the following literature:

Ror Wolf, Die Gefährlichkeit der großen Ebene (Suhrkamp, 1976). Auszüge.

Hannah Arendt´s Briefkorrespondenz mit Eric Voegelin über ihr Buch Elemente und Ursprünge totaler Herrschaft (1955). Auszüge.

Hans Blumenberg, Das Lachen der Thrakerin. Eine Urgeschichte der Theorie. Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am Main, 1987. Auszüge.

Wendy Chung, Programmed Vision, Software and Memory (MIT Press, 2011).

Graham Harmann, „The Road to Objects“ in: Continent, Issue 1.3 / 2011: 171-179.

Martin Heidegger, „Die Zeit des Weltbildes“ (1938) in: Gesamtausgabe. Bd. 5 : Holzwege. Frankfurt (Main): Klostermann, 1977, S. 87-88. 

Rem Koolhaas, "Bigness and the Problem of Large,” in: Rem Koolhaas, and Bruce Mau, S, M, L, XL, New York: Monacelli Press, 1995, p. 494-516.

Bruno Latour, "Reflections on Etienne Souriau’s Les différents modes d’existence," in: Levi Bryant, Nick Srnicek and Graham Harman (eds.), The Speculative Turn: Continental Materialism and Realism, re.press, Melbourne 2011, p. 304-332. 

Michel Serres "Einleitung" in Interferenz, Hermes II, Merve, Berlin 1992 [1972], p. 7-18.

Michel Serres, "A Short Tall Tale" and „The object of this book“ in Genesis, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 1995 [1982], p. 1-8.

Michel Serres, "Einleitung. Das Kommunikationsnetz: Penelope" in Kommunikation, Hermes I, Merve, Berlin, 1991 [1968], S. 9-23.

Michel Serres, "Theorie des Quasi-Objekts" in Der Parasit, Suhrkamp, 1987 [1981], S. 344-360.