(De)Coloniality in the City: Emerging Traces from Urban Spaces | (De)Kolonialität in der Stadt: Auftauchende Spuren in urbanen Räumen

Decoloniality is a concept of resistance. It refers to the necessity of recognizing colonial thought patterns, concepts and discourses that still exist today, as well as the power structures based on them, in order to overcome them. Using Cologne as an example, the seminar will examine the traces and inscriptions that German colonialism has left in urban space. The focus will be on monuments, squares, buildings and institutions as part of the colonial topography of the city. How can something new emerge from decoloniality, as design scholar Danah Abdullah asks in her contribution to the book Decolonizing: The Curriculum, the Museum, and the Mind (2020): “Decoloniality […] calls for creating something new rather than an additive inclusion into a certain field.” Through photographic essays, exemplary configurations of colonial spaces and artifacts are examined in order to decolonize the city.

Preliminary discussion: Friday, April 19, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. (online)

The seminar will take place as a block event on the following dates
Sat., 20.04.2024, 09:00 a.m. – 05:00 p.m. (on-site)
Sat., 04.05.2024, 09:00 a.m. – 05:00 p.m. (on-site)
Sat., 11.05.2024, 09:00 a.m. – 05:00 p.m. (on-site)
Sat., 25.05.2024, 09:00 a.m. – 05:00 p.m. (on-site)

It is highly recommended to combine the seminar with the subsequent short-term project “(De)Coloniality in the City: Emerging Traces through Augmented Reality”  to transfer findings and results into design practice.