The Agrarian Question: From Colonialism to Urban Agriculture

Frühlingssemester 2023

With 21st cen­tu­ry exten­ded urba­ni­sa­ti­on, archi­tec­tu­re and spa­ti­al prac­ti­ce is incre­asing­ly con­fron­ted with agri­cul­tu­re and the agra­ri­an ques­ti­on. This cour­se attempts a sys­te­ma­tic enga­ge­ment with urba­ni­sa­ti­on and the agra­ri­an ques­ti­ons in its many facets — from the clas­sic ques­ti­on of land enclo­sure, colo­nia­lism, and pri­mi­ti­ve accu­mu­la­ti­on, to the ongo­ing deba­tes on urban agri­cul­tu­re and gree­ning. Through this cour­se, the semi­nar par­ti­ci­pan­ts are expec­ted to deve­lop a cri­ti­cal under­stan­ding of the agra­ri­an ques­ti­on, its poli­ti­cal eco­no­my, and urba­ni­sa­ti­on in the agra­ri­an ter­ri­to­ries. The par­ti­ci­pan­ts are thus expec­ted to actively enga­ge in pre­sen­ting, dis­cus­sing, and deba­ting the recom­men­ded lite­ra­tu­re for the semi­nar. Fur­ther­mo­re, the par­ti­ci­pan­ts are encou­ra­ged to iden­ti­fy alter­na­ti­ves and ima­gi­ne the pos­si­bi­li­ties for archi­tec­tu­ral and urban prac­ti­ce in the agra­ri­an territories.

Lei­tung: Chris­ti­an Schmid, Nitin Bathla