September 27, 2013, 9:24 am, Steffen Krämer,
Consuming cities,
Decorated shed,
Learning from Las Vegas,
New Forms of the Social,
Postmodernism,
Postmodernism revisited,
Sociohistorical analysis,
Topics,
Urban virtuality.
Similar to the warehouse in the 19th century the so called “consuming city” receives a building boom since the end of the 20th century. But its urban character is only virtual, because there are neither public or municipal buildings nor appartments. No one lives in this city, and every evening it is hermeticly closed until the morning. The design of every house is based on an expressive façade, influenced by historicism, and an indifferent building volume. This specific forming derives from Robert Venturi’s concept of a “decorated shed”, explained in his publication “Learning from Las Vegas” of 1972. The ability of postmodern architecture to communicate with the recipient was the reason to elect this architectural language. Finally the visitor of this city shall primary be encouraged to consume. Therefore the contemporary consuming city is an example of the continuity of postmodern architecture at the millennium, closely combined with the current idea of urban virtuality.
The consideration of the history of the Third Reich from an approach concerning waste industry dues not only touch aspects of National Socialist economic policy, but also essential elements of social policy. Besides government agencies, representatives from economy and sciences, also the general public is concerned with waste management, and thus mainly with the transformation of formerly unused waste products into exploitable raw resources. In the following, it is attempted to deserche the areas of the waste industry (collection, handling/transport, sorting, reutilisation, treatment, accumulation) in the context of general National Socialist structures. The main focus is on a selection of material flows in the light of the extraction of secondary raw resources. Finally, it is also examined to which extent the system of National Socialist waste management resulted from a systemically conditioned necessity, whether it was due to the specific circumstances of the time, or if its peculiarity can be considered as a characteristic of totalitarian political systems.
Mai 16, 2013, 3:11 pm, Silvia Woll,
Converging technologies,
Human enhancement,
Posthuman age,
Posthumanism,
Science Fiction,
Sociohistorical analysis,
Topics,
Transhumanism.
The essay gives a detailed and selective overview over the discussion of transhumanism and posthumanism, taking account of the most influential authors‘ impact on the movement. Their most important texts are bound to mark the scientific development of posthumanistic and transhumanistic concepts. Examples taken from literature, film and artistic performance show their impact in public, being both enriched by the scien-tific approach and guiding also the latter.
The European process of integration – from a housewife’s point of view.
The public has received substantial interpretation pursuant to its function as counterpart to the political development. Following the speaker’s projection, the parliament and the public sphere form an alliance. Literature has been understood all the time as its mediation and realization alike. What remains open, is the very question how the “focus of the public” (Ch.Taylor) is created and to be maintained. In four steps it is explained according to the primary hypothesis that human consciousness relies upon a polar foundation. The first introduces both parts of literary consciousness, the individual and the collective, in relation to truth capability. The second exhibits in an empirical sense the intricacies of polar consciousness as related to varieties of manifestation and peripeteian emphasis. The third relies upon poetological theory in order to explain how collective consciousness and the text are interconnected. Finally the fourth takes novel theory and interpretation (N.Miller) as point of departure for final application and overall summary.
März 11, 2013, 3:59 pm, Manfred Negele,
Community,
Mutuality,
New Forms of the Social,
Personal relationship,
Sociohistorical analysis,
Topics,
Virtual reality.
Nowadays technical devices are used for communication between humans. Communicating by using tech-nical devices effects the way people are co-existing. Does that convey the experience of community, does it maybe lead us to new forms of communities? Or as we rely on technology and the opportunities offered thereby, do we lose the possibility to find people sharing our lives? The article offers the chance to find points of reference framing these essential questions.
Februar 14, 2013, 10:16 am, Rolf-Jürgen Gleitsmann,
Evolution,
Haubergwirtschaft,
History of sustainability,
Siegerland,
Sociohistorical analysis,
Sustainability,
Sustainable growth,
Topics.
Authors Rolf-Jürgen Gleitsmann Institut für Geschichte/Technikgeschichte, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, E-Mail: rolf-juergen.gleitsmann-topp@kit.edu Fulltext Abstract English The age of industrial modernity is facing an existential crisis. The basis of its existence is threatened. Industrial production, based on the principle of division of labour, mass consumption and a structurally vital economic growth have passed the carrying capacity […]
This essay is supposed to answer the purpose of examining reflections about the technological development of war machinery between the end of the Franco-Prussian War and the beginning of the First World War. The use of technologically evolved weapons in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71 and other wars in the aftermath were observed critically and led to various opinions about the form of war to be. These were expressed in contemporary literature like pamphlets, scientific papers and science fiction novels. These will be analysed for imprints of technophobia, technophilia or fascination with technology. As this paper will point out, all three elements can be found in the corpus of literature consulted for this topic. Besides reflections on already existing and only enhanced weapons like guns or cannons, also technology not yet used in war like ironclads or airplanes and its impacts on future war are covered in the works chosen for this essay.
Juli 31, 2012, 4:26 pm, Don Foresta,
Art and science,
Interactivity,
Network,
Renaissance,
Sociohistorical analysis,
Spatial Cybernetics,
Topics.
This article is about art and science and a certain parallelism between them in the evolution of Western culture, particularly over the last 150 years. I will try to describe what changes have taken place in our society’s operational schema and our shared paradigm. My construct will be one of art, though a strong influence from science will be evident. I propose that we have been living through a second renaissance provoked by a profound change in the definition and representation of reality by both art and science. Throughout the 20th century, the ideas put forth by both have been extremely unconventional and the two have interacted in ways not always obvious, providing new metaphors, new patterns for defining the future shape of our culture.
In the Western post-industrial societies, the individual experience is heavily shaped by the day-to-day contact with information and communication technologies. This article argues that everyday experience based on the use of communication technologies leads to a specific adaptation of the human consciousness to the technical environment. The question is discussed, what is the impact of this process on human consciousness.