New approaches in human geography [SS 23]

This seminar scrutinizes the manifold interrelations between ‘the political’ and ‘the geological’ both empirically and theoretically. Advancing a broader “material turn” in Human Geography, debates about a political geology, geo-ontopolitics and geopower acknowledge the manifold entanglements between the social and the geological, and the constitutive role of the Earth for social and political issue formation. Empirical entry points into theoretical reflections are contemporary plans and debates about the long-term disposal of nuclear waste through Deep Geological Disposal (DGD) – a theme of crucial significance in contemporary 

 and beyond. The seminar is structured around a series of documentaries/films/art interventions on the theme, including Michal Madsen’s “Into Eternity”, Edgar Hagen’s “Journey to the Safest Place on Earth”; or Marcel Rickli’s Aeon project. In the course of the seminar, discussions about DGD will then also provide a basis for a reflection about other geo(engineering)technologies such as Car Carbon Capture and Storage (CSS), Solar Radiation Management (SRM) or Geothermal Energy Production. 

!!!! for the detailed weekly schedule of the seminar, please sign up to the course through moodle: SGG.00471 New Approaches in Human Geography [SP 21] (no password is needed)