Kursinformation

In recent years, subterranean spaces have received increasing attention in human geography, reflecting their growing social, economic and political importance. The underground is not simply an empty void beneath our feet – it is an active and contested space that shapes and is shaped by human societies in complex ways. This seminar introduces students to the diverse and evolving body of geographical research on subterranean spaces. Through case studies and critical discussion, students will engage with key issues such as resource extraction, waste disposal, carbon capture and storage, and underground infrastructure such as caves, bunkers, tunnels or rock laboratories. It will reveal the underground as a space of ideological projection, technological intervention and capitalist appropriation; as a space of the exercise of power, domination and power struggles; as part of social, technological and institutional networks of relationships; but also as a space of myths, longings and visions of the future.

On this basis, students will explore how geographers conceptualize, study and theorize the underground, drawing on a range of analytical approaches to understand its connections with surface societies. In line with the seminar's overarching theme of “new approaches in human geography', students will examine how the underground challenges conventional spatial thinking and inspires new methodological, epistemological and ontological perspectives. How do we explore spaces that are often hidden, inaccessible or invisible? What does it mean to conceptualize the underground as an active agent rather than a passive container? These questions will guide our discussions as we critically engage with recent geographical scholarship on subterranean spaces. By the end of the seminar, students will have gained a comprehensive understanding of subterranean geographies and their significance in contemporary human geography. They will also develop critical perspectives on how underground spaces influence wider socio-political and environmental processes, contributing to a deeper engagement with emerging debates within and beyond the discipline.