Decolonizing Vienna Exkursion, 2022 (c) Amila Sirbegovic
HISTORY(IES) IN THE CITY
from queer feminist, dekolonial and migrant perspectives
The history(ies) of a city are a contested field! How we understand our past has a bearing on how we can imagine our future. Whose experiences and points of view are being kept and passed on reflects on dominant power relations of our present. For example, the demolition of Südbahnhof – a place of arrival for many migrants in Vienna – left a great gap in the city‘s history of migration. In contrast, the decision to transform another historical site has been postponed time and again. It has been an ongoing discussion, over many years, how the city should deal with the monument of Karl Lueger – a former mayor of Vienna who is known for his antisemitic views.
In this seminar, we will investigate how different histories manifest in the city. Whose history can be found where and how? Whos history is visible and whose is invisble? Which histories matter and who is writing them? To find out, we will examine the city as an archive from a queer feminist, decolonizing, and migrant perspective. What can we (un)learn when we reflect on the city‘s history from such positions? What are these documents of women‘s or migrants‘ histories in the city? How can we make the histories of queer life in the city visible?
We will approach these questions by discussing artworks and projects from educational contexts, activism, and culture as well as by going for walks through the city. We will interrogate monuments, sites, and buildings in the city for their histories, work with concepts such as narrative urbanism, consult archives, and make interviews.
Artists' works (planned):
IMMO GRIEF, kuratiert von Lisa Bolyos und Tomash Schoiswohl, Wienwoche 2022 Wer putzt die Stadt?, Sekretariat für Geister, Archivpolitiken und Lücken, 2022
Harun Farocki, The Silver and the Cross, 2010
Hito Steyerl, “Der Bau”, Linz 2009
Excursionena (planned):
Stadtspaziergang mit Decolonizing in Vienna!
Archiv des Vereins für Geschichte der Arbeiter*innenbewegung, Wien
Sichtwort - Archiv der Frauen und Lesbenbewegung, Wien
QWIEN, Zentrum für Queere Geschichte, Wien
Texte (vorläufig):
Carla Bobadilla. 2020. “The Butterfly House,” in: Giulia Carabelli et. al (Hg.), Sharpening the Haze: Visual Essays on Imperial History and Memory. London: Ubiquity Press, 129-142.
Katarina Bonnevier. 2007. Behind Straight Curtains: Towards A Queer Feminist Theory Of Architecture. Stockholm: Axl Books. (chapter 2)
Elke Krasny. 2008. "Narrativer Urbanismus oder die Kunst des City-Telling,” in: Elke Krasny und Irene Nierhaus (Hg.), Urbanografien, Stadtforschung in Kunst, Architektur und Theorie. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer Verlag.
Alessandro Petti. 2017. "The Architecture of Exile IV. B.” e-flux architecture, Refugee Heritage, February 22, 2017. https://www.e-flux.com/architecture/refugee-heritage/99756/the-architecture-of- exile-iv-b/
Meike Schalk. 2017. "Old News from a Contact Zone: Action Archive in Tensta,” in: The Social (Re)Production of Architecture. Politics, Values and Actions in Contemporary Practice edited by Doina Petrescu and Kim Trogal, 329-345.
Vida Bakondy und Amila Širbegović, 2022. "Flüchten, ankommen, Erinnern: Eine Ausstellung als Erinnerungsort ex-jugoslawischer-Wiener Gegenwart," in Südslawisches Wien, Band Nr. XX
Johanna Schaffner. 2008. Ambivalenzen der Sichtbarkeit: Über die visuellen Strukturen der Anerkennung. Wien: transcript Verlag. (Auszug)
Ann Cvetcovic. 2003. An Archive of Feelings. Trauma, Sexuality and Lesbian Public Cultures. Durham NC: Duke Universtiy Press. (Auszug)