Over the past two decades, the construction of historical spaces and regional affiliations has taken on an important role in the humanities and social sciences. Particular attention has been paid to the social construction of border areas, the subjective notion of spatial relationships (mental maps) or structural similarities and differences between different regions. These debates have often been inspired by "classics" of historical spatial research (Mediterranean, Balkans, Eastern Europe). In contrast, the question of the social construction of space at the external borders - the 'edges' of Europe - and especially in relation to the Middle East remains vague and at the same time extremely politicized. In this course, theoretical and methodological questions of historical “Raumforschung” will be developed and deepened in the case of the debates on the Middle East. In this way, the historical changeability of spatial allocations will come to the fore and not only political and diplomatic dynamics but also the social practices of border crossing will be examined. The course thus sees itself as an offer on an issue that is often not sufficiently considered regionally, but at the same time is methodologically broad enough to allow the problems discussed to be easily transferred to other cases and regions.

PD Dr. Heinrich Hartmann, Universität Basel und Alexander Balistreri
Date: 16.1., 23.1., 9am-6pm (times can vary)
Venue: Asien-Orient-Institut, Rämistrasse 59, 8001 Zürich Raum: RAA-E-08
Language: German and English Participants: open for PhDs studens, early Postdoc or advanced MA students
ECTS 1 (PhD)
Registration: milena.guthoerl@phil.uzh.ch
More details: Flyer (PDF, 942 KB)