The seminar examines the powerful effects of emptiness. We want to understand the materiality, the production and the (industrial) effects of the liminal space called “vacuum", on which scientists and engineers worked in the 20th century. We observe pumps, coating systems, rockets and thin films in essays and catalogs, at exhibitions and in patents.
Objective
Students learn to read very different types of text against the grain and understand technical change.
Lecture notes
The reading program is available on Moodle at the beginning of the semester. Participation in the sessions is required. A graded semester performance will take place. Students should complete research tasks resulting from the individual sessions.