<p>The purpose of this essay was to overview the conflicts regarding the exhibition space (Kunsthalle) Tensta Konsthall during 2003 and 2004, in order to gain an understanding of the following: why the conflict started, if anyone exceeded their authority, how the case has been reviewed in the press, what kind of value judgements lay behind the actions and why this case has received so much attention. By studying mainly press material and political documents it has been made clear that Tensta Konsthall’s location in an ill reputed suburb of Stockholm has been the cause for its exposure to different demands and expectations compared to other similar exhibition spaces. Further the essay deals with questions raised by the conflict in the intersection of culture and politics.</p>

The purpose of this essay was to overview the conflicts regarding the exhibition space (Kunsthalle) Tensta Konsthall during 2003 and 2004, in order to gain an understanding of the following: why the conflict started, if anyone exceeded their authority, how the case has been reviewed in the press, what kind of value judgements lay behind the actions and why this case has received so much attention. By studying mainly press material and political documents it has been made clear that Tensta Konsthall’s location in an ill reputed suburb of Stockholm has been the cause for its exposure to different demands and expectations compared to other similar exhibition spaces. Further the essay deals with questions raised by the conflict in the intersection of culture and politics.

This essay explores the correlation between the design of stemware and the production of artistically produced glassware at the Swedish glassworks Orrefors, between the years of 1960 and 1990. The aim of this investigation is to see in what way the artistic glass has influenced the design of the stemware. Furthermore, the essay discusses in what way this change in design can be due to factors like competition with cheaper stemware from IKEA, the aesthetic trends of different decades and the economic situations of the glassworks. This essay also investigates in what way this change in design and aesthetics correlates to a change in pricing of the exclusive stemware produced at Orrefors. These subjects have been investigated using both a qualitative and a quantitative method, with the aim of understanding their correlations. The result of this study has shown that the artistically produced glassware has had a noticeable impact on the design of stemware, particularly from the mid 70´s and onwards. This is concluded to be due to a combination of factors, such as the ones stated above.

Zugl.: Bonn, Univ., Diss., 2008

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Bonn, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Bonn, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis investigates representations of happiness in recent German literature and film. The interpretations focus on how happiness is negotiated in the context of home and travel, of Heimat and Fremde, in order to understand happiness, not only insofar as it contributes to “the good life”, but also as an element that shapes public discourses. My readings of works of fiction take into account how notions of happiness have shifted since the turn of the millennium. One reason for this shift is the heightened interest in happiness research, one of the most thriving interdisciplinary research fields of the last decade, which includes disciplines such as psychology, neurosciences, political science, sociology and economics. The following texts and films are examined in this context: Sommerhaus, später (1998) and Nichts als Gespenster (2003) by Judith Hermann, Transfer Lounge (2003) by Gregor Hens, Die Habenichtse (2006) by Katharina Hacker, Head-On (German: Gegen die Wand, 2004) by Fatih Akın, When We Leave (German: Die Fremde, 2010) by Feo Aladağ, Der Blick hinab (2007) by Shirin Kumm, Unveiled (German: Fremde Haut, 2005) by Angelina Maccarone, Cherry Blossoms (German: Kirschblüten – Hanami, 2008) by Doris Dörrie and Zehn (2010) by Franka Potente. My theoretical framework is informed in part by Sara Ahmed’s 2010 influential study, The Promise of Happiness, which takes a critical view toward recent happiness research from a cultural studies perspective. My analysis is directed at the ways in which concepts of happiness are narrated, negotiated and challenged within the context of transnational stories, which are inscribed with the effects of “supermodernity” (Augé) in a globalized world. I show how these works subvert themes and motifs that are associated with happiness, such as home and Heimat and travel or migration into the West. Finally, my readings show how these works mediate and reflect public dialogues and traditional notions about what makes us happy or unhappy, and I demonstrate how new configurations of happiness arise from these narratives. / Thesis (Ph.D, German) -- Queen's University, 2013-05-30 17:42:26.632

This thesis deals with the sociological conception of the dropout (Aussteiger) figure in Wilhelm Genazino’s Ein Regenschirm für diesen Tag (2001) and, in terms of the history of ideas, his predecessors in Heinrich von Kleist’s Michael Kohlhaas (1808) and Franz Kafka’s Die Verwandlung (1913). It discusses if and how Genazino’s protagonist represents a new contemporary dropout model, and discusses the extent to which such figures can be read as dropouts, how their individual dropout characteristics are designed and motivated, and which factors connect these central characters to each other. According to Christian Schüle and his “21 Fragmente über die Identität des Aussteigers” no one can better provide a picture of the state of a society than someone who intentionally exits from it. Thus, the essential process of dropping out is described. If someone is dropping out, he is reacting to circumstances; to what extent he reacts is, however, uneven. There is no prototype of a dropout. To grasp this highly complex and little investigated phenomenon, several sociological concepts are employed, such as assimilation, deviant behaviour, alienation, individualism and the aspect of self-realization. Niklas Luhmann’s Protest serves as another theoretical basis for the concept of dropping-out (Aussteigertum). His book focuses on how protesters choose themes that none of society’s systems would recognize as their own and thereby mirror the state of things in the society as they really are. The thesis then shows how the action of all three protagonists can be associated with these sociological concepts and how Genazino’s character in Ein Regenschirm für diesen Tag is related to previous protagonists such as Kohlhaas and Samsa. Kleist’s “gebrechliche Einrichtung der Welt” becomes the alienated world of Gregor Samsa and turns into Genazino’s “Gesamtmerkwürdigkeit des Lebens” in which melancholia and succussion bring the protagonist near to failing. The experimental setting all three authors use brings to mind the philosophical stream of Existentialism, on which they all seem to verge. Under societal pressure, all three figures begin to protest against their related situations in different ways. Because of having to submit himself to the exigencies of the society, Genazino’s protagonist feels as if he has to degenerate. To escape from these feelings he continuously walks physically through his environment and at the same time applies a philosophy of sight: as a reflective observer in the river of everyday life, as a swimmer against the tide of boredom, he drops out of society in his own way, different from the way Kohlhaas and Samsa did, but still related to them.

This thesis deals with the sociological conception of the dropout (Aussteiger) figure in Wilhelm Genazino’s Ein Regenschirm für diesen Tag (2001) and, in terms of the history of ideas, his predecessors in Heinrich von Kleist’s Michael Kohlhaas (1808) and Franz Kafka’s Die Verwandlung (1913). It discusses if and how Genazino’s protagonist represents a new contemporary dropout model, and discusses the extent to which such figures can be read as dropouts, how their individual dropout characteristics are designed and motivated, and which factors connect these central characters to each other. According to Christian Schüle and his “21 Fragmente über die Identität des Aussteigers” no one can better provide a picture of the state of a society than someone who intentionally exits from it. Thus, the essential process of dropping out is described. If someone is dropping out, he is reacting to circumstances; to what extent he reacts is, however, uneven. There is no prototype of a dropout. To grasp this highly complex and little investigated phenomenon, several sociological concepts are employed, such as assimilation, deviant behaviour, alienation, individualism and the aspect of self-realization. Niklas Luhmann’s Protest serves as another theoretical basis for the concept of dropping-out (Aussteigertum). His book focuses on how protesters choose themes that none of society’s systems would recognize as their own and thereby mirror the state of things in the society as they really are. The thesis then shows how the action of all three protagonists can be associated with these sociological concepts and how Genazino’s character in Ein Regenschirm für diesen Tag is related to previous protagonists such as Kohlhaas and Samsa. Kleist’s “gebrechliche Einrichtung der Welt” becomes the alienated world of Gregor Samsa and turns into Genazino’s “Gesamtmerkwürdigkeit des Lebens” in which melancholia and succussion bring the protagonist near to failing. The experimental setting all three authors use brings to mind the philosophical stream of Existentialism, on which they all seem to verge. Under societal pressure, all three figures begin to protest against their related situations in different ways. Because of having to submit himself to the exigencies of the society, Genazino’s protagonist feels as if he has to degenerate. To escape from these feelings he continuously walks physically through his environment and at the same time applies a philosophy of sight: as a reflective observer in the river of everyday life, as a swimmer against the tide of boredom, he drops out of society in his own way, different from the way Kohlhaas and Samsa did, but still related to them.

Irena Lehkoživová Between Architecture and Art: Reception of Mutual Relationships Doctoral thesis Abstract My doctoral thesis deals with the relationship between contemporary architecture and fine art. I track examples of such concepts and approaches in which architecture and art permeate and influence each other. Besides, I examine how selected authors approach the chosen topic. A detailed analysis of the work and ideas of individual selected architects or artists is thus complemented by clarification of their methods and starting points. The aim of this work is to look at the predefined studied subject and the context behind it, to explain the associated concepts, strategies and the functioning of mechanisms, and the transfer of themes, procedures and techniques of creation. The thesis consists of three chapters, separate case studies. The first chapter follows the tendencies and changes in displaying architecture, which, under the influence of art, tends to create more complex viewing experiences. I describe here two examples and approaches that come out of this tendency. In the first part, it is the approach to the exhibitions of the Swiss duo Herzog & de Meuron, the second part is devoted to the architectural installations, which under the influence of installation art allow the visitor a direct...