International research project: What actually is "land"?
Image: Sonja Rode/Stephanie Wiegner.The project focuses on the development of an interdisciplinary methodology for the analysis of "land" between urbanization, labour policy and environmental management as well as at the interfaces of the humanities, planning and social sciences. The research team led by Prof. Dr. Alla Vronskaya and Dr. Megan Eardley (both University of Kassel) and Prof. Dr. Ateya Khorakiwala (Columbia University, New York) will evaluate a broad spectrum of sources. These range from administrative records, property documents, land use plans, forestry and agricultural publications, settlement plans to visual representations of "land" in the media. The aim is to develop a differentiated understanding of "land" as a historically and materially constructed space and to show how this knowledge can contribute to fairer and more sustainable land policies and practices.
The researchers question the 19th century notion of 'land' as the antithesis of the modern city. Instead, "land" is understood as a historically and materially shaped space, characterized by planning, administration and knowledge systems. Specifically, for example, agricultural land with irrigation systems, mining and extraction areas, forestry-managed forests or peat bogs come into focus - as well as the forms of settlement and infrastructure that have emerged from them, the researchers explain. They understand "land" not only as a spatial category, but also as a political and economic category within global interdependencies. Instead of classic contrasts such as "global North and South" or "Western and Eastern blocs", they focus on the regions as joint creators of modern organizational techniques. Theoretical impulses come from Afro-American studies, settlement colonial research and the analysis of international development programs. The research project strengthens the international exchange between science, practice and civil society actors - with the aim of opening up new perspectives on land use and land policy.
The project is part of the Volkswagen Foundation-funded initiative "Aufbruch - Neue Forschungsräume für die Geistes- und Kulturwissenschaften", which supports projects with high innovation potential.
Contact
Prof. Dr. Alla Vronskaya
Department of History and Theory of Architecture
Phone 0561-8047229
Email: vronskaya[at]uni-kassel[dot]de
Megan Eardley
Lecturer in the Department of History and Theory of Architecture
University of Kassel
E-mail: eardley[at]kth[dot]se