Graduate School Performing Citizenship

New forms of citizenship are developing in the cities of the 21st century: self-organized and independent from the state and often creatively they do not only negotiate but also practically shape the way of how we live together. Performing Citizenship explores the articulations of this new urban citizenship, which puts into practice its desire and right for participation with performative means. Is it possible to think a “performative democracy” beyond our system of representative democracy? What comes into focus is a gap between traditional institutions such as political parties, public authorities or unions and a self confident and self-organized (nonviolent) new citizenry, which increasingly contributes to resolving urban crisis situations with artistic means.

The Graduate School aims to analyze this performative turn under the term “performing citizenship”. Since artistic practices play an important role in this context, the postgraduate programme is conceived methodologically as an artistic academic cooperation. The three-year programme qualifies doctoral candidates both artistically and academically, and can thus contribute to ground and advance Hamburg’s pioneering role in the development (and sophistication) of artistic research. The Graduate School includes a colloquium, workshops, public events, practical experiments and interventions in public space to investigate Performing Citizenship from a multi- and transdisciplinary perspective blending urban studies, cultural education, choreography, philosophy, urban design and cultural studies.

More information in German about the Graduate School Performing Citizenship can be found here.