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After our first meeting – course overview & next steps

Dear all,

Good to finally meet you today. I’m glad we found each other, even if it took a bit of searching.
Since we had less time than planned, I wanted to send a brief overview of how this course works and what happens next.

Course Structure

We meet four times this semester:
Today (October 14) – Introduction ✓
November 18 (10:00-14:00, with lunch break) – First gathering: “What has been catching your attention?”
January 20 (10:00-14:00, with lunch break) – Second gathering: “What patterns are you noticing?”
February 10 (10:00-14:00, with lunch break) – Final gathering: “What questions do you have now?”

Between these meetings, you walk Berlin and read your chosen book. No assignments, no check-ins from me—just sustained attention to the city. I’ll send occasional short provocations (questions to carry with you) via email.

The Three Books

Choose ONE of these to read over the next weeks:
Anna Tsing – The Mushroom at the End of the World
About survival and collaboration across difference; how life persists in damaged landscapes.
James C. Scott – Seeing Like a State
About how states try to make people and places “legible” and how people resist simplification.
Robert Macfarlane – Is a River Alive?
About personhood, rights, and what gets counted as having agency in urban spaces.

Where to find them: Check the VÖBB (public library system) – you can search their catalogue online and reserve books. I also recommend the Libby app, which lets you borrow ebooks and audiobooks from VÖBB. All three books should be available there in various formats.

Until we meet again (November 18)

Your task is simple but demanding:

Choose your book – Read the descriptions, maybe sample each one if you can, then commit to one. Start reading it.
Walk Berlin – Go to neighbourhoods you’ve never been. Or walk familiar places differently. There’s no quota, no requirement for how much. Just pay attention when you do. What catches your eye? What makes you pause? What do you wonder about?

Complete the walking exercise I had planned for today – If you haven’t already: Walk for 20 minutes around campus or your neighbourhood. Notice what draws your attention. Write 2 paragraphs about what seemed important. You don’t need to send this to me—it’s for you, to begin practicing this kind of attention.

Let the question follow you: “What survives in cities?” Don’t try to answer it yet. Just notice when it becomes relevant to what you’re seeing.

Remember: we will never discuss the books directly in our sessions. They’re lenses that shape how you see, not topics we analyse. Let the book and the city have a private conversation.

Where to Find Course Materials

I will publish all messages and further materials for the course on my blog: https://nodiscipline.hypotheses.org/. I occasionally write essays there too inspired from the courses and our exchanges—so you might find reflections on questions we’re exploring together appearing there throughout the semester.

The Blackboard will remain open in case you need it for communication purposes, but the blog will be the main hub from my perspective.

A Note on Process

I know this course structure is unusual. Six weeks with no meetings, no clear assignments, just “walk and read and pay attention” can feel uncertain. That’s intentional.
The course trusts that sustained attention—to a city, to a complex text—will generate insights that lectures couldn’t. Your particular background, your discipline, your way of seeing will reveal things my attention would miss.
If this feels uncomfortable, sit with that discomfort. See what it teaches you.

Questions?

If anything is unclear, if you can’t find the books, if you’re lost (literally or metaphorically), email me. I’m here.
Otherwise: go walk. Read. Pay attention. I’ll send a small provocation in a couple of weeks.

See you November 18th (or in the sessions of the Writing course on Wednesday).
Victoria


OpenEdition schlägt Ihnen vor, diesen Beitrag wie folgt zu zitieren:
Victoria Mummelthei (14. Oktober 2025). After our first meeting – course overview & next steps. Keine Disziplin – No Discipline. Abgerufen am 9. März 2026 von https://doi.org/10.58079/14y3h


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