Bringing gender and spatial theory to life at a German technical university

Abstract

This article focuses on the use of a university sculpture garden, the renaming of streets, and advice about the use of public space in order to teach the intersection of gender theory with spatial theory. This article outlines methods for teaching gender and spatial theory to international and multidisciplinary bachelor’s and master’s students in English at a German technical university. Most of the students had not learned gender or spatial theory prior to the course. A review of the course syllabus is included, and interactive teaching methods are outlined for the writings of three scholars: Elizabeth Grosz, Henri Lefebvre, and Dolores Hayden. Three intertwined aspects of campus life: its student life, its architecture, and its outdoor sculpture are brought into conversation with those theorists. Students learn the history of their campus buildings, outdoor spaces and artwork, along with how university spaces, place naming, and storytelling all affect their educational and individual experiences. By interacting with and analyzing examples of campus architecture, urban space, and outdoor sculpture, students discover how spatial and gender theories function in everyday life. However, students were more convinced that living gendered interactions affected everyday life, and less convinced that static gender representations such as the sculpture garden or street naming impacted gender ideas and perceptions.