R - Chronotopes

R1 - Otium and the Experience of Immersion in Music

The project investigates musical immersion as a phenomenon of the manifestation of Muße and its limits. Based on the hypothesis that sound creates a virtual experience of time and space, we focus on discourses on and compositional constructions of immersive experiences: first, in the late eighteenth century, when literature and musical works promote the idea of musical immersion as a new aesthetic paradigm; and second, in contemporary works of music that pick up on the immersive quality of virtual media experience.

Staff:
Johannes Bernet

R2 - Urban Otium in the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Century.
Flânerie in German Literature

Prof. Dr. Peter Philipp Riedl

Analysing urban Muße (otiose leisure) in German literature und journalism in the late 18th and early 19th century will add a new chapter to the history of flânerie. German travel reports and reports by newspaper correspondents from the metropolises London and Paris as well as Goethe's observations of Rome, Venice, Naples, and Palermo will be analysed with regard to the way of life and behaviour of the cities' respective residents at times without immediate temporal obligations, as well as the figures of the German observers themselves. The lingering glances of these observers reveal spaces of Muße as sites of reflection on alien habits and one's own judgements.

Staff:
René Waßmer

R3 - Otium in the Forest: The Construction of a Concept in Past and Present

Prof. Dr. Daniela Kleinschmit,
Prof. Dr. Uwe Eduard Schmidt

This project will explore the social construction of the forests as a space of Muße in the last two hundred years. Factors and processes which influenced this construction will be identified, and their present representations will be analysed. Based on the analysis of historical and present space constructions, influencing forest-related interpretations of individuals and societies, the project will generate fundamental insights concerning past and recent developments in forest policy.

Staff:
Johannes Litschel
Andy Selter
Sibylle Roth

R4 - Spaces of Otium: Theory, Practice and Empirical Evidence of Modern and Contemporary Architecture

Prof. Dr. Hans W. Hubert

This art historical project focuses on public spaces of contemplation, exhibitions, spas and libraries as significant examples of modern and contemporary architecture which aim to create a specific atmosphere of Muße and leisure. These will be analyzed and interpreted within the context of architectural theories, debates and terminology. The art historical analysis will be supplemented with empirical research on the perception of space and time.

Staff:
Lorenz Orendi

R5 - Waiting and Expecting in Spaces of Otium: An Empirical Study on the Connection between Expectation, Atmosphere and Sense of Time

PD Dr. Roland Thomaschke

Waiting can be experienced in quite different emotional ways: as focused on time and full of impatience, or as enjoyable free time. Based on hypotheses inspired by the psychology of architecture, this project will investigate how architectural design can create atmospheres in rooms which have a positive effect on the waiting experience. The question of expectancy will also be addressed. The working hypothesis will be that waiting tends to be experienced more positively the less it is linked to strong expectations regarding the immediate future after the period of waiting.

Staff:
Sonja Ehret