290623 PS Post-Industrial Transformations in Post-Socialist Cities (2026S)

The project seminar offers students an opportunity to engage with the post-industrial transformations of post-socialist cities through a comparative research-oriented approach, which combines elements of urban theories with practical elements of qualitative research methods. Students can choose one of the following research lenses to focus on: urban heritage, socio-spatial inclusion/exclusion, environmental sustainability care and maintenance, the role of urban governance as a mechanism of post-industrial change.

The seminar takes an exploratory research design with a focus on qualitative research methods, which incorporates the following elements: (i) a narrative research method with a focus on the ways in which places, transformations, and events are told, remembered, and framed; (ii) a grounded theory-inspired method of coding to generate concepts from the data; and (iii) a photovoice-inspired method of visual research, which serves as an analytical tool. The seminar will be held in a blocked format (four sessions), with a combination of input lectures, discussions, methodological exercises, and guided tasks to be completed during field work in Vienna.

Students will work on post-industrial sites of Vienna through a combination of observation, with a supplementary element of photovoice, which will be used to inform the process of open coding during the class sessions, culminating in a concise analytical toolkit (concepts, indicators, observation prompts).