University of Texas at Austin: Maymester: Vienna, Memory and the City: From Imperial Capital to Global Metropolis

The purpose of this course is to explore the ways in which cultural memory has shaped, and continues to shape, urban life in one specific place: Vienna, Austria.

For individuals and groups alike, memory forms an essential component of social identity. Cultural memory is produced in various forms from memorials, public art, and commodities to popular culture, rituals, and museums. Yet, the very symbols meant to preserve the past, in many cases, are designed to change, or omit, the facts.

Vienna itself will be our laboratory as we examine theoretical discussions of memory and the city in a provocative geographical setting. We will visit museums that are important to Vienna's collective memory. German conversation classes, taught by a native speaker, will be part of our daily curriculum.

Course meets major requirements in several liberal arts majors and the upper division writing flag and global cultures flag.