UCL Department of Geography

Sandra Jasper

Research Topic

Cyborg Imaginations: nature, technology, and urban space in West Berlin (1961-1989)

Commenced Oct 2008
Expected Completion Sept 2013

Supervisors

Matthew Gandy, Department of Geography, UCL
Peg Rawes, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL

Academic Background

Humboldt University Berlin and Free University Berlin, Germany
Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in Geography and Gender Studies
(2004 - 2008, continued degree: Diplom)

DAAD study abroad scholarship to Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, CA
Bachelor of Arts in Geography (2002 - 2003)

University of Cologne, Germany
Bachelor of Arts in Geography and English Literature (1998 - 2003)

Dissertation and Research Interests

My thesis focuses on the "island city" West Berlin as an experimental space. Case studies explored are West Berlin’s "phantom limbs", disjointed spaces that emerged from the city's infrastructural division, Hans Scharoun's Philharmonie as a specialised acoustic space, and the city's intellectual 'cyborg' topography. Conceptually, the focus lies on the body-space nexus from metabolic conceptions of space, acoustic ecologies to feminist biopolitical spaces.

For future research I would like to explore the sonic aspects of urbanization.

Publications

2013 ‘Architecture for Expanded Listening. Hans Scharoun’s Philharmonie in Berlin’, in Cascella D. & Inverni, P. (eds) What Matters Now (What Can’t You Hear?), Noch Publishing [ebook]

2011 ‘Phantom limbs: Encountering the hidden spaces of West Berlin’, in Gandy, M (ed): Urban Constellations (Berlin: Jovis), pp. 153-157

2008 ‘Sexualität und Raum’, in Feministisches Geo-RundMail, 37, (May 2008), 1-39 (transl.: ‘Sexuality and space’)

2005 ‘Die Folgen der rhetorischen Modernisierung für weibliche Berufs- und Lebensläufe’, in METAR – Manuskripte zur Empirischen, Theoretischen und Angewandten Regionalforschung, 45, (2005), 15-21 (transl.: ‘The rhetorics of modernization and consequences for womens’ careers’)

2005 ‘(T)Raumberuf freie/r AusstellungsmacherIn?’ in METAR – Manuskripte zur Empirischen, Theoretischen und Angewandten Regionalforschung, 45, (2005), 42-47 (transl.: ‘Curating - a job market for geographers?’)

2003 ‘Marginalsiedlungen in Bangkok’, in Thailand-Rundschau, 16 (Sept. 2003), 65-71 (transl.: ‘Squatter settlements in Bangkok’)

2003 ‘Entsorgungsproblematik und Scavenging in Bangkok’, in Thailand-Rundschau, 16 (Dec. 2003), 114-117 (transl.: ‘Waste management problems and scavenging in Bangkok’)

Papers/presentations

‘Berlin: Amplified City – Acoustic Controversies in Hans Scharoun’s Philharmonie’ forthcoming presentation at the Annual Association of American Geographers (AAG) conference in Los Angeles, April 9 – 13, 2013

‘The Sound of Berlin’, presentation for TOUCH invites ... an evening of talks & performances curated by London-based audio-visual organisation TOUCH at music and performance venue Café Oto in London. Listen to a "mix" of the evening here Touch invites... Live at Café Oto 17.07.12

‘Phantom limbs: subterranean Berlin’, paper presented at the '9th Annual Conference of the International Association for the History of Transport, Traffic and Mobility', Berlin, Germany, 06 October 2011

‘Cyborg landscapes: divided infrastructures and abandoned spaces in West Berlin’, project presentation at “Cities, Infrastructures, Networks”, workshop of the Italian Society of Science and Technology Studies, Alghero, Italy, 29 June 2011

‘Cyborg re/productions: encountering Das Argument in West Berlin’, paper presented at 'PhD Research Conversations', Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, 19 January 2010

‘Situated Research in an Urban Research Project’, workshop paper presented at 'Feminist Methodologies: Situated Knowledge Practices', University of Umeå, Sweden, 10 December 2009

‘Navigating 21st century feminist urban studies’, paper presented at the '7th European Feminist Research Conference', Utrecht, The Netherlands, 07 June 2009

‘Transreflections- on the productivity of research beyond disciplinary boundaries’, paper presented at the 'European conference Impulse – Innovation – Intervention', Centre for Transdisciplinary Gender Studies, Humboldt-University Berlin, 25 October 2007

Teaching and Tutoring

Lecture for MSc Urban Studies, 'Sexuality and the City' for the course 'Cities, Space and Power', convened by Dr Pushpa Arabindoo

Lecture for MSc Urban Studies, 'Cyborg – a materialist trope in feminist art and theory’ for the course 'Cyborg Urbanisation', convened by Professor Matthew Gandy

Postgraduate tutor MSc Urban Studies, 'Urban Practices' module, convened by Professor Matthew Gandy and Dr Andrew Harris

Undergraduate tutor BA Geography, 'Landscape and Power' and 'Methods in Human Geography' modules

‘The Art of Listening’, field recording workshop for students pursuing the MA in Transmedia – Arts, Media and Design held at the College of Art & Design, Sint-Lukas Brussels, Belgium, January 17-21 2011 & January 16-20 2012 & January 21-25 2013. Convened with Mike Harding and BJ Nilsen of London-based audio-visual organisation TOUCH

Postgraduate tutor NOISE European Summer School in Women’s studies: ‘Moving Boundaries in Feminist Theory: Postcoloniality and Posthumanity’, Utrecht, The Netherlands
convened by Rosemarie Buikema

Research Networks

Chair of Stadtkolloquium
Stadtkolloquium is an interdisciplinary academic forum organised by the UCL Urban Laboratory. It aims to encourage the dissemination and discussion of PhD level urban research in a friendly and constructive atmosphere by providing open and informal outlets in which to air theoretical, practical and methodological questions and issues amongst peer PhD students across departments and universities.

Previous Research Experience

Research Assistant, 'Dual Career Survey', Gender Equality Office, Humboldt-University Berlin, Germany (2005 – 2007)

Research Assistant, Professor Gerhard Braun, Department of Geography, Free University Berlin, Germany (2004 – 2005)

Research Assistant, Professor John Lowman, Institute of Criminology, Simon Fraser University Vancouver, Canada (2002 – 2003)

Previous Other Employment

Editorial assistant for the book publication "Gender Equality Programmes in Higher Education, Sabine Grenz et.al (ed.), 2008, Wiesbaden: VS-Verlag"

Editorial assistant for the journal 'METAR – Manuskripte zur Empirischen, Theoretischen und Angewandten Regionalforschung', Department of Geography, Free University Berlin

Conference organization, co-coordinator of the '5th European Conference on Gender Equality in Higher Education', Humboldt-University Berlin (28 – 31 August 2007)

English teacher at F+U International Academy, Berlin and Linguistic Institute, Cologne (2001 - 2005)