How do we see underground space? How do we sense it?
This experimental and experiential course will introduce students to thinking about underground space through volume and movement. It builds on scholarship that examines the geopolitics of volumetric space using underground water movement as a case study. We will visit and study three underground formations: Rice University's tunnel system, the Natural Bridge Caverns near San Antonio, and the Houston Cistern. Combining fieldtrips, seminar discussions, and computer modeling techniques the students will produce a multimedia exploration of underground space that will combine movement, sound, film and photography. (No previous knowledge of these techniques is required). Prof. Andrea Ballestero (Anthropology), Dr. Marie Saldaña (HRC), and Prof. Johannes Birringer (Theater and Choreography, Rice/Brunel University) will lead the workshop. In this class, students will gain analytical and practical skills to design their own investigations of space by translating theory and data into multimedia forms.
