In the face of global water crises and dwindling freshwater resources, this project aims to reconsider the relationship between humans and water and to develop a new water consciousness that takes into account issues of ecological and social justice as well as symbolic and metaphorical aspects of water. These political and poetic dimensions of water were explored using analytical, empirical and theoretical methods that integrate artistic, intuitive and multimedia approaches. By following the current of Blue Humanities - an emerging field of research concerned with the cultural, historical, philosophical and artistic dimensions of water and aquatic environments - the project seeks to blur the boundaries between different academic, institutional and epistemological fields.
In a blended learning format, the project combines water-related on-site learning phases in a „green classroom“ with online teaching. During the on-site sessions, we explore the rivers Ilm and Saale through sensory walks, hydromorphological investigations with the support of experts from the natural sciences and guided creative writing tasks. These experiences are framed and deepened by several close reading sessions of theoretical texts about water in and outside of literature. This format allows students to meet for the outdoor presence sessions and remain at their home universities for the remainder of the seminar. To receive credit for the course, they must submit e-portfolios at the end of the semester consisting of a scholarly essay on a self-selected water topic as well as various creative responses to what they have learned about and from water. The students' creative work will be collected in a digital publication.
