The ICS was founded as a transdisciplinary research institute at the former hgkz (Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst Zürich). Its remit was to establish a cross-university profile in cultural analysis in the arts. The ICS directors and research staff contribute to conceptualizing and teaching various university-wide programmes at ZHdK. Conversely, numerous research projects initiated by staff from other departments have been conducted at the ICS under expert supervision.
Curriculum
The ICS actively contributes to research-based Bachelor's and Master's degree courses across the university, in particular at the Department of Cultural Analysis. The ICS directors have contributed to the curricular development of the Master of Arts in Art Education (offered since autumn 2009); Sigrid Adorf is a member of the core team responsible for the Specialization in Teaching Art, a specialism offered within the Master of Arts in Art Education. Devoted to different topics each semester, “Positions & Discourses in the Arts and Design” is a series of lectures and colloquia conceptualized by Sigrid Adorf and Sønke Gau and involves regular contributions from ICS research staff. The seminars in “Art and Media Theory”, “Cultural Analysis”, and “Visual Cultural Studies” in the MAE Specialization in Teaching Art are aligned with the profiles of the ICS and benefit from the mutual content- and personnel-wise exchange. The ICS directors and research staff serve as mentors for student projects and dissertations undertaken within the Master of Arts in Art Education and the Master of Arts in Transdisciplinary Studies.
At the institute
The ICS offers research colloquia where staff present current projects and have an opportunity to discuss research-related issues and questions. Colloquia are open to interested colleagues from the field of teaching. The ICS directors are actively involved in supervising research assignments at the Department of Cultural Analysis.
To promote junior reseachers at the interface between research and teaching, the ICS founded the Zeichenwerkstatt Research Group in 2013. The group explores questions concerning cultural analysis as artistic practice. Participants benefit from the ongoing exchange of ideas and receive expert supervision for their PhD projects (developing research questions, networking, joint events, publications, etc.). They are also offered the opportunity of gaining teaching experience through their involvement in the Master of Arts in Art Education (teaching placements, team teaching with experienced faculty, running classes on their own).