Tickle Your Catastrophe! : Imagining Catastrophe in Art, Architecture and Philosophy

Whereas the twentieth century was dominated by political extremism and (coping with) trauma, it is the fear of the inevitable and complete catastrophe that reigns at the beginning of a new century. Although worst-case scenarios have always been part of the modern cultural identity, the impending depletion of the world's oil resources, the devastating effects of climate change (both current and future), international terrorism or the sudden breakdown of the financial markets made catastrophe into a crucial notion to understand our relation with our time today. This collection of essays wants to take stock of the current impact of the image and imagination of the catastrophe in art, science and philosophy. It collects some of the most inspiring thoughts and lectures of the conference TICKLE YOUR CATASTROPHE! and reflects the versatile and interdisciplinary approach of this meeting. The first chapter, entitled Ruin Value, addresses the motif of the ruin in visual art and urban planning. The second section, State of Emergency, clusters texts on catastrophism in philosophy. The contributions of Media Disaster focus on how the image of the catastrophe is mediated and mediatized as multimedia spectacles. The closing section, Worst Case Scenario, considers the method of scenario thinking in art, politics, military and urban planning.