Mohammad Shawky Hassan
How to be Fabulous?
Block seminar, English/Deutsch, 2 SWS, 2 ECTS
Fridays, 10-18 h, on 6.11., 13.11., 20.11., 27.11.2026, Hardenbergstr. 33, room 150

Anmeldung auf Moodle ab / Registration on Moodle begins 12.10.2026: https://moodle.udk-berlin.de/moodle/course/view.php?id=3328
Einschreibeschlüssel / Enrollment Key: sofab!

In this participatory, discussion-based, interdisciplinary seminar, we will examine the history and evolution of “fabulation” as a critical, political, and aesthetic practice. Tracing its development from its early use in literary theory to its adaptations by Black scholars, feminist writers, and queer artists, we will explore the possibilities of fabulation as a methodology that emerges precisely where archives are broken, traces are erased, dissident voices are structurally excluded, and futures are foreclosed. Through readings, screenings, case studies, and discussions, we will focus on historical moments when archival gaps, erasure tactics, or the failure of the cultural apparatus to fully interpellate its intended subjects created openings for fabulators to project their desires and imagine selves and worlds that might have otherwise remained impossible.

Leistungsanforderungen für den unbenoteten Schein / Fulfilment criteria for ungraded accreditation: Reading assigned texts, active participation in seminar discussions, and regular journaling in English or German.

Mohammad Shawky Hassan is an Egyptian multidisciplinary artist, writer, and educator living and working in Berlin. His works include And on a Different Note, which was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) for its permanent collection, and Shall I Compare You to a Summer's Day?, which premiered at the Berlinale Forum. He studied theater, philosophy, video production, and cinema studies at the American University in Cairo, the Academy of Cinematic Arts, and Columbia University in New York. Alongside his artistic practice, he has designed and taught seminars at the Cairo Institute for Liberal Arts & Sciences, Arsenal Film Institute, the German University in Cairo, and Humboldt University.