The aim of the course is to make the genesis of the mobility system automobile visible on the basis of selected areas of development. This is not so much a systematic overview of vehicle development as an attempt to provide an outline of the problem history of the passenger car via usage requirements, user behavior, infrastructure and their changes. The long-term development lines and path dependencies to be observed here are intended to show students that knowledge of the technical prehistory is also helpful in solving problems in the field of mobility.

The focus is on the one hand on the development of the infrastructure, and on the other hand on the essential technical elements of the passenger car from 1900 to the present day. Chassis, brakes and body construction as well as the driver's seat as man-machine interface are illuminated on the basis of the essential technical caesuras and in this way made comprehensible as components of an overall system going beyond a mere history of innovation. The political, social and mentality-historical aspects of individual motorization are also taken into account, without which a contextualized consideration beyond the purely technical-historical framework is not possible. Through presentations and constructive discussion in the seminar, participants will be introduced to the multidimensionality of the car as a technical system.

The seminar is designed as an interdisciplinary course, aimed at students from the humanities, social sciences and mechanical engineering. Contrary to what the title suggests, no extensive prior knowledge is required; an extensive literature list enables participants to get started in the subject area.

Required course work is the obligatory presentation of a paper with a thesis paper and, depending on the course of study, the preparation of a written essay or a seminar paper.

• Bode, Peter M. et al: Alptraum Auto. Eine hundertjährige Erfindung und ihre Folgen, Munich 1986.
• Erik Eckermann (ed.): Auto und Karosserie. History - Manufacturing - Design. From the carriage to the passenger car, Wiesbaden 2013.
• Fersen, Olaf von (ed.): Ein Jahrhundert Automobiltechnik. Passenger Cars, Düsseldorf 1986.
• Flik, Reiner: Learning from Ford? Automobilbau und Motorisierung in Deutschland bis 1933, Cologne 2001.
• Glaser, Hermann: Das Automobil. A Cultural History in Pictures, Munich 1986.
• Gleitsmann, Rolf-Jürgen u. Jürgen E. Wittmann (eds.): Innovationskulturen um das Automobil. From yesterday to tomorrow, Mühlacker-Mühlhausen 2011.
• Gleitsmann-Topp, Rolf-Jürgen u. Jürgen E. Wittmann (eds.): Automobile Sustainability and Resource Efficiency. Yesterday - Today - Tomorrow, Vaihingen/Enz 2013.
• Yearbook of the Deutscher Werkbund. Der Verkehr, Jena 1914.
• Kieselbach, Ralf J. F. (ed.): The drive to design. History, education and perspectives in automotive design, Stuttgart 1998.
• Laux, James M.: The European Automobile Industry, New York 1992.
• Möser, Kurt: Geschichte des Autos, Frankfurt/M. 2002.
• Schindler, Volker and Immo Sievers (eds.): Forschung für das Auto von morgen. From Tradition Emerges the Future, Berlin 2008.
• Sloan, Alfred P.: My Years with General Motors, Munich 1965.
• Tumminelli, Paolo: Car Design Europe. Myths, Brands, People, Kempen 2011.
• VDI-Gesellschaft Fahrzeugtechnik (ed.): 100 Jahre Automobil, Düsseldorf 1986.
• Voigt, Fritz: Verkehr Bd. 2.1, Berlin 1965.
• Wellhöner, Volker: "Economic Miracle" - World Market - West German Fordism. The Case of Volkswagen, Münster 1996.
• Womack, James P. et al: Die zweite Revolution in der Automobilindustrie, Frankfurt/M. / New York, 1991.