Course Description

The course is dedicated to contemporary developments in music and sound in the midst of digital culture. The specific conditions in Berlin will be examined in relation to other cities around the world – especially those in which the course participants live – as well as to global networking.

Current texts from the fields of cultural studies, musicology, sound studies, and urbanism will be discussed. We will visit sites of music production and consumption in Berlin, and examine local music cultural phenomena and the spectrum of urban sounds. The course will thus cover the broad spectrum of music and sound, with a particular focus on electronic music (from techno and house to experimental electronica) for which Berlin is especially known, but also on sound art (in galleries or online), on interactive sounds (computer games), and on the acoustics of the built environment and urban noise.

In many ways, Berlin is a center for contemporary electronic music. This is not least due to the strong connection between technological and aesthetic developments. Nightclubs, such as the Berghain, have dedicated sound systems, which allow a specific acoustic experience and encourage nightlong dancing and partying. Berlin-based companies such as Ableton and Native Instruments are global leaders in their music software. The dominance of digital 'virtual' technology is at the same time characterized by an increasing focus on the haptic dimension. Software companies have made strong efforts over the past years to develop their own hardware controllers for their computer programs in order to better control musical processes manually.

Based on such phenomena, the course will explore the relationship between aesthetic trends and technological developments with the focus on the cultural and economic conditions in Berlin. What makes Berlin a magnet not only for thrill-seeking club-goers, but also for DJs, musicians, producers and developers? How does this relate to the recent past of Berlin since the fall of the Berlin Wall, especially given the gentrification processes? Berlin's creative scene is internationally networked and its conditions can only be understood in a global context. But what kind of digital inequality exists, locally and globally? Furthermore, we discuss the extent to which some popular myths, especially about the early Berlin techno days, neglect issues of diversity – for example, in relation to the partying crowd and influential personalities.

Beyond the Berlin perspective, the course examines the current conditions of production and consumption as well as the performance and distribution of music. How do streaming services with their algorithmic recommendation systems influence listening to music? What is the impact of the dynamic development of artificial intelligence in the field of music? What is changing in music culture through new ways of sampling, remixing, and interactive sound in video games? What are opposing trends?

A special focus of the course is on the borderlands and intersections of music, sound art and environmental sounds.

In addition to the joint discussion of texts, excursions also provide an opportunity for an exchange with proven experts in the course subject areas.    

At the end of the course, the participants can elaborate on and present a topic (either alone or in a group) of their choice in the context of the general list of topics on the course.

Download Syllabus (printable PDF incl. day-to-day schedule)

Recommended Course Combinations (Selection)

• Architecture in Berlin: A Walk through History
• Twentieth Century Berlin: People, Places, Words

Course Description

This course explores European art from the 15^th to the 20^th century with a particular focus on the travels of artists between urban centers like Florence, Rome, Venice, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Paris, London, and Berlin. The aim is to analyze how mobility contributed through the centuries to shape local identities as well as European visual cultural traditions and styles common to different countries.

The course will present iconic moments of the history of the arts in Europe by drawing a special attention to episodes of cultural exchanges and hybridization that arose from travelling artworks as well as from artists’ travels. From the impact of Flemish art in 15^th century Italy, to the stays of artists like Raphael and Michelangelo in the early 16^th-century papal Rome; from the rise of genre painting in the Flanders and the Dutch Republic during the Age of Explorations, to the ‘painters of modern life’ in 19^th-century Paris, and the European network of the Avant-gardes in the 1910s-1920s, we will analyze the artworks and their authors in relation to the different historical contexts and the places of their creation. Recurrent will be the focus on the complex interplay between artists and patrons, between local traditions, individual creativity and the broader social, political and cultural contexts in which artworks and buildings were produced.

Students will gain understanding of the main art movements and relevant artists from the Renaissance to the postwar period and the special role played by travels in giving shape to a European cultural space. Visits to the outstanding collections of Berlin museums (according to Covid-19 regulations) will allow the participants to study in depth specific artifacts and to learn how to look closely at works of art.

Download Syllabus (printable PDF incl. day-to-day schedule)

Recommended Course Combinations (Selection)

• Architecture in Berlin: A Walk through History
• Twentieth Century Berlin: People, Places, Words

Course Description

This course seeks to examine the meaning and significance of “architecture” in one of the most historically marked cities of Europe. Berlin has been subject to many waves of renewal, some gradual, some democratic and some totalitarian. All of these have left their traces on the city’s buildings.

Although we may notice or like the appearance of particular buildings we see everyday or as tourists, their size often makes it seem as though “they have always been there.” Still, these buildings are the result of many individual, social and communal decisions. A building says a lot about the ideas held during the time it was built in. Therefore, the course will include formal and stylistic analysis of the architecture as well as focus on the historical, ideological and individual context of the works through the prism of the following question: what kind of message was this building meant to convey? In this perspective, the course gives a wide overview of the development of public and private architecture in Berlin during the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.

Following an introduction to the urban, political and cultural development and architectural history of Berlin since the middle ages, the Neo-Classical period will be surveyed with special reference to the works of Karl Friedrich Schinkel. This will be followed by classes on the developments of the German Reich after 1871, which was characterized by both modern and conservative tendencies and the manifold activities during the time of the Weimar Republic in the 1920s such as the Housing Revolution. The architecture of the Nazi period will be examined, followed by the developments in East and West Berlin after the Second World War and the traces of the Berlin wall, which are partly re-enacted. The course concludes with a detailed review of the city’s more recent and current architectural profiles, including an analysis of the conflicts concerning the re-design of Berlin after the Cold War and the German reunification.

Several walking tours to historically significant buildings and sites are included (Unter den Linden, Gendarmenmarkt, Potsdamer Platz, Holocaust Memorial, Humboldt-Forum etc.). The course aims to offer a deeper understanding of the interdependence of Berlin’s architecture and the city’s social and political structures in its historical development. It considers Berlin as a model for the highways and by-ways of a European capital in modern times.

Download Syllabus (printable PDF incl. day-to-day schedule)

Recommended Course Combinations (Selection)

• Twentieth Century Berlin: People, Places, Words
• Entrepreneurial Leadership in Berlin and Europe

Course Description

Urban studies and its discourse on the city draw on scholarship from fields as diverse as human geography, history, anthropology and the arts. Berlin, with its seemingly infinite possibilities for memory, imagination and creative self-fashioning, offers a rich analytical model. It is a city, which is as much a fixed place with a distinct topography as it is an imaginary that glides between remembering and forgetting. A measured understanding of the interplay of place, space and memory in Berlin’s cityscape is key for students who are eager to learn about the city’s many pasts and presents. FUBiS invites you to join us as we analyze and explore Berlin.

This seminar brings to the fore connections between Berlin's distinct topography, its radical histories, and its current trajectories as a political and cultural space. That cities are a complex assemblage – at best multiple constellations existing simultaneously – is enabled through perspectives on migration, queerness and postcoloniality for instance. In-class analysis and discussion of academic and literary texts, podcasts and films about Berlin will prepare participants for course excursions. Our temporal-topographical inquiry will take us to a diverse set of historical sites, cultural places and neighborhoods in the city (such as the Berlin Wall Memorial, Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Schwules Museum, Sonnenallee).

We will conduct on-site discussions of these places/spaces in historical, spatial and social terms and record the urban with methodical observations. Upon completing the course, students will have compiled a portfolio of short essays reflecting their critical reception of Berlin’s places/spaces as well as their gendered and embodied engagements, observations and memories of the city. The course not only enables an appreciation of how places/spaces are living archives of Berlin’s past and present, it also invites participants to create their own personal record of Berlin.

Learning Objectives:

After attending this seminar, students will

• understand the topographical, social, and symbolic organization of place/space in an urban setting, Berlin in particular;
• gain insight into the character of cities as multiple, contested and always-in-the making constellations
• be able to reflect how access to the city is always subjective and contingent because it is primarily gendered, embodied, classed and racialized.
• be familiar with how the city’s history continues to shape contemporary Berlin and its social imaginaries.

Download Syllabus (printable PDF incl. day-to-day schedule)

Recommended Course Combinations (Selection)

• Law, Society and Politics in Comparative Perspective
• Global Challenges - Sustainable Futures
• Architecture in Berlin: A Walk through History
• Twentieth Century Berlin: People, Places, Words

Course Description

Over the course of the Cold War, the city of Berlin was frequently at the centre of global tensions and a potential front line should the superpower rivalry descend into actual war. This course utilizes the city of Berlin as a laboratory in which to examine the origins, nature, and conclusion of the Cold War that defined international relations between 1945 and 1991. We analyze the Allied occupation of the city following the Nazi defeat, the Berlin blockade and airlift that helped solidify the divisions between East and West. Next, we will examine the workers’ uprising of 1953 that provoked a Soviet military response. The following sessions will deal with the emigration crisis of the late 1950s that led the Soviets to first threaten a military takeover of the city and eventually to construct the Berlin Wall. Finally, we will look at the fall of the wall and the subsequent reunification of Berlin and Germany.

Field trips to important Cold War sites will permit students to gain a deeper appreciation of how the Cold War changed Berlin, and how events in Berlin influenced the wider international struggle. In order to place the interests and goals of the superpowers in context, we will also discuss the ways in which the Cold War rivalry affected Europe as a whole, as well as Asia and Latin America. Attention will be given to the role of international organizations such as the United Nations in world affairs, and the changes brought about by the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. In this way, we will examine the roots of contemporary crises. Students will gain an understanding of the recent past, which will help equip them to evaluate the current and emerging international order.

Download Syllabus (printable PDF incl. day-to-day schedule) Watch an interview with Dr. Robert Teigrob about his course on our YouTube channel.

Recommended Course Combinations (Selection)

• Law, Society and Politics in Comparative Perspective
• Seduction and Terror: Hitler's Germany

Course Description

The course will introduce the basics of the European Union and describe and explain the processes of widening and deepening of this unique political entity. This will cover an overview of European Union history, its evolution in economic and political terms as well as of its institutional structure up to today. Since the EU in its current political structure is more than an international organization but less than a federal state it brings up a number of questions that we try to answer by using state philosophy, constitutional and legal theory, but also concepts of international relations.

Internal politics and policies, for example the decision-making process, the balance of power, questions about identity and democracy in this new system of governance will be discussed. We study the causes and effects of the war in Europe, its geopolitical dimension and how it affects policies and relations with neighbours and other parts of the world. Particularly important aspects include the geopolitical consequences of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, relations with the UK after Brexit, the state of transatlantic relations after US presidential elections and how the EU is dealing with China’s and Russia’s alternative models of governance. We will discuss migration and the EU’s transformation into a fossil-free economy.

There is a broad canon of European topics to dive into. If students express specific interests in other topics or case studies, sessions can be adjusted. The interdisciplinary structure of this course poses an excellent opportunity for students to share a classroom with others from different academic disciplines and benefit from their perspectives, while also giving them the room to pursue topics of special interest. This can lead to an emphasis on the economic dimension of European integration, other times more space is given to external relations or European law issues, and in other years special emphasis is put on questions of identity and cultural aspects. Oral presentations are customized according to the individual background and interests of students.

The morning sessions consist of lectures, literature-based discussions and oral presentations from working groups. After lunch the course will visit various institutions in Germany`s political center. Students will have the chance to discuss the topics from the morning sessions with international experts from political institutions, embassies and think tanks.

Download Syllabus (printable PDF incl. day-to-day schedule) Watch an interview with Dr. Ulrich Brückner about his course on our YouTube channel.

Recommended Course Combinations (Selection)

• Global Challenges - Sustainable Futures
• Law, Society and Politics in Comparative Perspective
• Entrepreneurial Leadership in Berlin and Europe

Course Description

The course introduces students to the grand challenges of today’s world (for example planetary boundaries) and the necessity for a “Great Transformation” toward a sustainable development of our societies. So far, since the 1990s a great many projects, policies and regulations (e.g. national and regional Sustainable Development Strategies, circular economy, urban agriculture, ecovillages, co-housing, renewable energy projects) have been introduced and tried, experiences got started and innovations realized in all communities, organizations and countries. Nevertheless, the major trends and policies in most societies are still not sustainable and are destructive in nature, despite symbolic actions and many declarations. The reasons for this self-destructive development, caused by specific structures, patterns and processes of our various societies such as unlimited economic growth, over-consumption, environmental pollution, CO²-emmissions, exploitation of people and resources will be analyzed. This will take into account the systemic characters and the complex dynamics in today’s societies, including the individual, organizational, community, regional, national and international levels and their relations and interactions.

One of the major questions in our course are which social actors contribute to a transformation towards sustainable development and how - and in what way this happens, which inertias and obstacles stand in the way and could be overcome? What has the German government done, what is the German parliament doing, what is the function of business, sciences or civil society organizations – what happens in Berlin? We want to consider the broadest possible spectrum of approaches, strategies and actors for a reflected change towards a Great Transformation in an exemplary manner, as well as thinking theory and practice together (in the sense of transformative science and shaping the future). Of course, we will consider and reflect different national, regional and cultural systems and backgrounds for all this. Specific examples which are part of the pathway to sustainability are green taxes, renewable energy projects, cooperative housing, car-free streets and places, urban farming, or even eco-villages.

In order to get closer to an understanding of those complex realities we will utilize concepts like path dependency (path management), Multi-Level Perspective – MLP, social innovation, models of change, change agents, MAP – movement action plan. Depending on student’s interest and motivation, we will relate some of our seminar’s aspects and questions to very relevant sociological theories, i.e. social systems theory, practice theory and real utopias. These will give basic insights into societal factors for stability as well as for change.

A new concept for our seminar comes from climate research, investigating specific patterns in complex processes and changes: tipping points. This has recently been used to analyze ways to accelerate a transformation towards sustainable development. That new concept is called “social tipping process / points” and is currently being tested and further developed. It is very demanding because it often involves the interweaving of social action with biological-physical-chemical-natural and technological processes (systemic-dynamic). A good definition is this:“A ‘social system’ can be described as a network consisting of social agents (or subsystems) embedded within a social-ecological ‘environment’. Such a social system is called a ‘social tipping element’ if under certain (‘critical’) conditions, small changes in the system or its environment can lead to a qualitative (macroscopic) change, typically via cascading network effects such as complex contagion and positive feedback mechanisms. Agency is involved in moving the system towards criticality, creating small disturbances and generating network effects. By this definition, near the critical condition the stability of the social tipping element is low. The resulting transient change process is called the ‘tipping process’. The time it takes for this change to manifest is the ‘manifestation time’.“ (Winkelmann et al. 2022: 6)

The course will in the end enable students to understand societal developments, its mainly short-minded actions and unintended consequences, and on the other hand also intended developments, labelled “Transformations”, often based on evidence-based decision-making.

Download Syllabus (printable PDF incl. day-to-day schedule) 

Recommended Course Combinations (Selection)

• Global Challenges - Sustainable Futures
• Law, Society and Politics in Comparative Perspective
• Entrepreneurial Leadership in Berlin and Europe

Course Description

Philosophy has constituted a central element in the emergence of modern German culture. In the late 18^th century, German philosophy participated in the broader European Enlightenment culture, which was in turn connected to the development of modern empirical science. Under the impression of the historical changes brought about by the French Revolution and by the ‘Industrial Revolution’ in Great Britain, a special constellation of German philosophy emerged at the end of the 18^th century, which has deeply left its mark on subsequent philosophical thinking far beyond Germany.

This philosophy course addresses the historical reality of this ‘German moment of philosophy’ in two subsequent phases: In the first part, we follow the emergence and full deployment of German philosophy from its Kantian beginnings to Hegel’s grand but fragile synthesis, trying to understand its richness as well as its fragility. In a second part, we discuss the later renewal of German philosophy in the late 19^th century and its historical tragedy in the 20^th century. This will include a discussion of the new beginnings of philosophy since the mid-19^th century, from Marx, and Nietzsche, via Frege to Husserl and Wittgenstein, who have been reacting to the scientific and political revolutions of the late 19^th and early 20^th century. Martin Heidegger as an established pro-Nazi philosopher and Max Horkheimer as the leading philosopher of the “Frankfurt School” driven into exile are studied as philosophers immersed into the Night of the 20^th century.

Finally, post-World War II developments in philosophy (as exemplified by Jürgen Habermas) will be looked at as pathways out of the self-destructive turn the ‘German moment of philosophy’ in Germany had taken in the first decades of the 20^th century, and as passages into an emerging world philosophy.

The course will be based upon contemporary attempts at rethinking a global philosophical perspective. The focus is on the tension between the Enlightenment heritage of a universalizing human philosophy and a national culture project, as well as on the tension between classicist rationalism and romantic emotionalism in its construction as a series of philosophical projects. From the perspective of a German version of the dialectics of the Enlightenment, the German philosophers of the 19^th and 20^thcenturies will be studied in context - combining the reading of key texts with a reconstruction of their historical contexts and their interaction.

Download Syllabus (printable PDF incl. day-to-day schedule)

Recommended Course Combinations (Selection)

• Semi-Intensive German Language Courses
• Architecture in Berlin. A Walk through History
• Twentieth Century Berlin: People, Places, Words
• Seduction and Terror: Hitler's Germany

Course Description

Why do cities exist? Why do firms cluster? Why is economic activity not equally distributed across space? This course addresses the central questions of why cities emerge, what roles cities will continue to play in the economy, and what determines the rise and fall of cities.

Technically, the course provides an introduction to the field of urban economics. It focuses on stylized facts, basic microeconomic concepts, and empirical applications. Special attention is paid to social problems in cities, including housing, public transit, crime, and the role of local governments.

The course aims to make students familiar with economic tools and concepts useful for the analysis of urban issues. More generally, students learn to apply economic theory to real-world problems. A special focus will be placed on evidence and examples from Berlin.

With its long and vibrant history, Berlin provides an excellent environment to study and explore various features of the economics of cities. Field trips allow participants to learn more about the past and the future of cities, their functions, their internal spatial structure, and their dynamics.

Download Syllabus (printable PDF incl. day-to-day schedule)

Recommended Course Combinations (Selection)

• Global Challenges - Sustainable Futures
• Twentieth Century Berlin: People, Places, Words
• Architecture in Berlin: A Walk through History
• Entrepreneurial Leadership in Berlin and Europe

Course Description

Climate change, environmental pollution, waste of resources and the decline of biodiversity clearly show mankind that processes of change are necessary. On a policy level, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris climate agreement and the Green New Deal are setting the stage, at the corporate level, standards such as environmental social and governance (ESG) reporting, supply chain integrity and voluntary certification, and diversity are critical to long-term business success.

How are companies innovating towards more sustainability today? What are the criteria, the success factors and the strategic approaches to tackle consumer, policy, employee and societal demand for more sustainability?

This course will look at current sustainability frameworks, sustainable companies and sustainable innovation. The participants will get to know and to apply collaborative tools to be better prepared for a business environment. One focus will be on the development of a sustainable business model or project, based on which we will learn and try out modern methods such as the Sustainable Business Canvas, Design Thinking, Effectuation and the Blue Ocean Strategy.

Download Syllabus (printable PDF incl. day-to-day schedule) 

Recommended Course Combinations (Selection)

• Global Challenges - Sustainable Futures
• Law, Society and Politics in Comparative Perspective
• Entrepreneurial Leadership in Berlin and Europe

Course Description

Academic writing is a skill that can be learned! By engaging with selected modern literary texts in our writing lab, we will practice developing research questions, preparing outlines, drafting Exposés, constructing arguments, and commenting on academic positions. The goal of this course is to enable participants to prepare well-structured term papers, bachelor's or master's theses, dissertations, and presentations. We will also address the grammatical and stylistic peculiarities of the German academic language – including intercultural distinctions.
Moreover, we will investigate the promise, perils and limitations of artificial intelligence (AI) – and the extent to which AI can facilitate many areas of academic work but not replace the need for critical and innovative thinking.
By the end of the course, participants will be equipped to successfully stand their ground in German academic discourse. At the same time, they will acquire transferable skills to write clearly structured, concise academic texts in their own language.

Download Syllabus (printable PDF incl. day-to-day schedule) Watch an interview with Dr. Anja Rothmann about a previous German literature course on our YouTube channel.

Recommended Course Combinations (Selection)

• Semi-Intensive German Language Courses
• Twentieth Century Berlin: People, Places, Words
• Seduction and Terror: Hitler's Germany