Course Description

This course provides an overview of the development of public and private architecture in Berlin during the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. Following an introduction to the urban development and architectural history of the Modern era, the Neo-Classical period will be surveyed with special reference to the works of Schinkel. This will be followed by classes on architecture 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 Modernist avantgarde and the Housing Revolution. The architecture of the Nazi period will be examined, followed by the developments in the divided city in East and West Berlin after the Second World War. The course concludes with a detailed review of the city’s more recent and current architectural profiles, including a critical analysis of the conflicts concerning the re-design of Berlin after the Cold War and the German reunification and contemporary planning issues.

Seven walking tours to historically significant buildings and sites are included (Unter den Linden, Gendarmenmarkt, New Housing Estates, Chancellory, Potsdamer Platz, Holocaust Memorial etc.). The course aims to offer a deeper understanding of the interdependence of Berlin’s architecture and the city’s social, economic and political structures. 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)

• Berlin: Music and Sound in the Digital Age
• History of European Art: Travelling Artists and Artworks
• Urban Imaginaries: Between Place and Space in Berlin

Course Description

This course is about Berlin, the city that was at the epicenter of the defining catastrophes of the twentieth century, including the First World War, the horror of the Nazi era that resulted in the Second World War and the Holocaust, and the long grubby Cold War that saw the city physically divided between capitalism and communism in an embodiment of the conflict between the American and Soviet worlds.

Yet amidst these horrors (and arguably because of them), Berlin was also a place where some of the most boundary breaking avant-garde art, progressive politics and anarchic subcultures of the twentieth century bloomed and died in the furnace of its constantly changing social, political and economic turmoil.

The livid imprint of this tormented history marks Berlin up until today, and demands to be known, studied and understood,

With this urgency in mind, in this course we examine the history of twentieth century Berlin through various lenses: the biographies of individuals, the words of writers who bore witness to the vertiginous social, political and physical changes the city underwent, and buildings and monuments whose physical construction, destruction and reconstruction reflected the ideological turmoil and conflict of those immense hundred years.

Famous Berliners we will meet include the murdered Communist leader Rosa Luxemburg, the artist Käthe Kollwitz, the actress Marlene Dietrich, the Nazi filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, the adopted Berliner David Bowie and the famous East German dissident musician Wolf Biermann. The contextualized stories of these individuals will offer us unique perspectives politically, artistically and socially into the tumult and struggle that marked their times in the city. These figures occupy a range of different position(s): as Berliners, as radicals, as artists of resistance to or collaboration with Nazism, and Communism, as drifters and exiles whose stories reflect Berlin’s unique position in the twentieth century as ‘no man’s land, frontier, a city adrift in the sands of Central Europe.’

In a similar way, we will examine the words of writers who bore witness to the extremism and societal upheaval that marked twentieth century Berlin. From the witnessing of Roth and Isherwood to life in Weimar and Nazi Berlin, to the social and political commentary by Christa Wolf on the moral struggles of life lived on different sides of the Berlin Wall, we will assess their writings in their historical contexts. We will assess their words as evocations of Berlin, but also as potential or overt acts of resistance to the extremism they lived under, that attempted to maintain a solidarity with the idea of Berlin as a place of artistic and social freedom and permissiveness.

Finally, we will examine some of the places in Berlin whose physical building, destruction and rebuilding can be situated in the wider systems of ideology, power and social relations that so cataclysmically defined the physical landscape of Berlin after 1933. In this, we will focus on the story of Potsdamer Platz, the Palace of the People (Palast der Republik) and the central site in Berlin for the mourning and remembrance of the Jewish Genocide by Nazi Germany, the Holocaust Memorial in Mitte.

This course does not seek to provide a ‘grand narrative’ of Berlin’s twentieth century history. Instead, it follows a thread that weaves through the history: the thread left behind by those who bore witness to their times. By tracing the stories of contemporary witnesses, left for us in books, films and songs, and in the physical construction of the city, we open up a human dimension that enriches and challenges our understanding of Berlin’s traumatic recent history.

Structured largely chronologically, the course will work with films and novels whilst building on a clear historiographical base provided in class seminars. The teaching will be augmented by physical excursions into Berlin to trace the stories we encounter and class discussions will form the basis for a seminar paper that students will be required to submit at the end of the course. This history course approaches the story of Berlin through the reflections and refractions of individual humans’ lives who struggled upon the immense stage of a city at the very symbolic and literal heart of the catastrophes of the twentieth century

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

Recommended Course Combinations (Selection)

• Berlin: Music and Sound in the Digital Age
• History of European Art: Travelling Artists and Artworks
• The Cold War
• Berlin Architecture, Culture and City Marketing, 1750 – Present
• Urban Imaginaries: Between Place and Space in Berlin

Course Description

The course introduces students to the politics, governance and ethics of sustainability. The key challenges of our time are global by nature. However, the current system of global governance based on sovereign states (often in competition with each other) is ill equipped to face global challenges such as poverty, climate change, environmental degradation and availability of resources. While states struggle to provide a sustainable future for their citizens, they are increasingly forced into a logic of sustainability for all people and responsibility for the global commons. This new logic is based on the concept of interconnectedness and the impact of our actions on the generations to come.

The course examines major current global challenges divided into economic, political and environmental issues. Climate change is only one of many environmental issues facing our planet, but due to its importance and overwhelming impact, it will be given the main focus of this course. We will not only look at the science behind and consequences of global warming, but will also study the two pillars of the global climate governance: the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). The analysis of the UNFCCC process will further lead us to review the Paris Agreement from 2015. We will discuss how effective it can be in dealing with one of the biggest threats of the 21^st century and whether it can still achieve its goal of limiting global warming to “well below 2°C/1.5°C”.

A special session will be devoted to technological, political, social and economic solutions to environmental issues. Do we – as purported by some – need to replace capitalism and stop economic growth in order to prevent further environmental destruction? Or is there a way to move towards a “green growth”, and utilize the benefits of the free market to increase environmental protection? This will lead us to the question of what the future will look like. Will we continue to cross planetary boundaries and endanger the capability of different ecosystems? Or will the 21^st century witness a major shift away from fossil fuels and environmental destruction to a more sustainable economy?

The discussions in the class will be complemented by at least two field trips and possibly a visit of a guest speaker.  

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

Recommended Course Combinations (Selection)

• Business & Society in Europe
• Sustainable Business: Strategy and Innovation
• Urban Imaginaries: Between Place and Space in Berlin
• Environmental Social Movements
• Economic Ethics and Philosophy: Can the market be moral?

Course Description

The ‘thousand year Reich’ that Hitler promised when he became Chancellor of Germany in January 1933 lasted but 12 years. During this time, however, Hitler and his Nazi Party came to dominate European and even world affairs, terrorizing vast numbers of Germans, launching a devastating war, and orchestrating the murder of more than five million Jews. Yet Hitler and the Nazi Party gained the active support and involvement of most Germans. How was this possible?

This class focuses on Hitler’s Germany and it begins with the essential 19th century background. How did political anti-Semitism grow there? What shaped the social and political life? Central to this session will be a discussion of the broad political currents and the popular literature that Hitler and many of his supporters read and absorbed.

Crucial to understanding the lure of Hitler and the Nazi Party was Germany’s experience in the First World War, a conflict that decimated a generation and destroyed Europe as it was known. Germany became a democratic state, but was torn by political divisions and dissatisfaction. In this climate of uncertainty and despair, Hitler and the Nazi Party grew from a small group on the radical fringe in Munich to a national force. How did this happen? Those traits of Hitler crucial to his success, particularly his charisma, will be defined and analyzed within the broader political context of Weimar political life.

In late January 1933 Hitler gained the long desired but elusive goal: he became chancellor of Germany, the leader of a coalition government. Much attention will be paid to how Hitler, his cabinet, and supporters were able to consolidate the control over the state and society within a matter of months. This came at the cost of political liberties, through the growing use of terror, oppression, and intimidation. Yet, Hitler gained supporters as he seemingly offered economic stability and a new unity to the German people. How the regime solidified its control over society and political life will be examined and discussed at length in this session.

A key element of Hitler’s rule was the concentration camp system, what came to be a vast chain of prisons and centers of oppression and death. How this developed will be examined and analyzed.

Hitler’s ambitions, the conquest of ‘living space’ in Eastern Europe and the annihilation of the Jews, motivated his foreign ambitions and led directly to World War II, the most destructive conflict in human history. A central element of the war was the Holocaust, the all-out program to destroy the Jews of Europe. The session will examine closely these developments, the nature of the war, how the Holocaust was implemented, and the role that terror played in sustaining Nazi rule. We will also discuss the measures taken against the handicapped, homosexuals, Sinti and Roma.

In Germany and later in occupied Europe opposition and resistance emerged and challenged Nazi rule. Opponents were motivated by a variety of reasons, some personal, some political, and these too will be discussed.

Lastly, the class will examine the end of the war, the so-called ‘zero hour’ in Germany, the destruction and collapse of Germany, and then how this nation has dealt with the legacy of Hitler and Nazi rule.

We will be visiting local museums, historical sites and locations that reveal the operations of Nazi rule. These visits are a key element of the class and the experience of studying in Berlin.

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

Recommended Course Combinations (Selection)

• The Cold War
• German Philosophy: From Kant to Habermas

Course Description

This course explores the intersection of law, society and politics, and aims to foster discussion of contemporary issues among students from different cultures and disciplines. After an introduction to law and legal culture, we will engage with classical social theorists as well social scientists who examine the impact of law on issues such as morality, crime and punishment, free speech, inequality, and private property.

Throughout the course students will be invited to consider 1 - how law simultaneously plays complex constitutive, regulative and coercive roles in society; 2 - that there are both state and non-state legal systems; and 3 - how an individual’s place in society affects experiences, values or choices. Students will also develop written and oral communication skills to express informed opinions about issues in law and society, as well as intercultural competence through discussion with other students.

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

Recommended Course Combinations (Selection)

• The Cold War
• Europe, Migration, Refugees
• The European Union in the 21st Century: Internal and External Challenges
• Environmental Social Movements
• Economic Ethics and Philosophy: Can the market be moral?

Course Description

Leadership surrounds us always and everywhere. Be it as a supervisor, team captain, student activist, or parent – we all need certain leadership skills to thrive in our private and professional lives. However, what makes a good leader has long been the subject of controversial debate in research and practice. Leadership theories have constantly evolved, and modern concepts are manifold. At the same time, management scandals (e.g., Wirecard, Dieselgate, Twitter) repeatedly bring leadership failures to light. This course introduces a basic understanding of what leadership actually is and how that understanding depends on time and context.

On this basis, we will take a closer look at what enables individuals to lead in an entrepreneurial way and why an entrepreneurial mindset is more than ever important among today’s leaders. The economic, political, and ecological crises around the world have led us to question many of the assumptions on what entrepreneurship and ‘typical’ entrepreneurs are. Various initiatives have been established to promote diverse forms, purposes, and initiators of entrepreneurial activity. Behind such endeavours lies the hope that entrepreneurship will not only create new jobs, but also new ideas for the future and solutions to the world's most pressing problems.Accordingly, the European Commission developed a reference framework (“EntreComp”) to establish an understanding of entrepreneurship as a competence that results in social, cultural, or financial value for others. The basic idea of this framework is that the necessary skills and attitudes can be learned and applied by anyone.

However, the outcome in practice regarding entrepreneurial diversity looks different. Women and ethnic minorities, for instance, remain significantly underrepresented in startup ecosystems worldwide. Counting a global average of 15% female founders, we are still far from the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #5 (gender equality) in the entrepreneurial context. We will touch upon the causes and discuss possible solutions in class. The course also emphasizes learning about the diversity of the Berlin startup ecosystem. To this end, we invite and/or visit guests from local startups and impact communities.

Through participation in the course, students will gain a basic understanding of entrepreneurial leadership in its diversity with a focus on Berlin and Europe. Integrated work with historical and modern role models will help students adopt a critical perspective on good leadership. Moreover, students will have the opportunity to reflect on and develop their own (entrepreneurial) leadership skills. For this purpose, the course is designed to be highly interactive and relies on innovative teaching methods.

A special session will be a full day leadership coaching with horses (physical contact is voluntary!). Such an approach is relatively new to university education but is gaining popularity in Human Resources (HR) and leadership development. The beauty of equine interaction is that horses are not biased. They do not judge a person by status, gender, or skin color, but respond only to personal radiance when deciding whether or not to follow a human being. This way, students experience the value of diversity in leadership and ultimately learn about the importance of trustworthiness and communication. By receiving very honest individual feedback, students will have the opportunity to further develop their personal leadership identity and skills.

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

Recommended Course Combinations (Selection)

• Business & Society in Europe
• Sustainable Business: Strategy and Innovation
• The European Union in the 21st Century: Internal and External Challenges

Student Profile

This course is designed for the beginner student with no previous knowledge of German.

Course Objectives

This course focuses on encounters with various written, spoken and audio-visual texts and exchanges with other course participants. You will develop basic competencies in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and an understanding of German culture while being enabled to learn reflectively and strategically. The course addresses cultural, political, and historical aspects of the city of Berlin and the German-speaking countries, which you will analyze and compare with your own background and experiences. At the end of the course, you will be able to

• deal with a range of everyday situations (in a German-speaking environment) and engage in simple conversations.
• use reading strategies to understand the main features of short newspaper articles and literary texts.
• write short texts and revise and correct them independently.
• understand the main features of conversations and lectures dealing with familiar topics.
  
  

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

Recommended Course Combinations (Selection)

• History of European Art: Travelling Artists and Artworks
• The Cold War
• German Philosophy: From Kant to Habermas

Student Profile

This course is designed for beginners with basic knowledge of German.

Course Objectives

This course focuses on encounters with various written, spoken and audio-visual texts and exchanges with other course participants. You will continue to develop and expand basic competencies in listening, speaking, reading and writing, and your understanding of German culture while being enabled to learn reflectively and strategically. The course addresses cultural, political, and historical aspects of the city of Berlin and the German-speaking countries, which you will analyze and compare with your own background and experiences. At the end of the course, you will be able to 

• deal with various everyday situations (in a German-speaking environment) and engage in simple conversations.
• Successfully use reading strategies to understand short newspaper articles and literary texts.
• write short texts on various topics and revise and correct them independently.
• understand, in some detail,  features of conversations and lectures dealing with familiar topics.
  
  

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

Recommended Course Combinations (Selection)

• History of European Art: Travelling Artists and Artworks
• The Cold War
• German Philosophy: From Kant to Habermas

Student Profile

This course is designed for students who have successfully completed the basic level of German and who have a sound knowledge of German at the A2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Course Objectives

This course focuses on encounters with various written, spoken and audio-visual texts and exchanges with other course participants. You will further develop and expand your competencies in listening, speaking, reading and writing, as well as your understanding of German culture while being enabled to learn reflectively and strategically. The course addresses cultural, political, and historical aspects of the city of Berlin and the German-speaking countries, which you will analyze and compare with your own background and experiences. At the end of the course, you will be able to 

• use new strategies for learning and using the German language.
• participate  in conversations and discussions of various topics in a German-speaking environment.
• successfully use reading strategies to understand texts of various levels of difficulty and  from a variety of genres.
• write texts of various length on a range of topics and revise and correct them independently.
  
  

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

Recommended Course Combinations (Selection)

• History of European Art: Travelling Artists and Artworks
• The Cold War
• German Philosophy: From Kant to Habermas

Student Profile

This course is designed for students who have successfully completed the basic level and the first part of the intermediate level of German and who have a sound knowledge of German at the B1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Course Objectives

This course focuses on encounters with various written, spoken and audio-visual texts and exchanges with other course participants. You will further develop and expand your competencies in listening, speaking, reading and writing, as well as your understanding of German culture while being enabled to learn reflectively and strategically. The course addresses cultural, political, and historical aspects of the city of Berlin and the German-speaking countries, which you will analyze and compare with your own background and experiences. At the end of the course, you will be able to 

• use new strategies for learning and using the German language.
• participate  in conversations and discussions of various topics in a German-speaking environment.
• successfully use reading strategies to understand texts of various levels of difficulty and  from a variety of genres.
• write texts of various length on a range of topics and revise and correct them independently.
  
  

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

Recommended Course Combinations (Selection)

• History of European Art: Travelling Artists and Artworks
• The Cold War
• German Philosophy: From Kant to Habermas

Student Profile

This course is designed for students who have successfully completed the intermediate level of German and who have a sound knowledge of German at the B2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Course Objectives

This course focuses on encounters with various written, spoken and audio-visual texts and exchanges with other course participants. You will further develop and expand your competencies in listening, speaking, reading and writing, as well as your understanding of German culture while being enabled to learn reflectively and strategically. The course addresses cultural, political, and historical aspects of the city of Berlin and the German-speaking countries, which you will analyze and compare with your own background and experiences. At the end of the course, you will be able to 

• regularly employ new strategies for learning and using the German language.
• participate in conversations and discussions of various topics in a German-speaking environment while being aware of the appropriate linguistic register.
• read and understand  texts of various length and from a variety of genres without difficulties
• to write, independently revise, and correct term papers that meet the basic requirements for academic writing.
  
  

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

Recommended Course Combinations (Selection)

• History of European Art: Travelling Artists and Artworks
• The Cold War
• German Philosophy: From Kant to Habermas
• Flucht und Exil. Migrationsbewegungen in der Literatur des 20. und 21. Jahrhunderts

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.

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 neighbors and other parts of the world. Particularly important aspects include European Parliamentary elections in June 2024, 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 before 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. If students express specific interests in other topics or case studies sessions can be adjusted.

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

In the last decade, the EU experienced unprecedented migration movements. EU’s response has been shaped by distinguishing between “deserving refugees” and “undeserving economic migrants” and has oscillated between humanitarian and securitarian approaches. Whereas the recent developments on the EU borders, such as pushbacks and the containment of migrants in the hotspots, signalize the abandonment of the humanitarian approach, the quick and less bureaucratic protection of Ukrainian refugees demonstrates more of a selective humanitarian approach.

This form of differential inclusion shaping the migration and asylum policies is the governmental product of an ongoing process of conflict, negotiation, subordination, resistance, and solidarity on the ‘external’ and ‘internal’ borders of something called Europe or of Europe as borderland (Balibar 2009). There are different actors with unequal power relations involved in this process. Departing from critical migration theories, we will focus on the subjectivity of migrants and refugees on different levels by breaking their usual representation as victims/villains from a state-centered or market-centered perspective. 

Starting from a critical overview of EU-level migration and border management policies, we will challenge the metaphor of Fortress Europe. Scaling down, we will learn about the recent changes in the migration/integration policies in Germany and how these are implemented by the local authorities in Berlin and challenged by civil society actors. Finally, we will examine the transformation of migrant labor and learn about the history of migrant struggles by focusing on the recent refugee movement, which has been described as the movement of the 21st century (Davis 2015). Through a diverse combination of assigned articles, class discussions, and field trips, we will encounter viewpoints on the conflicts, compromises, resistances, solidarity, and social transformation concerning the recent migration movements to Europe.

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

Recommended Course Combinations (Selection)

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

Course Description

As every year sees record global temperature spikes and climate modelling predictions turn from bad to worse, climate change has emerged as a primary new arena of political conflict in Germany and beyond. Today’s climate activists are young, well-educated, and understand the immense dangers posed by anthropogenic climate change. Through lobbying efforts, educational campaigns, and direct action, they confront governments that have proven unable to limit CO2 emissions and usher in the green energy transition. While the public largely supports the goals of the climate activists, their spectacular, and often disruptive methods have garnered widespread criticism in the German media and beyond.

The goal of this course is to familiarize students with the breadth of local struggles for climate action through a mixture of critical readings, case studies, and excursions. Indeed, German social movements offer a unique vista on the successes and failures of environmentalism, given the country’s rich history in environmental activism, coupled with its role as European economic powerhouse, based on its car industry. Taking a broadly historical perspective in its first part, the course begins by establishing the background against which current German environmental movements can be understood. We will examine the early nature conservation movement and interrogate the relationship between environmentalism, democracy, and economic development. Discussing the climate skepticism of current authoritarian regimes, we will ask if environmentalism is necessarily democratic. Moving into the postwar period, we will examine the role of image-making for climate activism, focusing on the galvanizing power of the first image of the Blue Planet, and studying its effects on the early German Green Party.

Moving from historical contextualization to present-day environmental struggles, the second part of the course shifts from theory to practice. We will study the strategies, goals and objectives of current social movements and citizen initiatives, including Berlin Autofrei (“Car-Free Berlin”), Fridays for Future, Extinction Rebellion, and Die Letzte Generation (“The Last Generation”). From lobbying efforts to direct action, the course examines the different approaches adopted by these organizations, contrasting the strategy of the “long march through the institutions” (Rudi Dutschke – student activist and prominent figure in the 1968 student protests) with that of disruption and civil disobedience. To conclude the course, we will survey the wider political struggles advanced by these movements, from reducing the number of cars in Berlin, to limiting air traffic or transitioning to a green economy, and examine the punitive, collaborative and reformist state and market responses that these social movements elicit. The course addresses the critical global issues Climate Action (SDG 13), Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions (SDG 16) and Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11).

Learning Objectives:

• Students will gain a thorough understanding of German environmentalism in its historical context and current significance.
• Students will acquire knowledge of the main environmental social movements and compare different activist tactics and strategies.
• Students will interrogate the links between environmentalism, democracy, and economic development.
• Students will gain essential skills in critical text and media analysis, pertaining to the representation of environmental issues.

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

Recommended Course Combinations (Selection)

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

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

Modern capitalist market economy is an extremely powerful instrument to create wealth and to satisfy human demands – and to exploit, alienate and destroy the very societies it is supposed to serve. How can it be made moral?

Actually, there are quite a number of ways: for example, through deliberate lawmaking, responsible research & development (e.g. technology assessment), through enlightened consumer choices and sustainable use of human and natural capital assets. But they often come at a high cost and involve more fundamental questions:

• How can politicians and lawmakers regulate the market for the common good without suffocating it?
• How can big corporations and tech companies continue to deliver innovative services without monopolizing the market and dominating their customers?
• What does a fair distribution of income look like?
• How do we assign value to natural and social goods (like clean air or low crime rates) and how do we measure sustainable welfare beyond traditional economic growth?
• How can consumers harness their own power to make informed choices and act in accordance with their values?
• Are digital business models based on artificial intelligence and machine learning threatening the autonomy of consumer choice?
• What does corporate social responsibility look like in times of crisis?

These and other questions are not only of interest to economists and business people but are relevant to all economic agents (individuals, companies, state institutions, etc.).

To answer these questions, the course equips participants with key ethical approaches to economic behavior (virtue ethics, religious teachings, deontology, utilitarianism, master morality, neo-liberalism), approaches which have been or still are dominating ethical discourses on economic behavior.

These ethical approaches and ideas range from Ancient Greek philosophy to modern economic theory (Friedman, Ostrom, and Game Theory). Since religions, philosophies and social theories are major sources of ethical conduct, the course covers a wide array of these, including teachings of the Catholic Church fathers, ideas from European modern period philosophy (Kant, Mill, Nietzsche) and from modern critical sociology (Veblen, Weber, Adorno, Marcuse).

As a major learning outcome, participants develop ethical frames of reference which allow them to identify and tackle ethical dilemmas posed by today’s economy. Particularly, they will learn do adopt strategies that avoid moral hazards and self-harming or self-defeating behavior. Thus, they will be able to act ethically conscious in real life situations, be it…

• as decision-makers in firms and investment companies allocating capital, workforce and bonuses,
• as scientific researchers launching technologies that impact human life and the environment,
• as customers rewarding sustainable or punishing unsustainable business models, production methods or supply chains or
• as lawmakers or leaders of NGOs setting legal and ethical standards and fighting collusion, corruption, fraud, exploitation, overproduction & -consumption, wastefulness, obsolescence, extinction, free-riding or other forms of cost externalizing.

Participants’ learning outcomes will be put to test in a hands-on way:

• when we discuss contemporary topics in business or economic ethics,
• when we conduct online expert interviews on e.g. corporate compliance, digital business models or the ethics of artificial intelligence and
• when we play (and have fun with) a CSR (corporate social responsibility) online simulation game.

Below the line, participants will learn to analyze, interpret and transform economic behavior – first and foremost their own!

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

Recommended Course Combinations (Selection)

• Law, Society and Politics in Comparative Perspective
• Global Challenges - Sustainable Futures
• 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

Europe encompasses the world’s largest and most complicated market. Recent events, particularly those following the ongoing economic crisis on the continent, raise profound questions about the future of Europe. This course will focus on present and future business issues facing the entire continent. Under this focus, we will examine the following questions: Should a “European” management style be developed instead of the national practices that frequently characterize companies originating in different European nations? How and under what circumstances should the European Union expand to Turkey, Ukraine and other countries in the East? What has been the impact of the Treaty of Lisbon, in effect since 2009, on European economic, political and social issues? In order to provide essential background and context for these issues, we will also review key events in modern European History, including the recent Brexit vote and the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union.

Globalization, the internet, social media, and access to cheap travel have connected people across geographies, but differences in worldviews and perspectives have given rise to a fractured “disconnected” world. Understanding Culture is crucial for building trust and engagement in professional and interpersonal relationships. In class, we will utilize a variety of approaches, including small-group study, lectures, and case-study analysis, to develop a comprehensive understanding of European Management practices and explore how to handle the challenges of managing multicultural teams in Europe. The course will also feature guest speakers on different topics in business and society in the European context.

Download Syllabus (printable PDF incl. day-to-day schedule) Watch an interview with Dr. Imran G. Chowdhury about this 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 recurring theme of the literary works analyzed in this course is the individual experience during pivotal moments in history. There exist numerous factors compelling individuals to leave their home countries. According to the United Nations, the global number of individuals escaping persecution and violent conflicts has reached unprecedented levels. This surge in displacement began with the onset of the Syrian civil war in 2011 and escalated further with the Russian attack on Ukraine in 2022, leading to a significant increase in refugees within Germany.

Given Germany's historical context, it is needless to say that the country bears a distinct responsibility regarding issues of exile and migration. In 1933, the rise of the National Socialists to power compelled many individuals whose lives were under threat to seek refuge inother European and American countries. This was the case for numerous writers whose subsequent works not only chronicled the challenges of residing in foreign lands but also showcased the authors' capacity for critical reflection on the political and social realities of their homeland.

Following the end of World War II, a different migration pattern emerged, with people now migrating to Germany rather than leaving it. This was exemplified by the waves of migration in the 1950s and 1970s, driven by the economic boom in West Germany (the term Gastarbeiter/guestworker, emerged during this period). With the fall of the Iron Curtain in the 1980s and 1990s, a significant number of individuals from the former Eastern Bloc States immigrated to the former Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). Some of these newcomers used art and literature to express their experiences and address issues like the loss of language, culture, and identity.

However, international events were not the sole reason for people leaving their Heimat. Between the 1970s until the fall of the Wall, a domestic exodus occurred within Germany due to the forced expulsions of dissident citizens from the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The profound disruptions in people's lives resonate in the works of authors who opposed the system.

The course’s readings will be enhanced with discussions, film clips and field trips to significant location such as the Topography of Terror Documentation Centre, the Stasi Museum (on the grounds of the former headquarters of the GDR Ministry for State Security) and a museum for migration history (FHXB Kreuzberg). These activities will allow us to follow the paths of various migratory patterns, fostering awareness of this pressing issue in contexts of the past, present and future.

Students will practice analyzing and comparing literary texts and examine how historical developments affect the individual's personality, creativity, and artistic freedom. At the same time, they expand and improve their oral and written language skills through their own text production and discussion.

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

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

Student Profile

This course is designed for the beginner student with no previous knowledge of German. This course is intensive and is intended for dedicated, highly self-motivated students who will take responsibility for their learning.

Course Objectives

This course focuses on encounters with various written, spoken and audio-visual texts and exchanges with other course participants. You will develop basic competencies in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and an understanding of German culture while being enabled to learn reflectively and strategically. The course addresses cultural, political, and historical aspects of the city of Berlin and the German-speaking countries, which you will analyze and compare with your own background and experiences. At the end of the course, you will be able to

• deal with a range of everyday situations (in a German-speaking environment) and engage in simple conversations.
• use reading strategies to understand the main features of short newspaper articles and literary texts.
• write short texts and revise and correct them independently.
• understand the main features of conversations and lectures dealing with familiar topics.
  
  

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

Student Profile

This course is designed for beginners with basic knowledge of German. This course is intensive and is intended for dedicated, highly self-motivated students who will take responsibility for their learning.

Course Objectives

This course focuses on encounters with various written, spoken and audio-visual texts and exchanges with other course participants. You will continue to develop and expand basic competencies in listening, speaking, reading and writing, and your understanding of German culture while being enabled to learn reflectively and strategically. The course addresses cultural, political, and historical aspects of the city of Berlin and the German-speaking countries, which you will analyze and compare with your own background and experiences. At the end of the course, you will be able to 

• deal with various everyday situations (in a German-speaking environment) and engage in simple conversations.
• Successfully use reading strategies to understand short newspaper articles and literary texts.
• write short texts on various topics and revise and correct them independently.
• understand, in some detail,  features of conversations and lectures dealing with familiar topics.
  
  

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

Student Profile

This course is designed for students who have successfully completed the basic level of German and who have a sound knowledge of German at the A2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. This course is intensive and is intended for dedicated, highly self-motivated students who will take responsibility for their learning.

Course Objectives

This course focuses on encounters with various written, spoken and audio-visual texts and exchanges with other course participants. You will further develop and expand your competencies in listening, speaking, reading and writing, as well as your understanding of German culture while being enabled to learn reflectively and strategically. The course addresses cultural, political, and historical aspects of the city of Berlin and the German-speaking countries, which you will analyze and compare with your own background and experiences. At the end of the course, you will be able to 

• use new strategies for learning and using the German language.
• participate in conversations and discussions of various topics in a German-speaking environment.
• successfully use reading strategies to understand texts of various levels of difficulty and from a variety of genres.
• write texts of various length on a range of topics and revise and correct them independently.
  
  

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

Student Profile

This course is designed for students who have successfully completed the basic level and the first part of the intermediate level of German and who have a sound knowledge of German at the B1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. This course is intensive and is intended for dedicated, highly self-motivated students who will take responsibility for their learning.

Course Objectives

This course focuses on encounters with various written, spoken and audio-visual texts and exchanges with other course participants. You will further develop and expand your competencies in listening, speaking, reading and writing, as well as your understanding of German culture while being enabled to learn reflectively and strategically. The course addresses cultural, political, and historical aspects of the city of Berlin and the German-speaking countries, which you will analyze and compare with your own background and experiences. At the end of the course, you will be able to 

• use new strategies for learning and using the German language.
• participate in conversations and discussions of various topics in a German-speaking environment.
• successfully use reading strategies to understand texts of various levels of difficulty and from a variety of genres.
• write texts of various length on a range of topics and revise and correct them independently.
  
  

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

Student Profile

This course is designed for students who have successfully completed the intermediate level of German and who have a sound knowledge of German at the B2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. This course is intensive and is intended for dedicated, highly self-motivated students who will take responsibility for their learning.

Course Objectives

This course focuses on encounters with various written, spoken and audio-visual texts and exchanges with other course participants. You will further develop and expand your competencies in listening, speaking, reading and writing, as well as your understanding of German culture while being enabled to learn reflectively and strategically. The course addresses cultural, political, and historical aspects of the city of Berlin and the German-speaking countries, which you will analyze and compare with your own background and experiences. At the end of the course, you will be able to 

• regularly employ new strategies for learning and using the German language.
• participate in conversations and discussions of various topics in a German-speaking environment while being aware of the appropriate linguistic register.
• read and understand texts of various length and from a variety of genres without difficulties
• to write, independently revise, and correct term papers that meet the basic requirements for academic writing.
  
  

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

The course is part of a Multi-City Program in cooperation with Utrecht Summer School and the Dutch University Institute for Art History in Florence.

Course Description

The course will introduce Berlin’s outstanding art collections, with their wide range of masterpieces from late medieval times to the present day. We shall focus throughout on the particular circumstances that shaped the production and reception of German art, especially during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. During this long period, the formation of a German nation state and the problematic notion of a German national identity became intimately connected to the question of a German style and artistic ‘expression’. A special focus will be given to the "Art of the two Germanys" between 1945 and 1989. We shall explore Germany’s vibrant art history by focusing on works by artists like Martin Schongauer and Albrecht Dürer, Caspar David Friedrich, Karl Friedrich Schinkel and Adolph Menzel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Otto Dix, Joseph Beuys and Anselm Kiefer.

Field trips include the following museums and galleries in Berlin: Deutsches Historisches Museum, the Gemäldegalerie, the Museum of Photography, the Brücke Museum, the Nationalgalleries, and the Hamburger Bahnhof Museum.

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

The course is part of a Multi-City Program in cooperation with Utrecht Summer School and Royal Netherlands Institute Rome.

Course Description

This course provides an overview of the political, socio-economic, and cultural developments that shaped Europe throughout the 20th century and the first decades of the 21th century. This will mainly be done by looking through the prism of European integration and the evolution and current challenges of the European Union across different policy fields. Many deeply impacting developments occurred over the course of the 20th century: Two World Wars were fought, the birth of the European Union and the fall of Communism, just to name a few. Being such a crucial city in Europe’s history in the 20th and 21th century, Berlin is the most logical location for this course. Special emphasis will also be given to Germany's role in the middle of the continent. The city of Berlin, with all its tangible historical remains, will be dealt with as a city of former crisis with great promises for a better future.

In this course we will try to identify the democratic values that have shaped the rebirth of Europe and discuss the challenges with which present-day Europe is faced. The course will reflect on Europe's place in the global, multi-polar world of the 21st century.

Several excursions will be organized in which you will visit some key historic sites as well as prominent EU and German institutions based in Berlin.

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