As you wander through Berlin’s streets this summer, you’ll find history literally piling up around you. This course helps you identify and make sense of those layers. It explores how, particularly in the past century, events in Berlin frequently had a grave global impact, and how global developments played out in Berlin. We’ll also examine how the city remembers its difficult past, from memorials to ongoing debates and reassessments that are shaped by current societal changes. The classroom discussions are enriched by field trips to historical sites and museums.
max. 18 participants
Participants will receive 6 ECTS credit points and a certificate if they attend regularly (at least 80% attendance) and participate actively. Additionally, six weeks after the end of the course a Transcript of Records is issued by Humboldt-Universität.
Berlin has undergone profound transformations over the past 150 years, evolving from the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia to the modern capital of a unified Germany at the heart of the European Union. It has been a site of political extremes—ranging from imperial ambitions and colonialism to the turbulence of the Weimar Republic, the horrors of the Nazi regime, and the division of the Cold War. Alongside these upheavals, Berlin has also witnessed moments of resistance, cultural innovation, and social change, including flourishing avant-garde movements, underground subcultures, and LGBTQ+ scenes. These dramatic changes and contradictions have left lasting marks on the city and its residents. Together, we will trace these developments, connect them, and assess their global significance.
The course follows a chronological structure, engaging with key political themes such as imperialism, colonialism, Nazism, socialism, and democracy. Some topics will be examined across time periods, including nationalism, racism, migration, and belongingness, as well as arts, music, dance and nightlife culture. In each chapter of Berlin’s history, we will ask what political agency ordinary people had in shaping history, and how political and socio-economic systems influenced individual and collective identities. On every site visit and walking tour we furthermore analyse memorialization practices and discuss how contemporary societal shifts shape historical narratives.
ScheduleThe courses are grouped into different time tracks.Your course will take place in Track C.
Cultural activitiesYou are welcome to join our cultural program with an excellent selection of excursions, sports activities, and social gatherings. It is the perfect setting for getting to know each other and for experiencing the varous facets of Berlin. There are no additional costs for participation in the activities.
Activities and tours we offer regularly: Federal Chancellery, German Parliament, House of Representatives, Topography of Terror, Political Archive, Museum Island, Kreuzberg Tour, Daytrip to Potsdam, Exhibitions…
The course is open to students of all majors with an interest in history, politics, public history, and more generally social sciences and cultural studies. Participants may have greatly varying levels of prior knowledge, but ample readings will be provided to ensure a common foundation. At the same time, seminar discussions will benefit from the diverse perspectives students bring in – be it through comparisons with other geographical regions, or by applying methodologies and insights from other academic disciplines. The increased interdisciplinarity will give students the opportunity to co-shape the course themes, and help us determining the significance of the historical events in Berlin.
This course is taught in English, including readings in English. For the understanding of the texts and the discussions in class a language level B2 (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) is required.
Participating students need to be at least 18 years old.
Roland Pietsch has over twenty years of experience in teaching for, coordinating and directing international student programs, primarily at New York University Berlin and Queen Mary University of London. Currently, he teaches at Humboldt University’s Centre for British Studies.
A native Berliner, Roland grew up in divided Cold-War-Berlin, a place that now feels strange and distant, often astonishing him as much as it does the students on the field trips. Roland holds an M.A. in history and economics from TU Berlin, and a PhD in history from Queen Mary University of London.
His research focuses on the history of youth and sailors; he has published widely on these subjects, the latest publication being a study on youth in war and conflict for Bloomsbury’s Cultural History of Youth in the Age of Enlightenment (2023).
He has also worked as a historian for a variety of television documentary formats, such as the BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are? series.
