Dr. Felix Helbing

English B2

Tuesday, 4:00-6:30

Critical Theory emerged in the 1930s as an ambitious project to understand why promised social transformations had failed to materialize despite the apparent ripeness of historical conditions. In the face of fascism's rise, the flourishing of mass culture, and capitalism's remarkable capacity for self-preservation, the Frankfurt School developed a distinctive theoretical approach that combined philosophical critique, social analysis, and a commitment to human emancipation. This course traces how their fundamental insights—about the relationship between power and knowledge, the role of culture in maintaining social domination, and the necessity of linking theoretical work to social transformation—continue to animate contemporary critical theory while being transformed to address new conditions and challenges. Organized around four key themes—Power, Knowledge, and Subjectivity; Identity, Difference, and Justice; Global Capitalism and Crisis; and Resistance and Transformation—we pair classical Frankfurt School texts with contemporary theoretical works to understand both the continuities and transformations in critical approaches, tracing how critical theory has evolved to address new forms of domination while maintaining its fundamental commitment to human emancipation.

Dr. Vanesa Menéndez Montero

English B2

Monday, 9:00-11:30am

This course aims to trace and deconstruct colonial legacies using the case studies of European and, particularly, German cultural institutions and practices. At the end of the course, students will be able to provide an answer to the question of how we can identify and solve injustices in and through cultural heritage in Europe. The course is divided into two parts. The first four weeks are devoted to laying down the theoretical foundations of decolonial studies with special attention to indigenous knowledge and practices. During the following nine weeks, these theories are tested and put into practice with different manifestations of cultural heritage in Europe, such as ethnographic objects, public monuments, human remains and underwater heritage, among others. In the process, students will receive diverse learning materials, including readings, podcasts, films, excursions, and talks from artists and experts. In the introduction to Decolonial Theory, students will explore “Western rationality” as a prevailing cultural framework and examine how it is imposed and internalized by various non-European individuals, groups, and communities. Is such rationality resisted, accommodated or assimilated? To be capable of identifying these situations, students will be introduced to the conceptual tools and methods of Decolonial Theory and its links with the field of Cultural Heritage Law. Based on such knowledge, students will touch upon different cultural manifestations in which addressing the European colonial imprint is a pressing issue today.

Dr. Betiel Wasihun

English B2

Wednesday, 9:00-11:30am

What does it mean to live in a surveillance society? How does the digital age challenge questions regarding privacy, individuality and freedom? When does surveillance as care tip over into surveillance as control? And how does the Stasi system of vigilance prefigure contemporary surveillance culture? This course will on the one hand examine the impact of surveillance on society by looking at the multifaceted ways technologies, societies and the arts interact and, on the other hand, reflect on surveillance in a totalitarian context while comparing observation techniques in the GDR with contemporary surveillance methods. The course further encourages students to critically engage with the representation of surveillance in contemporary literature, film and popular culture and maps out important themes with regards to surveillance and its repercussions (e.g., visibility, identity, privacy and control). Furthermore, the course provides an overview of the interdisciplinary field of surveillance studies and covers the latest research in the following major areas: 1. Relationship between surveillance, power and social control; 2. Histories of Surveillance: GDR and the Stasi (especially in the context of Berlin); 3. The concept of privacy; 4. Surveillance in the arts and popular culture.

Alexandre Nogueira Martins

English B2

Wednesday, 4:00-6:30pm

This course explores the dynamic landscape of global social movements, taking Berlin as a focal point and lens to analyze broader international trends. Students will engage with theories and case studies that illustrate how social movements emerge, evolve, and impact societies, especially in contexts marked by globalization, migration, and socio-political change. Berlin’s rich history as a hub for activism provides an ideal backdrop for examining the intersections of local and transnational movements. During the semester we will explore the complex historical and contemporary dynamics of social movements in and beyond Germany. Presenting different approaches of studies of collective action, the course will provide a comprehensive understanding of the multiple contemporary social movements shaping our contemporary world, and it will highlight their contribution for the democratization of the world in which we currently live.

Pablo Santacana López, Kandis Friesen

English B2

Thursday, 9:00-11:30am

In Berlin, the institutionalization of memory faces ongoing challenges from anti-, non-, and para-institutional forces. This course explores the contested practices of memory-making through a cross-disciplinary approach, engaging with architecture, activism, art, and public remembrance. From 1989 to the present, Berlin's transformations reveal dynamic tensions between the built environment and the social significance of public, semi-public, and private spaces. Participants analyze how spatial politics influence what is remembered, including the removal of monuments, buildings, and the creation of "absent presences" that haunt the urban landscape. Through site visits and mixed-method research, the course engages with current memory practices and actors shaping Berlin‘s "memoryscape", providing tools to examine similar dynamics in other cities. It specifically investigates the implications of decisions about public remembrance on a city‘s history and future.

Dr. Victoria Bishop Kendzia

English B2

Tuesday, 12:30-3:00pm

Berlin’s rich muselogical landscape lends itself to in-depth exploration: How are the upheavals of the 20th and 21st centuries remembered and represented? How can the urban landscape be read as a myriad of dynamic sites? What do these sites, in turn, tell us about past traumas and present-day issues? This course aims to enable the students to get to know a number of Berlin museums focussing on key aspects of memory of the Second World War and Post-WWII migration, using anthropological methods. Students are encouraged to critically analyse these reprentations within larger theoretical frameworks of “self” and “other” constructions, exploring the role of museums in rendering such constructions visible.

Dr. Dorian Alt, Lorena Drakula

English B2

Monday, 12:30-3:00pm

The global victory of liberal democracy is no longer taken for granted. Illiberal ideologies reshape political, social, and economic structures, challenging core democratic principles. This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to examining these shifts, drawing on political science, history, sociology, anthropology, economics, and psychology. Focusing on East Central Europe (in particular Germany, Poland, and Serbia), the course gives an overview of the social, economic, and political transformations following the breakdown of communism. The course analyzes how these momentous changes transformed democratic politics, producing new forms of right-wing populism and authoritarian visions of democracy. Finally, the course asks if these East Central European experiences can help explain shifts towards illiberalism in other countries. Throughout the course, students will learn to perform their own research on these topics, using discourse analysis on various forms of data such as qualitative interviews, media sources, art, and literature. By combining multiple perspectives, students will gain a deeper understanding of the forces reshaping democracy and the contestation of liberal norms in contemporary Europe and around the world.

Dr. Sasha Shapiro

English B2

Wednesday, 12:30-3:00pm

This course explores Berlin through the lens of émigré literature, examining works by writers who either left Berlin or found refuge within it. Through close readings of texts spanning from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century to contemporary works, students will analyze how experiences of exile, migration, and displacement shape literary imagination and cultural identity. The course moves through Berlin's key historical moments—from the Russian émigré communities of the 1920s, through the forced exile of Jewish writers, to post-war Turkish-German literature and contemporary refugee narratives. By pairing literary texts with theoretical frameworks and conducting original ethnographic research, students investigate how different waves of migration have transformed both Berlin's physical spaces and its literary landscape. Special attention is paid to how writers represent specific Berlin neighborhoods and how various communities have shaped the city's cultural geography. Through engagement with memoir, fiction, poetry, and first-hand accounts, students explore themes of memory, nostalgia, linguistic displacement, cultural adaptation, and the evolving relationship between place and identity in émigré writing.

Samuel Perea-Díaz

English B2

Thursday, 12:30-3:00pm

The seminar delves into the perspectives of curating and creating exhibitions in Berlin, examining the past, present, and future of exhibitions centered around global pandemics and world epidemics. In concrete terms, the seminar contextualizes, focuses, and specializes in the history of exhibitions in Berlin related to the HIV/AIDS pandemic from 1981 to the present day. The course involves visiting Berlin’s institutions and archives. The class provides conversations with Berlin-based curators and artists. It allows students to explore and understand the contemporary curatorial practice of the city by visiting and analyzing different exhibitions in Berlin. The course is ideal for future researchers and cultural workers who want to explore the work of curatorial research and exhibition-making. The student's workflow involves readings, group discussions, and curatorial writing strategies, culminating in conceptualizing an exhibition proposal as a final project about global pandemics.

Dr. Mai Lin Tjoa-Bonatz

English B2

Thursday, 3:30-6:00pm

Berlin is a multi-cultural city with a diverse cultural life and heritage. The course will present critical heritage studies connected to Asia. Starting with the fascination of collectors and travelers to Asia during the colonial period, collections and material culture has lend contemporary relevance to the arts, history and politics. During the excursions to museums and cultural institutions in Berlin we want to critically engage in the discourses on what Asian heritage is and how it should be studied and managed. This allows an integration of heritage and museum studies. The course approaches a broad spectrum from crafts, intangible heritage and memorialization to rights policies and property issues. Monuments, religious sites or street names reflect Berlin’s colonial legacies and minority histories of different communities from Asia.

Laura Holzer

No German language skills required

Monday, 4:00-6:30pm (1 session per week)

In this course, the basics of grammar and German vocabulary are conveyed and practiced to enable students to communicate in everyday situations in the German language successfully. The basics of the conjugation of verbs and the usage of articles in the German language are the subject of this course at A1 level. You will learn to introduce yourself and to form simple sentence constructions. A focus is placed on oral language skills, which are developed through interactive working methods. Topics related to German regional studies are also integrated into the course.

t.b.a.

German Language B1

Tuesday, 9:15-11:30am
Thursday, 9:15-11:30am

In this course, you will continue to study grammar, vocabulary and other aspects of the German language. The class is entirely taught in German and emphasizes the language skills necessary to communicate effectively in a foreign language – speaking, listening, viewing, reading and writing. The course program also includes and reflects on different aspects of gender-neutral language. During the course, you will engage with a large variety of topical subjects from German culture and history as well as art, films, theater, literature and music. This course aims to create a balance between working with intellectually stimulating subjects and practicing the skills needed to communicate in a foreign language and to interact with members of diverse groups of people.