Program Overview
Explore Berlin, a city that has impacted modern Europe and the world like few others, through various lenses: culture, politics, architecture, art, and urban history, and take courses in German. The program is designed for students of all backgrounds and majors and does not require any prior knowledge. (We offer a placement exam for students who are not sure which German language course to take.) Regular field trips to significant locations across the city and beyond as well as meetings with artists and activists will deepen your understanding of Berlin’s culture and history. Additionally, there will be plenty of opportunities to practice your German language skills outside of the classroom and explore Berlin and travel on your own.
Through the unique case of Berlin, you will learn how to “read” a city and the cultural dynamics that shape it, with special attention to creative responses to conflict and contestation by its diverse inhabitants. We will especially explore the traces of the past that abound in this vibrant city and inform much of its current energy and character: from Imperial Germany to the roaring 1920s Weimar Republic, from the genocidal Nazi regime to the destruction of World War II, from the Cold War division into East and West to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the post-2000s rise of the “poor but sexy” capital. We will approach these traces with an emphasis on the experiences of the diverse inhabitants of the city, the ethnic and religious minorities, refugees, immigrants, and marginalized groups who have shaped it throughout.
Through well-chosen course materials, field trips, and encounters, the program will allow you to see up-close a city that has undergone repeated radical changes, which have in turn given rise to unique, experimental, and far-reaching cultural innovation that continue to shape future directions.