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 do case studies on contemporary topics in business ethics,

- when we conduct online expert interviews on corporate compliance, digital business models and 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)

• Economics of European Integration
• Europe, Migration, Refugees

Course Description

How can you develop strong self-leadership and empower yourself for the challenges of the 21^st century? Given the complexities of our globally-interconnected world (VUCA) and the manifold fields that urgently require action (UN Sustainable Development Goals), a reliable personal compass needs to be calibrated from the inside out. In this course, students develop their unique compass that can guide them for everyday decisions, life choices and meaningful action. Designed as a transformational journey with three phases, the course aims to facilitate self-awareness, establish leadership and empower confidence to walk one’s own path.

Key concepts and models are taken from a wide range of disciplines, incl. developmental, social and organisational psychology, neuroscience and philosophy, management and systems theory. Theories are complemented with practical tools that students can apply after finishing the course, such as mindfulness and breathwork techniques, focusing and emotional regulation, compassion exercises, as well as dialogue and communication tools.

In the first part, students build a foundation with practical self-awareness methods to better know and understand themselves. They practice how to create a mental and relational space to deal with stress, conflicts and ambiguity. In a multicultural dialogue they learn to make their perspectives, values and motivations transparent. From these insights, the first core assignment is to sketch a personal purpose canvas. The goal is to establish an inner alignment and apply useful tools for self- and co-regulation.

Students are next introduced to leadership skills and models that can help them navigate through change. Key is to evolve a systemic mindset that places individual development within the collective context of working in teams, socio-cultural conditions, and global viewpoints. They get introduced to expert networks that work within the field of global impact and transformation and will prepare for this with a series of short presentations on relevant topics.

In the third part, students work on their competence profile to gain more clarity about their possible contribution in this world. In an archetypal Hero’s Journey they empower their strengths, discover new talents and explore how to walk their own path. They complement this with gender-specific aspects and establish leadership qualities. The students who chose not to give a presentation will write a short essay to reflect on learnings and growth moments.

The course provides basic experiences for the lasting development of a leadership personality.

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

Recommended Course Combinations (Selection)

• Seduction and Terrror: Hitler's Germany
• Twentieth Century Berlin: People, Places, Words

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: Local Traditions and Transnational Networks
• Seduction and Terror: Hitler's Germany

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: Local Traditions and Transnational Networks
• Seduction and Terror: Hitler's Germany

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: Local Traditions and Transnational Networks
• Seduction and Terror: Hitler's Germany

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: Local Traditions and Transnational Networks
• Seduction and Terror: Hitler's Germany

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: Local Traditions and Transnational Networks
• Seduction and Terror: Hitler's Germany

Course Description

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

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 in Europe and beyond. From the role of artists like Raphael and Michelangelo in 16^th-century papal Rome to the rise of genre painting in the Flanders and the Dutch Republic of the Golden Age, from the ‘painters of modern life’ in 19^th-century Paris to the German Avant-garde of the 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 as well as the basic concepts and terminology of art history. 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)

• Semi-Intensive German Language Courses

Course Description

What is today’s role of the European Union? After decades towards greater integration, economic relationships have recently become more fragile. Examples of the rise of disintegration include tendencies of secession and the exit of countries from international institutional arrangements. In view of strong interdependencies between economic actors (global supply chains), these disruptions seem to be particularly costly and may require appropriate policy responses.

This course introduces the main economic aspects of the current development of the European Union (EU) and its policies. The basic idea is to discuss general issues in economic integration with a strong emphasis on experiences in Europe. After reviewing the institutional, political and historical background of European integration, the main focus is on the economic analysis of the policies and prospects for the European Union and its economic impacts on individuals, firms and regions.

Some recent developments in the international policy agenda like sovereign debt crises, Brexit and the euro crisis will also be covered.

This course provides an introduction to economic tools and concepts useful for the analysis of European integration. More generally, students learn to apply economic theory to real-world problems.

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

Recommended Course Combinations (Selection)

• Economic Ethics: Can the market be moral?
• Self-Leadership & Empowerment in the 21st Century
• Semi-Intensive German Language Courses

Course Description

The ‘Thousand Year Reich’ promised by Hitler when he became Chancellor of Germany in January 1933 lasted but 12 years. During this time, Hitler and his Nazi Party came to dominate Europe, terrorizing vast numbers of Germans, launching a devastating war, and orchestrating the murder of more than five million Jews. Despite the terror and vast destruction, Hitler and the Nazi Party gained the active support and involvement of most Germans. How was this possible? What roles did seduction and terror, consent and coercion, play?

This class focuses on Hitler’s Germany and it begins with the 19^th century background. Central to this session will be a discussion of the broad political currents, the agitators and petty demagogues who fueled the dissatisfaction and spread it widely. We will also examine 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. It left in its wake a shattered, humiliated, and deeply torn Germany. In this climate of uncertainty and despair, Hitler and the Nazi Party grew from a small group on the fringe of radical politics in Munich into a national force. This development is of central importance to this session. Those traits of Hitler crucial to his success, particularly his charisma, will be defined and analyzed within the broader political context of Weimar political and cultural life.

In late January 1933, Hitler gained the long desired but elusive goal: he became chancellor of Germany, the leader of a coalition government. The political intrigues leading to his appointment will be discussed. Much attention will be paid in this session 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 did the regime solidify its control over society and over political life? Was it seduction or terror, consent or coercion?

A key element of Hitler’s rule was the concentration camp system, what came to be a vast network of prisons, centers of oppression and death. How this developed from the hundreds of small concentration camps set up in Berlin and across Germany shortly after Hitler’s takeover of power in 1933 to the well-organized and highly centralized system by 1939 will be the focus of this session. During the war, the concentration camp system spread across Germany and occupied Europe.

Hitler’s ambitions, the conquest of ‘living space’ in Eastern Europe, the ruthless exploitation of these territories, and the annihilation of the Jews, motivated his foreign ambitions and led directly to World War II, the most destructive conflict in human history. We will also discuss the measures taken against the handicapped, homosexuals, Sinti and Roma.

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

Lastly, the class will examine the end of the war, the so-called ‘zero hour’, the destruction and collapse of Germany.

We will be visiting local museums, historical sites and locations that reveal the operations of Nazi rule. These visits to sites in and near Berlin are a key element of the class and the experience of studying here. Please note that field trips are subject to change depending on the availability of appointments and speakers; on field trip days, class hours may be adjusted.

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

Recommended Course Combinations (Selection):

• Semi-Intensive German Language Courses

Course Description

Regarding transnational migration, the EU promotes a political reasoning between processes of consolidation and necessary conflict, between sovereignty and shared responsibility, between the right to define and delimit and the duty to negotiate. In ongoing economic crisis and facing unprecedented movements of people, the timeless normalcy of migration is often framed as crisis per se.

As the visibility of migration increases in various ways, migrants are often represented and imagined as a homogenous mass of ‘the other’. This leads to a problematic understanding of migration as something to be controlled and governed from a top-down perspective alone. But the respective processes of negotiation on migration policy, within and across the outer borders of the Union, take place not only between the official institutions of nation-states, but on all scales of European populations. They also take place from a bottom-up perspective in the centers and at the margins of societies alike.

Departing from diverse theories of migration, we will gain an overview of EU-level migration polity and recent migration- and border-management policies. We will analyze the conflicts, debates and discourses around the last years of increased immigration.

Scaling down, we will engage with the local authorities’ perspective in Berlin. Diving deeper down we will start to change perspective: How do local activists develop and implement their own ways of welcoming migrants? Where do migrants work and how are they represented in trade unions? Finally, focusing on the history of migrant struggles in Berlin, we will encounter migrants’ viewpoints, which reach beyond the usual framings of ‘the poor migrant’ as ‘passive victim’, as a threat or as the ‘(anti-)hero’ of globalization. We will encounter viewpoints on the conflicts, compromises, resistances, solidarity and social transformation shaping and shaped by recent migration movement to Europe.

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

Recommended Course Combinations (Selection)

• Economic Ethics: Can the market be moral?
• Semi-Intensive German Language Courses

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)