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Digital Lecture Series

For the first time, this summer FUBiS offers a digital lecture series with weekly, independent online sessions for interested participants that would like to get a closer look at one of our subject or German language classes.

To participate in one or more of the live German language sessions, please fill out the registration form here.

Video recordings of the subject course sessions will be made available on our website and on YouTube every Wednesday between June 3 and August 12, 2020; no registration required.

You can find the full program of the lecture series (PDF) here.

German Language Sessions

The German language sessions within the digital lecture series take place live with interested participants and are designed to be interactive. There are four independent sessions that will each concern themselves with one of the subjects covered in the subject class sessions. Participants will engage with the topic and work on tasks in different ways. It is not mandatory to watch the related subject class lectures to participate in any of the German language sessions.

Prerequisite to participate in any of the language sessions are German language skills on at least a B1 level, as well as the possibility to participate via the internet with video and audio.

Dates, times and topics of the individual sessions:

Instructor: Dominik Amann
Time:
5:00 pm CEST
Language of instruction:
German

For a short description of the session in German, please click here.

If you’re interested in learning more about the structure and content of our regular German Language and Culture classes you can find exemplary syllabi here.

You can sign up for this session here.

Instructor: Susanne Thiel
Time:
9:00 am CEST
Language of instruction:
German

For a short description of the session in German, please click here.

If you’re interested in learning more about the structure and content of our regular German Language and Culture classes you can find exemplary syllabi here.

You can sign up for this session here.

Instructor: Antje Sroka
Time:
5:00 pm CEST
Language of instruction:
German

For a short description of the session in German, please click here.

If you’re interested in learning more about the structure and content of our regular German Language and Culture classes you can find exemplary syllabi here.

You can sign up here.

Instructor: David Gosselin
Time:
9:00 am CEST
Language of instruction:
German

For a short description of the session in German, please click here.

If you’re interested in learning more about the structure and content of our regular German Language and Culture classes you can find exemplary syllabi here.

You can sign up here.

You can find the registration form for the German language sessions here.

Subject Course Sessions

As part of the digital lecture series, the subject course sessions will be recorded in advance and released by FUBiS in video form on our website in order to provide access to as many internationally-dispersed students as possible.

Overall, the sessions are designed to provide a personal insight into the program, the course structure and the various subjects offered. Instructors will introduce themselves and their course and give a short lecture, which will also include a special emphasis on contextualizing the learning objectives in relation to Berlin as a cultural and historical location. We hope that these insights will help future participants to make their course selection and are proud to highlight the FUBiS faculty and their exceptional expertise even before the start of the program.

Session topic: Weimar Berlin and the 'Golden Twenties'
Instructor:
Dr. Lauren van Vuuren
Language of instruction:
English
For the recording of this session, please click here.

As part of the digital lecture series, this session will highlight one of our regular FUBiS courses. The instructor will introduce themselves, talk a little bit about their experience teaching at FUBiS, and give a short lecture on one of the course’s key topics. Interested in taking the full course the next time it is offered? Continue reading below to find out more.

Description of the regular FUBiS course:

This course is about Berlin, and the story of its tumultuous and epoch defining twentieth century. We examine this history 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 twentieth century Berlin.

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.

This course is offered this summer as part of our online course program.
For the full course description and detailed syllabus, please click here.
Session topic: More Than “Four to the Floor”: Sequencers in Contemporary Electronic Music
Instructor:
Kim Feser
Language of instruction:
English
The recording of this session will be available here on June 10, 2020.

As part of the digital lecture series, this session will highlight one of our regular FUBiS courses. The instructor will introduce themselves, talk a little bit about their experience teaching at FUBiS, and give a short lecture on one of the course’s key topics. Interested in taking the full course the next time it is offered? Continue reading below to find out more.

Description of the regular FUBiS course:

In many ways, Berlin is a center for contemporary electronic music. This is primarily due to the strong connection between technological and aesthetic developments. Particularly in the context of sound art, there are fairly strong parallels with media art.

The course will explore the relationship between aesthetic trends and technological developments with the focus on the cultural and economic conditions in Berlin. Particular emphasis will be put on the past and present of techno, (experimental) electronica and electronic dance music. 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? To what extent is Berlin's creative scene at the same time internationally networked and can its conditions only be understood in a global context?

To read the full course description and access the detailed syllabus, please click here.

Session topic: Dynamics of travels of artists and works of art in Europe
Instructor:
Dr. Stefano de Bosio
Language of instruction:
English
The recording of this session will be available here on June 24, 2020.

As part of the digital lecture series, this session will highlight one of our regular FUBiS courses. The instructor will introduce themselves talk a little bit about their experience teaching at FUBiS, and give a short lecture on one of the course’s key topics. Interested in taking the full course the next time it is offered? Continue reading below to find out more.

Description of the regular FUBiS course:

This course explores European art from the 15th to the 20th 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. 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.

To read the full course description and access the detailed syllabus, please click here.

Session topic: The European Union - Internal and External Challenges before and after Corona
Instructor:
Dr. Ulrich Brückner
Language of instruction:
English
The recording of this session will be available here on July 8, 2020.

As part of the digital lecture series, this session will highlight one of our regular FUBiS courses. The instructor will introduce themselves talk a little bit about their experience teaching at FUBiS, and give a short lecture on one of the course’s key topics. Interested in taking the full course the next time it is offered? Continue reading below to find out more.

Description of the regular FUBiS course:

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, identity and democratic questions in this new system of governance will be discussed. Likewise in the realm of external affairs, the Common Foreign and Security Policy, relations with neighbors and with developing countries will be our concern. Particularly important aspects include the discussion on future expansion as well as the consequences of the financial crisis and the Lisbon Treaty.

To read the full course description and access the detailed syllabus, please click here.

Session topic: Climate Protection in the Post-Covid 19 World: The Impact of the Butterfly Effect
Instructor:
Dr. Andrzej Ancygier
Language of instruction:
English
The recording of this session will be available here on July 15, 2020.

As part of the digital lecture series, this session will highlight one of our regular FUBiS courses. The instructor will introduce themselves talk a little bit about their experience teaching at FUBiS, and give a short lecture on one of the course’s key topics. Interested in taking the full course the next time it is offered? Continue reading below to find out more.

Description of the regular FUBiS course:

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.

To read the full course description and access the detailed syllabus, please click here.

Session topic: The European Monetary Union and the Euro
Instructor:
Dr. Burcin Col
Language of instruction:
English
The recording of this session will be available here on July 29, 2020.

As part of the digital lecture series, this session will highlight one of our regular FUBiS courses. The instructor will introduce themselves talk a little bit about their experience teaching at FUBiS, and give a short lecture on one of the course’s key topics. Interested in taking the full course the next time it is offered? Continue reading below to find out more.

Description of the regular FUBiS course:

This course is designed to introduce students to the global financial environment with a special focus on Europe and Eurozone issues. The course aims to provide the analytical tools needed to understand international financial markets as well as the institutional and economic forces affecting them. To this goal, we will cover a number of topics related to the international environment that deal with financial institutions and economic concepts such as exchange rates, their determination and the relationship with interest rates and inflation rates. We will relate the fundamental topics to current debates on Eurozone crisis, the potential economic impact of Brexit and the future of crypto currencies.

To read the full course description and access the detailed syllabus, please click here.

Session topic: National Socialist Rule and the German People: Seduction and Approval
Instructor:
Dr. Marcus Funck
Language of instruction:
English
The recording of this session will be available here on August 12, 2020.

As part of the digital lecture series, this session will highlight one of our regular FUBiS courses. The instructor will introduce themselves talk a little bit about their experience teaching at FUBiS, and give a short lecture on one of the course’s key topics. Interested in taking the full course the next time it is offered? Continue reading below to find out more.

Description of the regular FUBiS course:

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.

This course is offered this summer as part of our online course program.
For the full course description and detailed syllabus, please click here.

The participation in the lecture series is free of charge; no credits will be awarded after completion.