Germany

This course consists of an overview of the third wave of cognitive therapy, particularly Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT focuses on strategies of mindfulness and acceptance as well as interventions to clarify values and modify behavior. This seminar focuses on the following questions: (1) What is mindfulness and what forms of mindfulness-based therapy are there? (2) What are the basic assumptions and goals of ACT? (3) What is psychological flexibility and through which processes can it be promoted? (4) How and when can ACT be used in adults and children and adolescents to treat mental disorders? Students develop workshops on an ACT process in groups and carry them out as part of the seminar. The seminar is experience-oriented and interactive and includes practical exercises. The bulk of the course content is distributed in the form of research papers and interactive classroom presentations and discussions.

This pre-semester course prepares foreign students for academic study at a German university. The focus is on the introduction and consolidation of basic grammatical structures, as well as on the continuous development of a basic vocabulary. Student develop listening, reading, speaking and writing skills for specific everyday situations, work on oral and written exercises, and are introduced to independent learning methods. They work with and reflect on cultural topics in everyday situations in Germany, in Berlin, and at the university. In this class at the A1 level according to CEFR, students review and learn basic grammar points and are systematically introduced to basic vocabulary. All four skills are developed and applied to everyday situations and some study-related situations. The A1 level is split into two courses, the A1.1 course covers the first half of the level and the A1.2 course covers the second half of the level.

This course for foreign students is designed to improve students’ language skills and vocabulary. Areas of focus include grammar, conversation, writing exercises, and listening and reading exercises. In addition, excursions are planned to introduce students to German culture. Students work with cultural and historical topics in everyday situations and broaden their intercultural knowledge. They are introduced to independent learning methods and familiarize themselves with typical learning situations at German universities. In this class at the B1 level according to CEFR, students consolidate and systematically build further basic grammar points and vocabulary. They expand their proficiency in all four skills. The B1 level is split into two consecutive courses, the B1.1 course covers the first half of the level and the B1.2 course covers the second half of the level.

This seminar provides a critical introduction to how knowledge is produced in and about (post)conflict zones. It focuses on the intricacies of the production of statistical and qualitative data, on institutions engaged in conflict reporting and their policies (like Human Rights Watch and the International Crisis Group), on ethnographies of spaces of aid and peacebuilding, on the construction of expertise, on fieldwork industries and their share in coproducing data, on the politics of evidence, and on how knowledge about conflict in turn shapes conflict itself. How do think tanks, academics, and politicians gather evidence about conflicts that are often almost impossible to study directly? How is access to conflict knowledge mediated? How are facts established? And what role do institutions, political narratives, and networks play in the production of knowledge about post conflict situations? Why are some conflicts studied and receive attention, while others tend to be ignored or forgotten? This seminar provides an introduction to this comparatively novel topic in peace and conflict studies.

This course is the second of two fluid mechanics courses that are taught concurrently in a single semester. Students take Fluid Mechanics I and then either Fluid Mechanics II (Higher Flow Level) or Fluid Mechanics II (Technique and Examples). This advanced course on fluid mechanics covers the following topics: Potential flow Vortex flows (Biot-Savartsches-law, wing theory), Boundary layer flows (Prandtl boundary layer equations, theory Blasius) Turbulent, incompressible flows (Reynolds equations, universal velocity profile, laminar-turbulent envelope), and Flows of compressible media.