Free University of Berlin

Sociology, a newer science concerned with the impact of the industrial revolution on traditional forms of communal life, beliefs, and authorities, emerged in late 19th century Europe. The pioneers of sociology (regarded as classics today) such as Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, Georg Simmel, and Leonard Hobhouse, managed to establish the young discipline at the universities in France, Germany, and Great Britain. The transatlantic exchange of sociological ideas intensified during the 1920s with American scholars such as Talcott Parsons visiting Europe and especially with the large wave of emigrants (Paul Lazarsfeld, Reinhard Bendix, members of the Frankfurt School, and many others) to the United States. Modern analytical sociology was created in the United States in cooperation between European immigrants and Americans and (re-)exported to Europe during the 1950s and 1960s. Today, sociology is studied at universities all over the world with some significant regional specializations. While American sociology is best known for its strong empirical orientation (“social research”), sociology in Europe has developed further the theoretical traditions of the classics (“social theory”). Some paradigmatic questions from Weber to Simmel seem still relevant: “Why have essential elements of modern societies – from the rise of modern capitalism, to individualism, urban culture, and democracy – occurred first in the West?” Alienation from society has been a major theme from Marx to Durkheim and Bourdieu. New topics emerged in the face of new challenges: European Integration, the end of the “Iron Curtain” between Western and Eastern Europe, and the pressures of globalization on the European “social model.” And, of course, since Tocqueville's Democracy in America (1853-1840), sociologists on both sides of the Atlantic have been fascinated to compare Europe and the American Experience. The objective of the course is to portray prominent European sociologists and apply their ideas to the challenges of our time.

This course provides an introduction to the EU and its policy on environmental protection and natural resources. After a brief recap of the basics of policy-making in the EU, students learn about the guiding principles and developments within the EU’s environmental policy. Subsequently, the course covers the major environmental challenges currently faced by the EU. The first part of the course discusses the functioning of the European Union to be able to better understand the factors influencing European environmental policy and politics. The course also looks at the European reaction to climate change and discusses the effectiveness of the main solutions to this global problem: the development of renewable sources of energy and the different ways of pricing carbon. The course devotes a special session to the EU’s role in climate negotiations. The second part of the course is devoted to different forms of pollution, such as air, noise, water, and soil pollution, as well as humanity’s impact on biodiversity loss. In this part of the course students discuss the main prerequisites for making the European transport sector more sustainable and European cities greener and smarter. The last session is devoted to discussing the challenges and the opportunities for the future of environmental policy.

This course is designed for students who have successfully completed the intermediate level of German and who have a sound knowledge of German. This course is intensive and is intended for dedicated, highly self-motivated students who will take responsibility for their learning. The course deepens students competence in speaking and writing and to expands and refines their vocabulary usage. Through this course students are able to express and discuss ideas, opinions and information at the academic level. Special attention is given to the consistent use of self-correction. Furthermore, the course helps students to develop effective reading and listening strategies and deepen their knowledge of grammar structures. In addition, students analyze and interpret cultural, political, and historical topics in German-speaking countries and compare them with their own cultural background. Students develop and regularly use new strategies for language acquisition and improve their ability to choose the right linguistic register for different situations, topics and communication partners. At the completion of the course students are able to lead and participate in academic discussions about certain course-related topics. In addition, students expand and refine their essay writing skills and are able to write, revise and proofread essays that meet the standards of academic writing.

This pre-semester course prepares foreign students for academic study at a German university. The focus is on the improvement of oral and written expression as well as grammar and lexical proficiency. The course covers selected topics on German politics and society within a historical context. In addition, excursions are planned to introduce students to German culture. Students work with cultural 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 courses, the B1.1 course covers the first half of the level and the B1.2 course covers the second half of the level.

Where do we pick up after the complete moral, physical, and psychological devastation brought on by World War II? How do we compose poetry in the shadow of the Holocaust, a genocide beyond imagination? How do we write poetry in a language that was used by the Nazis to justify an unjust war and the murder of millions? What forms can suffering and trauma take in literary texts? Young German writers asked themselves these questions starting in 1945 and proposed a number of solutions – or produced a number of attempts – that today are known as "Kahlschlagliteratur" (the literature of clear-cutting) or Zero Hour Literature. This course reviews texts of various genres in translation, considers them in their historical and literary contexts, and identifies common properties and tendencies. The course also questions the validity of the label "Zero Hour," along with its implicit assumption of a complete reset. The focus is on better-known writers (whose texts are available in English), such as Wolfgang Borchert and the Nobel-prize winning Heinrich Böll.

Just as much as the city is a physical reality we all deal with in our daily lives, it is, and always has been, an idea. From ancient history onwards, planned cities (Caliph Al-Mansur's legendary Round City of Baghdad, Brasília) were thought up before they were built, and many cities of the imagination, such as Jonathan Swift's magnetic island of Laputa, were never built at all. While the biblical New Jerusalem was meant to inspire awe and glorify God, and Renaissance utopias illustrated a particular type of social organization, the modern imaginary cities that can be found in experimental urban planning, in literature and film offer a critique of contemporary urban life or serve as models for change. This course explores the history of the imaginary city from ancient times to the present, highlights a number of historical futuristic concepts such as Constant's New Babylon, and explores ideas ranging from a "velotopia" to the libertarian dream of seasteading. Student presentations round out the discussion by "visiting" imaginary cities in literature, film, land art, and gaming.