Free University of Berlin

This class is predicated on the neuropsychology of auditory phenomena. Processes of human response to aspects of daily life such as conversation and music are explored via the reading of detailed research papers and in-class discussion of relevant topics.

The course provides a broad and theoretical overview of European legal traditions from social, political, economic, and comparative perspectives. Starting with Roman Law, its coverage ranges from discussing the authority of law in history, literature, economics, and religion, through the creation of the European legal frameworks up to the establishment of a human rights tradition. Focus is given to the wider scope of legal developments in history that have shaped the conceptualization of law in present-day Europe and beyond. The course is roughly divided into two parts. The first part encompasses a brief overview of European legal thought from Roman law to the development of the common and civil legal traditions. In the second half of the course, the course examines the more recent developments of European politics and law. The first session will be dedicated to how social aspects (i.e. geography and religion) influence European legal developments. The second session deals with the fascist tendencies leading to World War Two. The last two sessions are dedicated to European integration and the formation of European Union mainly as an answer to the two World Wars. The focus here is on the legal coverage of the Union’s economy and respect for human rights through supranational cooperation.

This course surveys and analyzes the interaction between Europe and America since 1945 in the fields of politics, economics, and culture. Special emphasis is placed on the roles of the United States, Germany, and the European Union. The first part has a time-line approach, discussing cooperation and divergence of  interests before, during, and after the Cold War and after 9/11. During the second part, the course focus on issues of common concern for the U.S. and Europe today and on challenges facing the transatlantic partnership during the era of globalization with its challenges to the common values of the “West.” Current events are discussed whenever they become relevant. The course includes a guest speaker and a visit to the German Foreign Ministry for a talk on German-American relations.

This course is designed for beginners with basic knowledge of German. This course helps students expand their competences in listening, speaking, reading and writing, and deepens their knowledge of grammar as well as their knowledge of the German culture. By the end of the four-week course students are able to deal with everyday situations in a German-speaking environment and to conduct simple conversations. Students develop reading strategies that allow for the understanding of simple newspaper and magazine articles as well as more detailed short literary texts. In addition, students improve their essay writing skills, and are able to write short texts on different topics, revise, and proofread them. Finally, students are able to understand more detailed discussions on familiar topics.

This course offers an overview of the Spanish legal system. It addresses the historical origin of the sources of law, particularly the nineteenth-century codification processes, basic legal concepts, the normative system of sources, and the Spanish political-institutional organization. The course focuses on the study of constitutional, civil, criminal, procedural, and commercial law, paying special attention to the structure and principles that inform the Spanish jurisdiction.

This course first discusses seminal texts on labor and work from the history of philosophy, including, but not limited to, Marx, Weber, and Arendt. These readings provide an indispensable conceptual foundation. Subsequently, the course examines contemporary texts in normative political theory, critical theory, and philosophical anthropology that allow the course to discuss and assess pressing issues of labor and work under current social and economic conditions.

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.

Students explore the relationships of architecture and city planning to ideology, society and politics. Specifically, the course entails the development of these relationships in the context of Berlin across a number of different political eras, including the Empire, the Weimar Republic, National Socialism, the Cold War and the subsequent time which has elapsed since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Course contents range from shorter texts and lectures to long, involved city explorations and possibly exhibition visits.

In this class on the A2 level according to CEFR, students learn to understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment). They study to communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters. Students work to describe in simple terms aspects of their background, immediate environment, and matters in areas of immediate need. Topics are taken from Berlin and German history and culture and also include politics as well as intercultural topics and current events.