Free University of Berlin

This course considers the concept of hypermodernism and its more recent iterations with respect to new and planned buildings in Berlin (by international firms such as OMA and Herzog de Meuron), to places of infrastructure (train stations, airports), shopping centers, so-called POPS (privately owned public spaces), and urban wilderness areas. Students are encouraged to explore the city on their own and respond to particular sites through visuals, audio recordings, (creative) texts, and other forms of artistic expression.

This course is devoted to one of the most long-running and yet contested philosophical theories in the Western tradition, namely that of monism. This issue touches on several central themes in metaphysics and theoretical philosophy: the question of ground, the understanding of becoming and contingency, and the relationship between mind, language, and world, just to name a few. In order to delve into this rich and complex line of thought, the course uses the debate that ensued on the topic within analytic philosophy in the last decade. The contemporary debate has several merits that make it a wonderful introduction to the topic. After having considered the main tenets of the contemporary debate on analytic monism and its relation to the history of metaphysics within the analytic tradition, the course considers a few “traditional” authors that have defended or opposed different versions of monism in the history of philosophy (Parmenides, Spinoza, Hegel). Going from present to past, the course explores how authors from the traditions fit within the directives and presuppositions of the contemporary debate. Conversely, going from past to present the course assesses what authors from the tradition can contribute to today's metaphysical inquiry.

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. This course helps students expand their competences in listening, speaking, reading and writing within four weeks, deepen their knowledge of grammar as well as knowledge of the German culture. It enables students to deal with everyday situations in a German-speaking environment and to conduct simple conversations. Students develop reading strategies that allow them to understand 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.

In this course, students read works on German democracy written in American perspective. Students alternate between theoretical texts and those which cover pivotal moments in German history: the revolution of 1848, the institution of democracy in the German Empire, its suspension under Hitler, and the fate of democracy in Germany divided. 

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.