Free University of Berlin

The new twenties of today bear more than a passing resemblance to the Jazz Age that F. Scott Fitzgerald so memorably chronicled. The role of literature itself, on the other hand, has in the meantime changed dramatically. At the centennial of the full arrival of Anglo-American literary Modernism (The WASTELAND and ULYSSES headline the literary milestones published in 1922) this seminar revisits Fitzgerald's oeuvre, guided by the central question: In what way does Fitzgerald, an author tied to a particular era like few others, speak to our own time and predicaments today? The course explores Fitzgerald's life and works in his own context first—against the social and cultural history of the interwar period—and then engage his novels and short fiction through a number of critical lenses and close readings, including Marxist and intersectional approaches (focused on class, race, and gender), ecocriticism, and affect theory, along themes ranging from addiction and celebrity, to masculinity and fascism.

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.

This course is intended for students with limited prior knowledge of German. The course extends beyond simple communication, focusing instead on the ability to report in structurally more complex sentences about family, friends, future plans, and aspects of the past. Students learn the declension of adjectives and practice reading and listening techniques. They also improve their pronunciation by means of special phonetic exercises and compose their first more formal texts. This course is at the A1.2/A2.1 level according to CFER.

This course explores the relationship between aesthetic trends and technological developments with the focus on the cultural and economic conditions in Berlin. Particular emphasis is made 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? Beyond the Berlin perspective, the course examines the current conditions of production and consumption as well as the performance and distribution of music. How do legal/illegal file sharing and streaming services affect listening to music? What is changing in music culture through sampling, remixing, mashup, and approaches to interactive music in video games? What opposing trends are out there? And last but not least: To what extent has the time of the pandemic in 2020/21 changed the conditions of production, distribution, and consumption of music – in Berlin and globally? In addition to the joint discussion of texts and film excerpts, excursions also provide an opportunity for an exchange with proven experts in the course subject areas. At the end of the course, the participants can elaborate on and present a topic (either alone or in a group) of their choice in the context of the general list of topics on the course.