Humboldt University Berlin

Islamic feminism is a field of study that has been marginalized in both contemporary Islamic and feminist discourses. This course counters this marginalization by exploring the diverse theoretical frameworks and methodologies used in Islamic feminist scholarship. It takes an intersectional perspective to examine the different strategies that Islamic feminists have developed to challenge multiple constellations of power, such as sexism, patriarchy, and (feminist) neo-Orientalism. The course aims for the decolonization of knowledge on Islam, gender, and feminism. This is achieved by the inclusion of life experiences and knowledge production from different regions in and outside the "Muslim World."

With contributions from fields like cultural history and theory, social and cultural anthropology, design, arts and media studies, the lecture series "Dis/Entangling material futures" renders visible the multiple entanglements and disentanglement associated with the making and unmaking of material futures. Contributions also highlight a variety of methodological approaches, knowledge constellations, and modes of critique emerging at the intersections of the humanities, social sciences, arts, design, and curatorial practices. They require addressing what is at stake when conducting material research, from inside as well as outside of established institutions (academic or otherwise).

This course approaches Cinematic Chinatown intersectionally by situating it within cultural, social, political, and economic contexts, and addressing its relationship to racialized capitalism, labor, citizenship, identity, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class, disability, inequality, globalization, transnationalism, diaspora, and colonialism, and intertwined with the production, circulation, and utility of Cinematic Chinatown as text, image, sound, space, artifact, technology, and discourse--Chinatown as a commodified sign. Key objectives include the analysis and critical interrogation of the function (social, political, economic, cultural, etc.) of Cinematic Chinatown within varying networks of power relations, the discussion of theoretical frameworks and concepts related to the representations of Chinatown within the field of cultural studies and media studies, a better understanding of the global flow and consumption of images and its effects on a planetary, globalized, transnational scale, and an understanding of how this affects our own imagination of Othered spaces here in Germany.

In 2017 for the first time since World War II, a right-wing populist party entered the German Bundestag. What came as a massive shock to many political observers in Germany, was merely the expression of a trend stretching across industrialized countries for a couple of decades now: the return of the illiberal right. This course tries to find explanations for the success of the AfD and other right-wing movements or parties, with a specific focus on Germany and the East-West divide that less than 35 years ago still cut Europe and Germany in two halves. This looks for answers to questions such as: Why do people vote for right-wing populist parties? What lesson can the history of right-wing extremism offer for contemporary politics? Can the experience of forceful and rapid change among citizens of formerly Communist states explain the prominence of Illiberalism in Eastern Germany and, potentially, beyond? The course is divided into three parts, which deal with the past, present and future of Illiberalism respectively. For each part, the course undertakes an excursion within Berlin and discuss a Berlin-based movie to demonstrate how the traces of Illiberalism can be found throughout the city.

Students read complex texts from various sources and topics, which built a basis for reading comprehension and oral discussions. Students express their points of view and defend them in front of others. They analyze the strategies and instruments needed to debate, and they create an oral presentation on a topic they are studying.

This course considers travelling artists and artworks in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries and the way in which people and objects interacted, thus shaping different local cultural contexts and places around Europe. Through the study of iconic travels such as those by Albrecht Durer, Raphael, Lorenzo Lotto, Martin van Heemskerk, El Greco, Sofonisba Anguissola, Federico Zuccari, Caravaggio, Artemisia Gentileschi, Pieter Paul Rubens, as well as the travel of major artworks within Europe, the course addresses the dynamics and forms of cultural encounters, their narratives, and meaning for today’s art history and its methodologies. Visits to the collections of Berlin museums (depending upon pandemic restrictions) allow students to study in depth specific artifacts and to learn how to look closely at works of art.