FINANCIAL AID available. Maymester participants can apply for Vanderbilt Global Summer Fellows scholarships.
FINANCIAL AID DEADLINE: *31 JANUARY*
GENERAL PROGRAM DEADLINE *12 FEBRUARY*
2010 MAYMESTER INFO FAIR : 27 January, 4-6pm, The Commons. Learn more about the Berlin Maymester, meet Alumnae/ Alumni & Professor Grunwald.
Please contact Prof. Grunwald if you would like to be placed on the mailing list or to be put in touch with Maymester Berlin Alumni & Alumnae
Maymester in Berlin
BERLIN
Historic Metropolis
and Gateway to a New Europe
European Studies 260 European Cities/ earns credit for History majors (European concentration)
(taught in English)
Berlin is a bustling, multi-ethnic, ever-changing modern capital, gateway to Eastern Europe and teeming with cosmopolitan talent in politics, the arts, media and letters. Over the last one hundred years, Berlin has seen more political turmoil and cultural revolutions than any other European city: from residence of the Prussian kings to industrial heavyweight to world capital of the arts in the 1920s to Hitler’s Fuehrerstadt. Reduced to rubble and ruins in the Battle of Berlin in 1945, it was rebuilt as a city of two halves, each vying with each other in an ideologically charged beauty pageant: capital of Communist East Germany vs. showcase of Western democracy (and affluence), spiteful twins separated by the automatic guns, guard dogs and concrete of the Wall.
Since 1989, when the images of joyful crowds dancing on the former death strip went round the world, Berlin has re-invented itself as capital of unified Germany and as a magnet for aspiring talent from Eastern Europe. For those recently freed from the yoke of Soviet rule, whether their interest be politics, culture or business, Berlin is the obvious port of call. The result is a cosmopolitan culture fusing Western and Eastern European styles with influences from around the globe. Unprecedented building activity and a recent (though modest) economic upswing have accompanied this reinvention which further enhances Berlin’s riches in architecture, theater and museums, accentuating its status as a showcase of urban modernism.
Together we will explore the history, culture and present of this unique metropolis. The focus of the first half of the course is historical, with special emphasis on the twisted path through the twentieth century, the traces, scars and triumphs of which are evident throughout Berlin. Prussian grandeur and Wilhelmine hubris, Weimar's endeavoring spirit of innovation, Nazi monumentalism and finally the ideological contest of East and West Berlin are richly documented in museums and architecture and to this day inform the city's daily life. The second half will be devoted to contemporary Berlin: political life, both as capital of unified Germany and as metropolis in the heart of Europe (Prague, Warsaw, Budapest, Zurich are within an hour's flight time, Brussels, Paris, Rome, London, Barcelona and Madrid within two hours), its pioneering theater, dance and multi-media art, its efforts to re-invent itself as a capital of the knowledge- and technology-based ‘new economy’.
The course entails three to five hours of classroom contact per day. Each week will include at least one field trip outside the city, as well as site-visits in Berlin. The site visits are facilitated by the central location of teaching and living facilities as well as by Berlin's excellent public transport network. In addition to the required readings, active participation in class discussions and site visits, students undertake an independent research project. All lectures, readings and instruction are in English.
Dates: May 9 – May 30, 2010. Preparatory classes on campus during April 2010.
Accommodation: Pension Marie, Schivelbeiner Strasse, self-catered apartments (shared double bedrooms in 2-4 person units), each with kitchen facilities. Receptionist on-site during business hours. Clean, simple, safe (and right in the middle of bustling Prenzlauer Berg district. Excellent public transport connections (U-Bahn and Tram within 5 minutes walk).
Instructor: Henning Grunwald is the DAAD Visiting Assistant Professor of History, a five-year appointment co-funded by VanderbiltUniversity and the German government. Professor Grunwald, a specialist in 20th century German history, has received his doctorate from the University of Cambridge and has lived in Berlin for seven years, as a researcher at the Institute for Theater Studies at Freie Universität and as Assistant to the President of Humboldt-Universität. Students will benefit from his in-depth knowledge of the city and his excellent relations to many institutions of higher learning, theater, science administration and politics.
For more information on European Studies (EUS) 260, see Professor Grunwald in 246 Buttrick (henning.grunwald@vanderbilt.edu; 343-1749)
2 hour bloc Seminar on format of class, examination, code of conduct. Introduction to the content of the class and class textbook (Clay Large, D., Berlin, New York 2009)
Tbd ca. 22 Apr 4pm-7pm
Introduction to German history in the 20th century
followed by
BBQ at Professor Grunwald’s place.
THE TEXTBOOK READING HAS TO BE DONE BEFORE ARRIVAL IN BERLIN! The time in Berlin is set aside for conceptual and on-site learning, immersion and the development of the individual research project
In Berlin
Session 1
9:30 -11:00
Session 2
11:30 -13:00
On site/ afternoon teaching
extracurricular activities
Sunday 9 May arrival in Berlin. Settle into accommodation, induction public transport, emergency procedures
Week 1
10
Introduction to the course.
(45 mins)
City tour (Bus 100)
Rosenthaler Platz, Alexanderplatz, Hackesche Hoefe, S-Bahn to Hauptbahnhof, the to Zoo Station, Gedaechtniskirche, Bus 100 to Potsdamer Platz, Holocaust Memorial, Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag.
activities listed here are merely examples – scope for individually tailored program
11
From the first German unification to World War One
German Historical Museum (Deutsches Historisches Museum, DHM)
12
presentations on DHM assignments
World War One, Revolution and the ‘Golden Twenties’
13
National Socialism & the Holocaust
Visit to Oranienburg, Sachsenhausen concentration camp memorial
NS camp system assignments
14
Test (pre-departure reading, 30 mins)
Wartime Berlin
Crucible of the Cold War: the Berlin blockade & airlift
leave 11:55 from Marienburgerstr.
12:30 tour of TempelhofAirport
15
City districts assignment
Soccer: 3:30 FC Union vs Rot/Weiss Erfurt. Meet 2:30pm at student accommodation
16
City districts assignment
Week 2
17
Presentations city districts assignment.
Berlin Blockade to Berlin Wall
Everyday Life in Divided Germany
GDRMuseum or Normannenstrasse Stasi memorial
18
Re-Unification and since
2 p.m. consultation on research project (w/ Grunwald, then w/TA)
19
Timeslot for visiting Humboldt University class in American Studies
2pm Seminar on transatlantic issues (with PD Dr. Reinhard Isensee, Humboldt-Universitaet Berlin, and his students), HU Hauptgebauede 1070, tbc
20
Guest lecture Mara Kurotschka (Juilliard-trained dancer, choreographer and director, tbc): Modern Dance in Berlin
Berlin underground: tour of the bunker system
afternoon free – do NOT book travel before 4 pm!!
20-23
Travel weekend [leaving Berlin on this weekend is the students’ own decision and not part of the Vanderbilt Maymester program, the consent of parents/ guardians is required]
Possibilities for travel in/ around Berlin: Chateau Rheinsberg, Sanssouci (Potsdam), Chorin monastery, Niederfinow, Joachimsthal, Wannsee, Wandlitz and nearby lakes
Stay overnight
-Schwerin, Hamburg, Munich, Prague, London, Paris etc etc
23
Karneval der Kulturen parade (multi-cultural, multi-ethnic street fair and parade, 1 Mio spectators, 80+ floats)
Week 3
24
9:00 Guest Lecture Ambassador John Kornblum (tbc): the significance of Berlin in 20th century history, followed by discussion.
meet 8:45 am at Hausvogteiplatz station (U2) take the exit in the direction the train is going (Gendarmenmarkt side)!
smart dress.
Class led by TA on subject of her/his expertise (tbc)
2-4 pm office hours TA
7:30 pm Weber, Der Freischuetz, Komische oper (S-Bahn Unter den Linden)
25
Reunification: visit to Leipzig meet 8:15 am at student accommodation. return 9 pm.
10:30 am Nikolai Church, 1 pm Haus der Geschichte, 3:30 pm BMW Leipzig plant 6:00 pm -7:30 free time
return train 7:51 pm
26
TBD – guest lecture on immigration (possibly in conjunction with site visit to Polish/German border city Frankfurt an der Oder)
7:30 pm, Puccini, Madame Butterfly, Komische Oper
27
10am Guest lecture by Dr. Philipp Steinberg (Federal Finance Ministry, chief aide to SPD presidium, tbc): German politics in a European framework – the example of tax harmonization
Guest Lecture Dr. Tim Stuchtey (Humboldt-Universitaet Berlin, tbc). Berlin Politics: The Art of the Possible
(Berlin state parliament)
Office hours TA 4-6pm
28
Guest lecture: Global Design, made in Europe (Prof. Yang Liu, tbc)
Guest lecture Julia Bonstein (Der Spiegel) (tbc): Media and Politics in Old Europe and the New World
deadline for feedback on reviews/ research paper outlines
7:30 pm, Puccini, Madame Butterfly, Komische oper (S-Bahn Unter den Linden)
29
Felix Brusberg (tbc) (Galerie Brusberg)
Berlin and the global art market
smart dress
6 pm watch Goodbye Lenin at Henning Grunwald’s place
