In two world wars Germany tried to dominate the globe and all major decisions were made in the capital Berlin.

Berlin: Why was Germany such an aggressive power until 1945? How did Hitler manage to gain and keep power? Why were many Germans Nazis and deeply racist? How was the life of ordinary people during the war? Why did the Nazis kill millions of Jews and other innocent people in concentration camps? What were the long term effects of World War II? What happened to the Nazis after the war?

The course will provide answers to such questions via readings of texts from political science, sociology and history, while also taking the opportunity to explore the locations in which the events between 1933 and 1945 took place.

After a brief introduction to the historical and ideological backgrounds which led to the rise of the Nazi Regime we will turn to a detailed analysis of the event history which led to World War II. The course will answer the question why Germany was such an aggressive power and how the Nazi movement managed to gather broad public support within the majority of the German population until the end while causing war and the death of millions of Jews, opponents etc. Finally, we will discuss the effects of World War II, on world history; e.g. the Cold War, European Integration, etc.

Undergraduate students (especially students of Political Science, Social Science, and History) can cover two eras of German history if they combine this course with the Summer Session 2 course on either "The Berlin Wall" or "The European Union".

Multinational companies like Google or Apple self-evidently act on a global stage. But even small businesses participate in international trade today. The integration of national economies and the elimination of barriers of trade no longer allow a solely national view on this development. With the growing importance of international commerce, the need for an “International Economic Law” arises. Numerous regulations and agreements concern international trade and investment, but the legal framework of international economy remains indefinite.

In this course common principles of International Economic Law will be examined by analyzing leading decisions by international courts. Therefore a substantial part of the course will be dedicated to class room discussion of cases and reading materials.

(Only open to undergraduate law students and/or students with previous knowledge on the subject)

In this course the students will explore Jewish history in Germany – and its memorialization – from 1933 to the present. This will be accomplished through lectures, workshops, and site visits to museums in and around Berlin. In addition to the tragic history that has defined the 20th century experience, students will have an opportunity to explore contemporary Jewish life and topics that continue to shape Berlin and Germany more widely. This course is anthropologically inflected and treats the museums and other urban spaces as field sites to be explored and analyzed critically. It is well-suited to students who are interested in religious studies, history, the social sciences, and/or more specific fields such as urban studies, ethics or museum studies.

Berlin is a vibrant city – and has always been. The City and its surrounding have always attracted and influenced artists. The “Golden Twenties and Thirties” of the 20th Century are legendary – not only the city provided inspiration and material for novels, music, theatre and fine arts, but also all the places of refuge that brought from the external hectic pace to inner reflection.

The course is concerned with several writers, whose lives and work are closely connected to Berlin and the escape to the idylls of small towns. How did this contrast impact their writing process? What can we learn by that for our own creative processes? In this course we read and write, discuss, look around, walk and go out: various field trips in and around Berlin, a visit of a theatre and some movies will show the relation of texts, style and atmosphere.

The course is designed for everybody who is interested in literature, creative writing (German language) and exploring Berlin and the near countryside. Participants in this course should share an inherent interest in the topic and life in Berlin, as well as a willingness to explore their own expressiveness and joy in playing with the German language. Mistakes made in written works will be corrected but will not be discussed as part of the course syllabus nor be included in the overall assessment of the participant's performance. Texts for preparation or for background knowledge can also be read in English or in any other language. Texts dealt with during class are discussed on the basis of the original –in German.

Students must place into Advanced German (level of C1).

Multinational companies like Google or Apple self-evidently act on a global stage. But even small businesses participate in international trade today. The integration of national economies and the elimination of barriers of trade no longer allow a solely national view on this development. With the growing importance of international commerce, the need for an “International Economic Law” arises. Numerous regulations and agreements concern international trade and investment, but the legal framework of international economy remains indefinite.

In this course common principles of International Economic Law will be examined by analyzing leading decisions by international courts. Therefore a substantial part of the course will be dedicated to class room discussion of cases and reading materials.

(Only open to undergraduate law students and/or students with previous knowledge on the subject)

This course is designed for undergraduate/graduate students who have a general interest in German cultural history and like to investigate theoretically and performatively the relation between German humor (if there is such a thing?) and the historical crime of the Holocaust. Students who attend this course should therefore know at least basic facts of German history and cultural phenomena like WWII, German shame, the Student Revolution, Cold War and the Reunification. This course offers not only a theoretical but also an artistic reflection on German humor and its underlying relation to the Holocaust. The course departs from the grounding thesis that the Holocaust (as being committed by Germans) changed the cultural history of German humor, comedy and everyday forms of laughter in a radical way. This radical change has been internalized and passed on from the Nazi-Generation to their great grandchildren and had a remarkable effect on comedic cultural texts of all kinds (literature, film, theater, TV) after 1945.

Accordingly, Germany, in the aftermath of WWII and the historical crimes of the Holocaust, has therefore developed a very specific sense of humor and comedy. In our course we will have a closer look on German comedy, which has –both in the GDR and FDR as well as in the unified country –produced specific formats and traditions (un/consciously) tied to the Holocaust.

(Only open to undergraduate law students and/or students with previous knowledge on the subject)