"Language and Thinking does not just take place in the classroom. We use Berlin as a classroom."
— Dr. James Harker, Director of the Language and Thinking Program
The Language and Thinking Program is the gateway to undergraduate education at Bard College Berlin. All BA students, Academy Year students, and students enrolled in Bard College's Begin in Berlin program complete this introductory course during the three weeks prior to the official start of the fall semester. The Language and Thinking Program provides students with tools to write well at the university level, and to use writing as a resource throughout every stage of the learning process. The program seeks to unlock creativity, lift the pressures associated with academic work, and develop the skills needed for reading, understanding, and analyzing visual, literary, and philosophical material. The program also provides strategies for the later stages of the writing process, including revising, editing, and consulting with peers and instructors.
Fall 2025 Dates
Orientation: August 8–11, 2025
Language & Thinking Program: August 12–27, 2025
Fall Course Advising and German Placement: August 29, 2025
"How to Write and Why"
The theme of the Language and Thinking Program draws from the title of an article by Nawal El Saadawi. We will think about--and write about--why we write and we will learn new ways to do it. As we explore the connections between writing, the self, others, and the larger world, we will get to know the diversity of the Bard College Berlin community and the greater city of Berlin. We will hear many of the forty or more languages spoken on campus; we will explore some of the cornerstones of social life: art, politics, and literature; and we will learn why others in the community write.
Readings
Over the summer, you have two reading assignments to prepare for L&T. The first assignment is Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own. As the text is out of copyright, you’ll be able to find inexpensive copies for purchase, or you can find the full text available online. The second assignment is Sophocles’ tragedy Antigone. You can read any English translation that you can find, including ones you find online.
Other readings will come from an anthology that will be available in digital and print form. The anthology is very large, and students are asked to read only specific selections from the anthology for class each day. The Table of Contents of the 2025 anthology as well as the 2025 L&T schedule will be available in June 2025. In the meantime, you can take a look at last year's anthology and schedule.
(You must be logged into your BCB Google account to access the schedule.)
Instructors and Sessions
During the program students meet in small groups led by an instructor. Every group is different and incorporates specific readings from the anthology as well as other activities and excursions, but they all have the goal of introducing new ways of writing, thinking, and creating. One session might focus on creating a dialogue between two readings. In another session the goal might be to turn a philosophical essay into a play. Alternatively, a session might offer strategies for peer reviewing a short essay that another student wrote the previous night.
Every session will include writing—a lot of writing! The program culminates in a portfolio of writings that forms part of the student's academic record at Bard College Berlin. The program prepares students to write a college essay that is not only academic and rigorous but also creative and personally significant.
L&T sessions will begin on Tuesday, August 12, 2025 and conclude Wednesday, August 27, 2025. Every weekday (Monday-Friday), two ninety-minute sessions will take place in the morning before lunchtime. Additional sessions, excursions, special events, and collaborative projects will take place in the afternoons. In addition, each weekend will feature optional activities organized by Student Life.
Completion of the program is a prerequisite for matriculation into the AY, Begin in Berlin, and BA programs.
Events and Excursions
The three weeks of the program will be filled with guest lectures and excursions to museums, historic sites, and neighborhoods of Berlin.
