Yusuf: Socrates Project Berlin, 2021
I felt welcomed, I felt that my ideas were valued. I learnt a lot about writing academic essays, and I enjoyed the critical texts we discussed with the other participants. In the past, I felt excluded from philosophy but the Socrates project fulfilled my dream of studying it.
Jeanette: Socrates Project Berlin, 2021
The theme of "Freedom and Society“ was not only taught, it was also a part of the course experience itself. I was impressed about the constructive and creative ways in which diverse perspectives worked together.
Aleksandar: Socrates Project Berlin, 2021
It is an actual academic course with professors, just like at university. Yet, the atmosphere is so friendly and welcoming that all participants wanted to share their views.
The Socrates Project is a collaborative educational outreach program of the Civic Engagement Initiative at Bard College Berlin and the Community Engagement Office at Central European University. We offer free university-level courses in the humanities and social sciences to adults in the wider community of Berlin who have been denied educational opportunities in the past, including those who have not completed secondary school.
The evening courses are taught in English and German, and in spring 2022 also in Turkish and Arabic. All courses are discussion-based and tackle the big questions of life and society in a friendly atmosphere yet with academic rigor. By engaging in conversations with peers and teachers on a variety of interconnected topics, the participants are empowered to keep educating themselves and deepen their involvement in the cultural and civic lives of their communities.
In March 2022, the next round of Socrates courses on “Freedom and Society” as overarching theme are starting.
What Our Students Say
Adrienn: Socrates Project Budapest, 2019
This isn’t the regular, frontal teaching style: students take an active part, and they get to tell the group their own take on the material. It’s completely different from traditional education, since it includes all the students, who feel that the experience is their own, and are actually affected by the topic itself. They are not just passive listeners, since everyone adds a new aspect to the given topic, complementing each other. Through the discussions, this became a full circle, as we always reached a conclusion of some sort.
Krisztina: Socrates Project Budapest, 2019
In the classes you can express your opinion freely, there is no such thing as a wrong opinion, or a wrong thought. These discussions made me open up more, and I came to understand topics in more depth. My classmates often shed light on things I wouldn’t have noticed in the readings – it was astounding how much more there is in certain people. Probably I also have knowledge they don’t. Several of our classmates who lived in very dire conditions contributed amazing thoughts. This strengthened my view that every person is a world of their own. People are important, no matter where they come from.
Socrates Information in other languages
The Socrates Project is a collaboration between Bard College Berlin and Central European University in Budapest and Vienna, supported by a grant from the Open Society University Network.