Julie J. Kidd Hall Cafe The Involvement Fair is your chance to meet the student clubs and organizations and find out how to get involved this semester. Several campus resources will also have tables where you can learn more about the services they offer.
If you are a club, you can register your club and sign up for the Involvement Fair using this form. Registering as a club allows you to book on-campus spaces, apply for funding, and receive training and support from the Student Life Office. This form closes on Friday, January 30 at 10am.
Lecture Hall This Black History Month, a series of film screenings will celebrate Black voices and storytelling across the African diaspora, inviting audiences to engage with powerful histories and stories that resonate far beyond the screen.
Screenings will take place the following evenings: Friday, Feb 6th; Friday, Feb 13th; Friday, Feb 20th; and Wednesday, Feb 25th.
The Arab Translation Movement, the institutions of learning in Islam and the rise of European Colleges
Thursday, February 12, 2026 7:30–9 pm
Julie J. Kidd Hall Cafe This lecture by Dr. Usahma Felix Darrahwill explore the Arab Translation Movement, focusing on its context, its translators and the most significant works they transmitted. We will trace the organizational structure of Islamic learning institutions and how they influenced the emergence of Western universities.
Discussion of the Photobook The Year Twenty Twenty-Two: Photographs from St. Petersburg, Russia by Denis Skopin (Fresh Verlag, 2025)
Friday, February 13, 2026 5–6:30 pm
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Unter den Linden 6 Main Building (Hauptgebäude), 2nd floor, Room 3059 (2. OG, Raum 3059) The launch and discussion of the photobook by Denis Skopin, The Year Twenty Twenty-Two: Photographs from St. Petersburg, Russia (Fresh Verlag, 2025). The book features 56 photographs taken in Russia following the onset of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Discussants: Friedrich Tietjen (Jüdisches Museum Frankfurt) Anton Polsky (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) Denis Skopin (Bard College Berlin / Smolny Beyond Borders)
Chair: Mateusz Kapustka (Freie Universität Berlin)
Learning Commons, W16 A student-led weekly space to meet other neurodivergent* and questioning students, share tips, strategies, vent and / or simply be without the pressure to mask.
What can you expect?
You can use the space to chill, drink tea and do some crafts
There will be craft items to make your own stim toys
There will be some topic prompts and the chance to engage in semi-structured (silent) conversation
You can bring themes important to you to share
You can drop-in, stay the whole time, leave early and come and go as you please
*Neurodivergent is a non-medical umbrella term used to describe people whose brains work differently from the so called 'norm.' This can include autism, ADH(D), dyslexia, dyspraxia, Tourettes, epilepsy, and acquired neurodivergence through TBI and health conditions.
No official diagnosis or disclosure is required. Stimming welcome!
Bard College Berlin accepts applications for transfer to the BA degree programs in Fall 2026. The deadline for applying is February 15, 2026, at 23:59 in your time zone.
Eligible applicants for transfer are students who have completed at least one semester of university by the time of their expected enrollment at BCB. For more information on eligibility and application requirements, please refer to our application requirements for transfer.
Should you have any questions about your application for admission and/or financial aid at BCB, please do not hesitate to reach out to the BCB Admissions Team at [email protected]. We look forward to receiving your application!
Is Europe the Enemy? Transatlantic Relations in Crisis: An Evening with David Sanger and Anna Sauerbrey
Monday, February 16, 2026 7 pm
Publix (Hermanstrasse 90, 12051 Berlin) U.S. President Donald Trump's stated plans to annex Greenland have upended security, trade, and diplomatic policy across Europe, not to mention shattered expectations of the possible. The United States, the continent's historic partner and guarantor of security, now looks less an ally than outright antagonist. Is the transatlantic relationship, as it has existed for eighty years, functionally dead? Does Europe have its own strategy in response? German Chancellor Friedrich Merz declared that Europe's long-standing Pax Americana "no longer exists in the way we once knew it." This current U.S. administration certainly has a declared interest, and a track record of action, that suggests a fundamental break with decades of history and precedent, including a newfound hostility toward modern Europe and its values.
Last year, the Trump administration published a new national security strategy that laid bare truths which had been developing in the background for some time: namely, under Trump, the United States views European institutions and even some European governments as problems to be circumvented or even overcome. It now appears that Washington considers Europe's set of rules and laws a burden; its embrace of immigration and multiculturalism, a civilizational mistake. The U.S., then, must find common cause with parties and individual figures who seek, as the strategy document purports, to restore European "sovereignty" and a "traditional European way of life." That is code for Europe's ascendant far-right and Eurosceptic populist movements.
This high-level panel discussion, featuring David Sanger of The New York Times and Anna Sauerbrey of Die Zeit, moderated by Joshua Yaffa, "Writer in residence" at Bard College Berlin, will attempt to describe and diagnose this current moment, and understand the implications for Germany and its European neighbors. Is the current course reversible? And if not, what does this new era in U.S.-European relations mean for the future of politics and society on both sides of the Atlantic?
This event is in cooperation with Bard College Berlin’s and the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s spring event series, “Writing Democracy: Stories, Ideas, and Arguments On and Off the Page.”Sponsored by: Bard College Berlin & Heinrich Böll Foundation.
P24 Conference Room The Cookies and Conversation series aims to provide a regular opportunity for students to meet with University Leadership and administrators to discuss questions about the College, academic and non-academic ideas and suggestions, and anything else on their minds.
These meetings are organized so that students can sign up in advance and set the agenda themselves by submitting topics for discussion. Please note that individual C&C sessions will be canceled if there are no sign ups 24 hours prior to the meeting.
Notes From Caracas: A Conversation with Tuki Jencquel
Wednesday, February 18, 2026 9–10:30 am
Seminar room 3 (P98) The Civic Engagement and Democracy seminar invites you to a conversation with the filmmaker and producer Tuki Jencquel. We'll discuss Notes from Caracas - a new Deutsche Welle documentary Jencquel has just produced about the recent US attack on Venezuela - as well as his other films, and the challenges of civically engaged filmmaking.
On 3 January 2026, the United States launched a military strike in Caracas and captured incumbent Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. How do the Venezuelan people see this event and its implications for the future of their country? Notes from Caracas gives them a voice. You can watch the film on YouTube.
Anti-Racism Discussion: A Black History Month Event
Thursday, February 19, 2026 6:30–8 pm
Julie Johnson Kidd Hall This student-led discussion creates an open, supportive space for honest conversation about race and racism. Rather than a traditional panel, the event centers student voices and encourages active participation from all attendees.
Together, we will reflect on lived experiences, explore how racism and bias appear in everyday life, and discuss what anti-racism can look like. Whether you come to share, listen, or learn, your presence matters. This discussion invites students, faculty, and staff to engage thoughtfully, challenge assumptions, and imagine collective steps towards greater inclusivity.
Online Who was Francis Bacon? A courtier, a lawyer, a statesman, a man of the world – but also a visionary, whose plans to reform science and to use science to transform technology and society still fascinate today.
Zoom link Meeting ID: 826 3428 1318 Passcode: 901292
Prof. Dr. Lorraine Daston is director emerita of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, visiting professor on the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago, and permanent fellow of the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin. Her award-winning work spans a broad range of topics in the early modern and modern history of science. Professor Daston is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a member of the American Philosophical Society and the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences, and a corresponding member of the British Academy.
Student Life Committee Community Forum: Overview of BCB Budget and College Finances
Thursday, February 26, 2026 12:30–1:30 pm
Lecture Hall The Community Forum on February 26 will be on an overview of BCB Budget and College Finances. Please join us for a presentation on the BCB budget and college finances, given by Managing Director Dr. Florian Becker. We will discuss the annual budget, student financial aid, and the relationship between BCB and Bard College in Annandale.
The Community Forums are dedicated to bringing our entire community (staff, students, and faculty) together to discuss topics related to life at BCB. These are an opportunity to talk about anything on your mind or to ask questions that you have. They are co-hosted between the Student Life Committee and Student Parliament.
Lecture Hall This lecture by Dr. Boneace Chagara interrogates how Black and African identities are experienced and perceived across diverse cultural, geographic, and historical contexts. It contests historical demands for legibility and visibility— evident in mediated colonial narratives, ethnographic photography, and Enlightenment’s dismissal of Africa as ahistorical. From the creolized formations of the Caribbean to the ongoing negotiations of African heritage, Blackness manifests in irreducible multiplicity: rooted yet hybrid, ancestral yet reimagined, continental yet diasporic. Against the colonial imperative for transparency, Édouard Glissant’s “right to opacity” guarantees a politics of relation grounded in difference, irreducibility, and respect.
Organized by Tajah Oquisso '29 as part of Black History Month.
Julie J. Kidd Hall Cafe The Involvement Fair is your chance to meet the student clubs and organizations and find out how to get involved this semester. Several campus resources will also have tables where you can learn more about the services they offer.
If you are a club, you can register your club and sign up for the Involvement Fair using this form. Registering as a club allows you to book on-campus spaces, apply for funding, and receive training and support from the Student Life Office. This form closes on Friday, January 30 at 10am.
Lecture Hall This Black History Month, a series of film screenings will celebrate Black voices and storytelling across the African diaspora, inviting audiences to engage with powerful histories and stories that resonate far beyond the screen.
Screenings will take place the following evenings: Friday, Feb 6th; Friday, Feb 13th; Friday, Feb 20th; and Wednesday, Feb 25th.
The Arab Translation Movement, the institutions of learning in Islam and the rise of European Colleges
Thursday, February 12, 2026 7:30–9 pm
Julie J. Kidd Hall Cafe This lecture by Dr. Usahma Felix Darrahwill explore the Arab Translation Movement, focusing on its context, its translators and the most significant works they transmitted. We will trace the organizational structure of Islamic learning institutions and how they influenced the emergence of Western universities.
Discussion of the Photobook The Year Twenty Twenty-Two: Photographs from St. Petersburg, Russia by Denis Skopin (Fresh Verlag, 2025)
Friday, February 13, 2026 5–6:30 pm
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Unter den Linden 6 Main Building (Hauptgebäude), 2nd floor, Room 3059 (2. OG, Raum 3059) The launch and discussion of the photobook by Denis Skopin, The Year Twenty Twenty-Two: Photographs from St. Petersburg, Russia (Fresh Verlag, 2025). The book features 56 photographs taken in Russia following the onset of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Discussants: Friedrich Tietjen (Jüdisches Museum Frankfurt) Anton Polsky (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) Denis Skopin (Bard College Berlin / Smolny Beyond Borders)
Chair: Mateusz Kapustka (Freie Universität Berlin)
Learning Commons, W16 A student-led weekly space to meet other neurodivergent* and questioning students, share tips, strategies, vent and / or simply be without the pressure to mask.
What can you expect?
You can use the space to chill, drink tea and do some crafts
There will be craft items to make your own stim toys
There will be some topic prompts and the chance to engage in semi-structured (silent) conversation
You can bring themes important to you to share
You can drop-in, stay the whole time, leave early and come and go as you please
*Neurodivergent is a non-medical umbrella term used to describe people whose brains work differently from the so called 'norm.' This can include autism, ADH(D), dyslexia, dyspraxia, Tourettes, epilepsy, and acquired neurodivergence through TBI and health conditions.
No official diagnosis or disclosure is required. Stimming welcome!
Bard College Berlin accepts applications for transfer to the BA degree programs in Fall 2026. The deadline for applying is February 15, 2026, at 23:59 in your time zone.
Eligible applicants for transfer are students who have completed at least one semester of university by the time of their expected enrollment at BCB. For more information on eligibility and application requirements, please refer to our application requirements for transfer.
Should you have any questions about your application for admission and/or financial aid at BCB, please do not hesitate to reach out to the BCB Admissions Team at [email protected]. We look forward to receiving your application!
Is Europe the Enemy? Transatlantic Relations in Crisis: An Evening with David Sanger and Anna Sauerbrey
Monday, February 16, 2026 7 pm
Publix (Hermanstrasse 90, 12051 Berlin) U.S. President Donald Trump's stated plans to annex Greenland have upended security, trade, and diplomatic policy across Europe, not to mention shattered expectations of the possible. The United States, the continent's historic partner and guarantor of security, now looks less an ally than outright antagonist. Is the transatlantic relationship, as it has existed for eighty years, functionally dead? Does Europe have its own strategy in response? German Chancellor Friedrich Merz declared that Europe's long-standing Pax Americana "no longer exists in the way we once knew it." This current U.S. administration certainly has a declared interest, and a track record of action, that suggests a fundamental break with decades of history and precedent, including a newfound hostility toward modern Europe and its values.
Last year, the Trump administration published a new national security strategy that laid bare truths which had been developing in the background for some time: namely, under Trump, the United States views European institutions and even some European governments as problems to be circumvented or even overcome. It now appears that Washington considers Europe's set of rules and laws a burden; its embrace of immigration and multiculturalism, a civilizational mistake. The U.S., then, must find common cause with parties and individual figures who seek, as the strategy document purports, to restore European "sovereignty" and a "traditional European way of life." That is code for Europe's ascendant far-right and Eurosceptic populist movements.
This high-level panel discussion, featuring David Sanger of The New York Times and Anna Sauerbrey of Die Zeit, moderated by Joshua Yaffa, "Writer in residence" at Bard College Berlin, will attempt to describe and diagnose this current moment, and understand the implications for Germany and its European neighbors. Is the current course reversible? And if not, what does this new era in U.S.-European relations mean for the future of politics and society on both sides of the Atlantic?
This event is in cooperation with Bard College Berlin’s and the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s spring event series, “Writing Democracy: Stories, Ideas, and Arguments On and Off the Page.”Sponsored by: Bard College Berlin & Heinrich Böll Foundation.
P24 Conference Room The Cookies and Conversation series aims to provide a regular opportunity for students to meet with University Leadership and administrators to discuss questions about the College, academic and non-academic ideas and suggestions, and anything else on their minds.
These meetings are organized so that students can sign up in advance and set the agenda themselves by submitting topics for discussion. Please note that individual C&C sessions will be canceled if there are no sign ups 24 hours prior to the meeting.
Notes From Caracas: A Conversation with Tuki Jencquel
Wednesday, February 18, 2026 9–10:30 am
Seminar room 3 (P98) The Civic Engagement and Democracy seminar invites you to a conversation with the filmmaker and producer Tuki Jencquel. We'll discuss Notes from Caracas - a new Deutsche Welle documentary Jencquel has just produced about the recent US attack on Venezuela - as well as his other films, and the challenges of civically engaged filmmaking.
On 3 January 2026, the United States launched a military strike in Caracas and captured incumbent Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. How do the Venezuelan people see this event and its implications for the future of their country? Notes from Caracas gives them a voice. You can watch the film on YouTube.
Anti-Racism Discussion: A Black History Month Event
Thursday, February 19, 2026 6:30–8 pm
Julie Johnson Kidd Hall This student-led discussion creates an open, supportive space for honest conversation about race and racism. Rather than a traditional panel, the event centers student voices and encourages active participation from all attendees.
Together, we will reflect on lived experiences, explore how racism and bias appear in everyday life, and discuss what anti-racism can look like. Whether you come to share, listen, or learn, your presence matters. This discussion invites students, faculty, and staff to engage thoughtfully, challenge assumptions, and imagine collective steps towards greater inclusivity.
Online Who was Francis Bacon? A courtier, a lawyer, a statesman, a man of the world – but also a visionary, whose plans to reform science and to use science to transform technology and society still fascinate today.
Zoom link Meeting ID: 826 3428 1318 Passcode: 901292
Prof. Dr. Lorraine Daston is director emerita of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, visiting professor on the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago, and permanent fellow of the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin. Her award-winning work spans a broad range of topics in the early modern and modern history of science. Professor Daston is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a member of the American Philosophical Society and the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences, and a corresponding member of the British Academy.
Student Life Committee Community Forum: Overview of BCB Budget and College Finances
Thursday, February 26, 2026 12:30–1:30 pm
Lecture Hall The Community Forum on February 26 will be on an overview of BCB Budget and College Finances. Please join us for a presentation on the BCB budget and college finances, given by Managing Director Dr. Florian Becker. We will discuss the annual budget, student financial aid, and the relationship between BCB and Bard College in Annandale.
The Community Forums are dedicated to bringing our entire community (staff, students, and faculty) together to discuss topics related to life at BCB. These are an opportunity to talk about anything on your mind or to ask questions that you have. They are co-hosted between the Student Life Committee and Student Parliament.
Lecture Hall This lecture by Dr. Boneace Chagara interrogates how Black and African identities are experienced and perceived across diverse cultural, geographic, and historical contexts. It contests historical demands for legibility and visibility— evident in mediated colonial narratives, ethnographic photography, and Enlightenment’s dismissal of Africa as ahistorical. From the creolized formations of the Caribbean to the ongoing negotiations of African heritage, Blackness manifests in irreducible multiplicity: rooted yet hybrid, ancestral yet reimagined, continental yet diasporic. Against the colonial imperative for transparency, Édouard Glissant’s “right to opacity” guarantees a politics of relation grounded in difference, irreducibility, and respect.
Organized by Tajah Oquisso '29 as part of Black History Month.
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