Event Archive

W15 Café  7:30 pm – 9:00 pm CET/GMT+1
Members of “DerDieDas Haus” and the BCB German Program will host an “Offenes Haus” with snacks and drinks. 

The “DerDieDas Haus” is a living and learning community at BCB with a special focus on German language and culture. Students with an interest in exploring German in their daily lives share a designated floor in one of our residence halls. They use German amongst each other during the week and engage in extracurricular activities in the city. To find out more about how the projects works, how to apply for a place etc., please join us on Wednesday, December 6, at 7:30pm in the Café at W15.

Swap Shop (P24 garden)  12:00 pm – 2:00 pm CET/GMT+1
Join us on Wednesday, December 6th, for an enjoyable afternoon featuring: Thrifting - Explore a diverse collection of clothes, accessories, and useful items waiting for new owners. Live Music - Groove to the tunes performed by talented BCB students while you browse through the Swap Shop. Snacks and Hot Drinks - Treat yourself to delicious snacks and warm beverages while embracing the spirit of sustainability.This is your final chance this semester to swap, shop, and connect with the community in an eco-friendly way. Let's celebrate the joy of giving and sustainable practices together!

We're hoping for a delightful day! See you at the Little Red Cabin on Wednesday, December 6th, during lunchtime.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Rejoice! ✨

  Wein Salon, Schreinerstraße 59, Friedrichshain, 10247 Berlin  8:00 pm – 10:00 pm CET/GMT+1
It is a tradition that the writers in Clare Wigfall's fiction writing workshop give a much-anticipated reading of their work as the finale of their course. Once again, they are returning to the charming Wein Salon in Friedrichshain. This semester we are delighted to present a mini literary salon series running over two nights with two groups of Clare's writing students! Please join us for these cozy and intimate (but also a little bit riotous, let's be frank) evenings of beautiful and surprising stories and words (and perhaps even a little music) written by the students. All BCB students, alumni, friends, and faculty members are warmly welcome.

Writers presenting: Peri Benjamin, Ava Dubbelboer, Jude Fieldman, Marley Heltai, Leonie Hüppe, Simone Kyle, Guy Levy, Clara Lieber, Taycia Linford Perez Harri Thomas.

K24, seminar room 11  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CET/GMT+1
Are you volunteering or active in projects on or off campus? Are you (interested in) taking BCB and OSUN courses that relate to civic engagement and social justice? 

The Civic Engagement certificate program provides a structured path for students to merge curricular and co-curricular civic engagement interests and efforts and deepen their knowledge and understanding in the field. The Certificate is offered at partner institutions across OSUN. Learn more about the requirements here.

We especially encourage students in their 2nd year to apply for the certificate. Apply here. Application deadline: December 31. Questions? Reach out to: [email protected].

View the Civic Engagement certificate presentation slides here.

Online Event  5:30 pm – 6:30 pm CET/GMT+1
Join us for an online presentation with Bard College Berlin alumnus Simon Kastberg '21 about paid traineeship opportunities for graduates in the European Union institutions. Simon, who worked with EU institutions, will cover the different opportunities available in the Council, the Parliament, and the Commission and go through the various application processes.

The event is aimed at current students and alumni who have an interest in working in the EU institutions. Join via Zoom.

P98 SR2  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CET/GMT+1
This talk by Ostap Sereda, Ph.D. will deal with academic culture and identity politics of Ukrainian and East European exile scholarship in North America after the World War II, institutional and intellectual history of emerging Ukrainian studies in North American universities, and the influence of the “Cold War university” on academic mapping and conceptual understanding of Eastern Europe.

The main focus is on the history of the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University (HURI) that since its foundation at the turn of the 1970s challenged both the paradigm of Russian and East European Studies in American universities and ethno-centric tradition of the Ukrainian immigrant scholarly institutions. It became an interesting factor of the international relations, academic and cultural politics at the time of the Cold War and its aftermath, and later tremendously contributed to the transformation of humanities and social studies in post-Soviet Ukraine. The talk will present initial results of the research in the archives of the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute that reveal an extensive network of scholars and politicians involved in Eastern European studies in North America.

Ostap Sereda received his Ph.D. in comparative history from the Central European University in 2003. He teaches modern history at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv and at the Central European University in Vienna. In March 2022, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Sereda became the program director of a transnational academic project, the "Invisible University for Ukraine". His publications deal with the political discourses and cultural practices of nationalism in nineteenth-century Ukraine. His current research project is on the institutional history of Ukrainian studies in North America in the time of the Cold War.

P98a Lecture Hall (Platanenstraße 98a, 13156 Berlin)  10:45 am – 12:15 pm CET/GMT+1
This public panel is part of the Democratizing Globalization Working Group - November 2023 Conference.  The Democratizing Globalization Working Group is a three-year long project which brings together 25 scholars from wide-ranging fields—including international law scholars, political scientists, sociologists, and philosophers—to explore and address topics related to globalization. 

Panelists include:
● Kai Koddenbrock, Bard College Berlin
● Catherine Musuva, University of Witwatersrand
● Virginie Laurent, Universidad de los Andes
● Shahidur Rahman, Brac University

The Factory  10:45 am – 1:30 pm CET/GMT+1
This workshop held in conjunction with the course Postcolonial Politics (PS179) invites participants to explore the occult as a reservoir of historical insights, and embark on the creation of a non-linear understanding of the past through artistic and diverse methodologies. These may include the utilization of objects, engaging in performative and imaginative exercises, drawing inspiration from cinematic references, and employing various writing techniques. The aim of this workshop is to encourage participants to engage in historical knowledge production beyond the institutional archive, and to explore and challenge our understanding of personal and collective histories.

To fully participate in the workshop, attendees are asked to bring a personal object or provide documentation of one (in case it is not physically available). This documentation can take the form of a written description, a printed photograph, or a drawing.
The chosen object should encompass at least two of the following dimensions: An artifact that has been passed down through multiple generations within your family. An object that raises questions regarding its origin, purpose, or wondership. A cherished item that evokes suspicion regarding its provenance. An object that possesses suggestive symbolic value. An item that has either endured or borne witness to acts of imperial violence. An object that has been lost or stolen, imbuing it with a sense of mystery and absence.

Hagar Ophir is a Berlin-based Jewish multidisciplinary artist. Trained as a historian, stage designer and dancer, her works establish history as a space for action and imagination of possible presents beyond separations of time, nation-states and ideologies. Hagar is a fellow artist in Laba Berlin 2023. Her works as an independent artist and a member of Public Movement (2008-2019) were shown worldwide, including Fundació-Tàpies, Barcelona, Vågestykke-KORO, Kunsthall 3.14 Bergen, Jewish-Museum Frankfurt am Main, Asian Art Biennial Taipei, Santarcangelo festival and more. In 2020, she co-founded the Berlin-based: collective: mitkollektiv, and co-directed their project Reimagine Jetzt!

Juna Suleiman is a Palestinian filmmaker currently based in Berlin. Her feature-length documentary film Mussolini's Sister, which debuted at IDFA in 2018, has received international nominations and awards. Since 2008, Juna has served as the casting director for numerous internationally renowned films, including The Time that Remains and It Must Be Heaven by Elia Suleiman, Omar by Hany Abu Asaad, and Let It Be Morning by Eran Kolirin, among others. She has acquired extensive expertise in the field and pioneered the establishment of film casting as a local Palestinian production department. Additionally, Juna has been closely collaborating as an editor with various academic, archival, and artistic projects. Notable examples include her work with academic and researcher Ariella Azoulay from Brown University on The World Like a Jewel in the Hand (2022), and There is a Baba in our House by Leil Zahra (Centre of Human Rights and Arts, Bard College, 2020). Juna has also been exploring the art of performance, taking on roles as an actor in "Let it be Morning" by Eran Kolirin, and as a performer in projects like "Recalling History" by Hagar Ophir, both within the realms of cinema and performing arts.

Amerikahaus Munich (Karolinenplatz 3, 80333 Munich)  7:00 pm CET/GMT+1
Reporting from a war zone is never easy, especially when the frontlines are inside your own country. For the last decade, Nastya Stanko has distinguished herself inside Ukraine and abroad as one of the most respected and oft-cited journalists covering corruption, conflict, and Ukrainian state institutions. Since Russia's full-scale invasion last year, her reports embedded with Ukrainian troops have been watched and shared millions of times, bringing a gritty, authentic, at times uncomfortable, but always honest and revelatory picture of the war. In conversation with Joshua Yaffa, who has reported extensively from Ukraine for The New Yorker, Stanko will address the many aspects of the war that are often overlooked in international headlines: the murky lines between the personal and the professional, her own loss and trauma, the need to remain skeptical of power, encounters with censorship and taboos in covering the war, and assessment of how Western media present the conflict. She and Yaffa will also discuss the current state of the war and the prospects for its resolution, drawing on Stanko's fine-grained and sensitive understanding of both Ukrainian society and its soldiers. Both Stanko and Yaffa will draw on their own experiences and reporting from Ukraine to bring to light stories that are bracing, challenging, and revealing.

Nastya Stanko is editor-in-chief of Slidstvo, a Ukrainian investigative outlet. Previously, she was chief editor and a longtime correspondent at Hromadske. She is the recipient of numerous international prizes, including The International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists. 

Joshua Yaffa is a contributing writer for The New Yorker, where he covers Russia and Ukraine. He is also the author of Between Two Fires: Truth, Ambition, and Compromise in Putin's Russia, which won the Orwell Prize in 2021. He is currently the inaugural writer-in-residence at Bard College Berlin.

V. V. Rozanov’s Affinities with the Spring Torrents Youth Movement
Lecture Hall  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CET/GMT+1
Vasily Vasilevich Rozanov (1856-1919) is a Russian writer, modernist thinker, literary and cultural critic, intellectual provocateur, and, above all, the author of unique fragmentary prose collections that Soul Bellow once called “charming, strange books.” He is also the author of polarizing anti-Semitic pamphlets and far-right populist articles that played a prominent role in the so-called Beilis Affair. Rozanov’s work thus raises questions about the relationship between philosophical and artistic ideas on the one hand, and chauvinistic, authoritarian, and racist ideologies on the other. As one of its early critics put the question: Is the "situation" integral to the "metaphysics?" In other words, can we accept Rosanov’s philosophical image of the world while bracketing – as much of the Rozanov scholarship has done - his collaboration with the anti-Semitic press, and the "pogrom" rhetoric of his feuilletons and editorials?

Arguing for the necessity of a Rosanov debate similar to those on Martin Heidegger, Emil M. Cioran, or Paul de Man, this talk seeks to stage this debate in two relatively unknown contexts. The first is Rozanov's collaboration with the ultranationalist informal youth movement gathered around the student journal Spring Torrents [Вешние Воды] (1914-1918), which shows his national radicalism as a fundamental mode of thinking. The second, the Russian émigré attitudes toward Rozanov of two former members of Spring Torrents circle illustrate two approaches to the question of the metaphysics-and-the-situation: silence and embracing both as an organic whole. These reflect the development of émigré ideological shifts from radical nationalism toward international socialism and further towards fascism.

Organized by the Faculty Colloquium Organizing Team: Gale Raj-Reichert, Ewa Atanassow, Nina Tecklenburg

Online  7:30 pm – 9:00 pm CET/GMT+1
Online lecture by Jackie Murray, Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Kentucky and Associate Professor of Classics, SUNY Buffalo.

Plato's Republic is considered a foundational text of 'Western' thought. We nevertheless confront the fact that it emerged from a society based on slavery, and that it evokes slavery not only in its dramatic encounters and themes, but in its very rhetoric and imagery. For theorists seeking to understand the development of human social formations, the text represents an important document of testimony as well as of intervention. What is the connection between the kinds of slavery Republic contains and the variants of this institution that develop in the modern and contemporary eras? What (if any) is the role played by race? And what, finally, is the relation between slavery and Plato's concepts of justice and political power?

To receive the link to the lecture, email Prof. Dr. Tracy Colony.

Bard College Berlin (Lecture Hall), Platanenstr. 98A, 13156 Berlin  7:00 pm – 9:00 pm CET/GMT+1
Reporting from a war zone is never easy, especially when the frontlines are inside your own country. For the last decade, Nastya Stanko has distinguished herself inside Ukraine and abroad as one of the most respected and oft-cited journalists covering corruption, conflict, and Ukrainian state institutions. Since Russia's full-scale invasion last year, her reports embedded with Ukrainian troops have been watched and shared millions of times, bringing a gritty, authentic, at times uncomfortable, but always honest and revelatory picture of the war. In conversation with Joshua Yaffa, who has reported extensively from Ukraine for The New Yorker, Stanko will address the many aspects of the war that are often overlooked in international headlines: the murky lines between the personal and the professional, her own loss and trauma, the need to remain skeptical of power, encounters with censorship and taboos in covering the war, and assessment of how Western media present the conflict. She and Yaffa will also discuss the current state of the war and the prospects for its resolution, drawing on Stanko's fine-grained and sensitive understanding of both Ukrainian society and its soldiers. Both Stanko and Yaffa will draw on their own experiences and reporting from Ukraine to bring to light stories that are bracing, challenging, and revealing.

Register for the public discussion here.

Nastya Stanko is editor-in-chief of Slidstvo, a Ukrainian investigative outlet. Previously, she was chief editor and a longtime correspondent at Hromadske. She is the recipient of numerous international prizes, including The International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists. 

Joshua Yaffa is a contributing writer for The New Yorker, where he covers Russia and Ukraine. He is also the author of Between Two Fires: Truth, Ambition, and Compromise in Putin's Russia, which won the Orwell Prize in 2021. He is currently the inaugural writer-in-residence at Bard College Berlin.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the speakers only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Lecture Hall  11:00 am – 1:30 pm CET/GMT+1
“KNOW THYSELF” (ΓΝΩΘΙ СΑΥΤΟΝ) is the title of Ai Weiwei’s new exhibition that opened this September at Berlin’s neugerriemschneider gallery. Echoing the famous inscription on the ancient Greek Temple of Apollo at Delphi, this exhortation is traditionally associated with the figure of Socrates and the pursuit of an examined life. It is also a core ideal of Bard College Berlin. And yet, what does it mean to know oneself? Why and how should individuals and cultures strive for this ideal? And what is art’s role in urging and shaping the quest for self-knowledge?

Bard College Berlin is pleased to invite you to a panel discussion with Ai Weiwei, one of the most versatile and thought-provoking artists of our time, who is also a global civic activist and documentarian. Starting with the current exhibition at neugerriemschneider gallery, faculty members Ewa Atanassow and Geoff Lehman and senior student Jiayao Lilith Gao will engage Ai in a conversation about artworks from the exhibition, the relationship of his work to diverse traditions and cultural canons, and his vision of art’s power to reflect upon and to inspire global transformations. 

The seating is limited. To attend, please register here.

  W15 Cafe (Waldstraße 15, 13156 Berlin, Germany)  7:30 pm – 9:00 pm CET/GMT+1
Author Jennifer Neal (USA/Australia/Germany) will discuss her novel Notes on her Color as part of LitFest 2023. 
Moderator: Rebecca Rukeyser
Language: English

About the novel: Florida provides the backdrop for this coming of age novel, centered on Gabrielle, a young Black and Indigenous woman who learns to change the color of her skin. Her complicated relationship with her mother, Tallulah, revolves around this ability and is tested when Tallulah is hospitalized for a mental health crisis. As Gabrielle navigates life without her mother's guidance, she discovers new relationships, music, and the power of love to liberate her from her family's complex dynamics.

About the author: Jennifer W. Neal, born in the USA, is an artist, writer, producer, stand-up comedian, and occasional musician. Her debut novel, Notes on Her Color (Catapult & Penguin Random House Australia), was published in 2023. She is currently working on her second book, My Pisces Heart, due out in fall 2024. In addition to her writing, she produces bi-monthly programs and international documentaries for "Deutsche Welle". These cover topics such as human rights, social justice, and feminist jurisprudence. In 2021 she received the MacDowell Fellowship. The author lives in Berlin.

Learning Commons (W16)  5:30 pm – 7:30 pm CET/GMT+1
This two-hour workshop introduces students to the main components of an effective, engaging presentation. Topics include the difference between written and oral arguments, the importance of nonverbal body language, and how to integrate visual aids into a presentation.

  W15 Cafe  5:30 pm – 6:30 pm CET/GMT+1
This event features Bard College Berlin students reading from their works of creative writing, fiction, and poetry as part of LitFest 2023.

Moderators: Martin Widmann & Rebecca Rukeyser
Language: English

  W15 Cafe (Waldstraße 15, 13156 Berlin, Germany)  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CET/GMT+1
Authors Yang Lian (Switzerland/China) & Nhã Thuyên (Vietnam) will discuss the topic of Poetry & Politics – Reading and Conversation as part of LitFest 2023. Both authors will read poetry from their recently published books and discuss topics such as writing in exile, translation, and publishing poetry across borders and languages.

Moderators: Ewa Atanassow & Miyu Sasaki
Language: English, Chinese, Vietnamese

About Yang Lian: Yang Lian is a Chinese poet who, since 1989, has been living in exile. Born in Bern in 1955 to Chinese diplomats, he grew up in Beijing and emerged as a poet during the "Beijing Spring" (1978–1980). His extensive travels from 1978 to 1983 inspired major poetic works, including "Nuorilang." He gained recognition for his ‘modernistic’ poetry, which he published in the underground journal "Jintian." Yang Lian's literary prowess has earned him many awards, most recently the English PEN Award (2023) and the inaugural Sarah Maguire Prize for Poetry in Translation (2021).

About Nhã Thuyên: Nhã Thuyên, born in 1986 in northern Vietnam, is a poet, writer, and editor. She co-founded AJAR, a micro-bilingual literary journal promoting poetic expression. Nhã Thuyên often moves between languages, experimenting with translations and poetic forms. She recently curated an exhibition "tôi viết (tiếng Việt) / i write (in Vietnamese)" with works that question the possibilities of the Vietnamese language. Her book "vị nước" will be published soon. She lives in Hà Nội and is in Berlin as a DAAD Berlin Artist Fellow 2023.

  W15 Cafe (Waldstraße 15, 13156 Berlin, Germany)  7:00 pm – 8:30 pm CET/GMT+1
This event will feature two writers reading from their respective novels as part of LitFest 2023. 

Author Tomer Dotan-Dreyfus (Germany/Israel) will discuss his novel Birobidschan, and author Vincenzo Latronico (Italy/Germany) will discuss his novel Die Perfektionen / The Perfections.
Moderators: Martin Widmann & Laura Scuriatti
Languages: German, English, Italian

About Birobidschan: In 1908, a mysterious explosion rocks the Siberian forest of Tunguska. Two decades later, Stalin plans the establishment of a Jewish-socialist autonomy called Birobidschan on the Chinese border. At the heart of the story are Alex and Rachel, who have been in love since childhood, along with other captivating characters. Life in Birobidschan descends into chaos when two strangers and a mute girl disrupt the community. Tomer Dotan-Dreyfus' novel Birobidschan tells the story of a Jewish-socialist shtetl in Siberia, drawing from the Yiddish storytelling tradition and magical realism.
About Tomer Dotan-Dreyfus: Tomer Dotan-Dreyfus, born in Haifa in 1987, has been living in Berlin for a decade, working as a freelance author, poet, and translator in Hebrew and German. He holds a background in philosophy and comparative literature from universities in Berlin, Vienna, and Paris. Dotan-Dreyfus was awarded a Berlin Senate grant in 2020 for his project Birobidschan and participated in the 2021 Jewish Writers in Translation program. In 2021 he took part in the Meridian Czernowitz International Poetry Festival. His most recent publications are the essay collection Meine Forschung zum O: Unlearning Sprache (2022, Gans Verlag Berlin) and Birobidschan (2023, Voland & Quist), his Deutscher Buchpreis-longlisted debut novel.

About Die Perfektionen: In the early 2000s, Anna and Tom move to Berlin to experience freedom and pursue an alternative lifestyle. They work as web designers and live as digital nomads. However, while they enjoy their idealized life, they begin to feel an unfulfilled longing for authenticity and contentment. They wonder if there is a better place that meets their needs beyond social media and perfectly curated surfaces.
About Vincenzo Latronico: Vincenzo Latronico, born in Rome in 1984, is a writer and translator. He has translated texts by Oscar Wilde, George Orwell, and Isaac Asimov into Italian, and most recently has focused on new translations of nineteenth-century classics, including works by H. G. Wells, Oscar Wilde, and George Gissing. Latronico has published several novels and written for the theater. His award-winning second novel was published under the title Die Verschwörung der Tauben in German in 2016 (Secession). With his latest novel, The Perfections, he was shortlisted for the prestigious Premio Strega in 2023. The author lives and works in Berlin.

Lecture Hall  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CET/GMT+1
Presentation and discussion by Lev Danilkin. Danilkin has just finished writing a biographical book on Irina Antonova (1922-2020), the director of Moscow Pushkin Art Museum, and found there a curious story which helps to explain the main sociological mystery of the current war: the shockingly widespread support of the Russian population for the invasion and terror against their immediate neighbors. It is the case with “spoils of war” (WWII) which was widely discussed during 1990s: how museums triggered a new wave of nationalism and how a purely intra-museum issue of restitution of “displaced valuables” provoked a full-scale change in the political course of the Russian Federation in the late 1990s and led to the acquisition of a new identity by the population: Russians, due to uncompensated post-war trauma, “owe nothing to anyone” - and "may repeat" any time.

Lev Danilkin is a writer and literary critic, born in 1974 in Ukraine. He graduated from the Faculty of Philology of Moscow State University in 1996. He is the author of four biographical books, a book of short stories and three books of literary criticism about contemporary Russian literature. The book Lenin has won the 1st prize of the Big Book Literary Award (2017). The books The Man with Egg (2007) and Lenin (2017) were shortlisted for the National Bestseller Prize.

Organized by the Faculty Colloquium Organizing Team: Gale Raj-Reichert, Ewa Atanassow, Nina Tecklenburg

W15 Cafe  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CET/GMT+1
In this program, Dr. Ahmad Ghani Khosrawi will discuss the seven stages of Sufism: Repentance, Piousness, Asceticism, Poverty, Patience, Trust, and Reza. The lecture will be delivered in Persian.

درین برنامه راجع به هفت مقام صوفیه؛ توبه، ورع، زهد، فقر، صبر، توکل و رضا همچنین راجع به ده حال صوفیه؛ مراقبه، قرب، محبت و عشق، خوف، رجاء، شوق، انس، اطمینان، مشاهده و یقین صحبت خواهیم کرد.

W15 Cafe (Waldstraße 15, 13156 Berlin, Germany)  A two-day event celebrating the work of writers working across linguistic and national boundaries. This event is free and open to the public, no registration is needed. Generously supported by Foundation Charles Haimoff.

Wednesday, November 22
7pm-8:30pm: Novel Readings by Tomer Dotan-Dreyfus (Germany/Israel) on Birobidschan & Vincenzo Latronico (Italy/Germany) on Die Perfektionen / The Perfections
Moderators: Martin Widmann & Laura Scuriatti
Languages: German, English, Italian

Thursday, November 23
12:30pm-1:30pm: Yang Lian (Switzerland/China) & Nhã Thuyên (Vietnam): Poetry & Politics – Reading and Conversation
Moderators: Ewa Atanassow & Martin Widmann
Language: English, Chinese, Vietnamese

5:30pm-6:30pm: BCB Student Reading
Moderators: Martin Widmann & Rebecca Rukeyser
Language: English

7:30pm-9:00pm: Jennifer Neal (USA/Australia/Germany): Notes on her Color Novel Reading
Moderator: Rebecca Rukeyser
Language: English

Read more about LitFest here.

neugerriemschneider gallery, Christinenstr. 18-19, 10119 Berlin  4:30 pm – 6:00 pm CET/GMT+1
KNOW THYSELF is the title of Ai Weiwei’s new exhibition on display in the neugerriemschneider gallery. Dr. Geoff Lehman and Prof. Dr. Ewa Atanassow will guide a visit to neugerriemschneider gallery to view and discuss the exhibition. This event is a preparation for Ai Weiwei's visit to BCB on Saturday, November 25.

Register for the exhibition tour here.

W15 Cafe  6:00 pm – 8:00 pm CET/GMT+1
Come join us to celebrate Diwali: A festival of lights! Diwali gets its name from the row (avali) of clay lamps (deepa) that is lit and placed outside of people's homes to protect them from spiritual darkness. Originally a Hindi tradition, this 5-day festival has now become one of the biggest holidays celebrated by all across India and the world. On the main day of the festivities is a feast, so come stop by for a bite to eat and to celebrate the festival of lights together right here on BCB's campus!

Organized by the student body and DEI Office.

W15 Cafe  2:00 pm – 3:30 pm CET/GMT+1
BCB’s Internship Seminar is excited to host a talk by Dominique Haensell, a Berlin-based writer, translator, and editor. Born in the UK and raised in Germany, she studied English Philology, Comp Lit, and Critical Theory at the FU Berlin and King’s College London. In 2019, she completed a PhD at the JFKI’s Graduate School of North American Studies and her award-winning monograph Making Black History: Diasporic Fiction in the Moment of Afropolitanism was published in 2021. Dominique is co-editor-in-chief of Germany’s foremost feminist magazine, Missy (on sabbatical), and is currently working on a hybrid memoir about Afro-German identity, British colonialism, and her family’s relationship to German colonial Africa (The White Rasta, forthcoming with Luchterhand). She has been on the jury of various literary awards, regularly moderates literary panels, and is a member of different research groups such as Women of Color Resist and the African Atlantic Research Group (AARG).

The lecture is open to all students.

Lecture Hall  8:00 pm – 9:30 pm CET/GMT+1
An East African Circle is a film produced by first-year students Roos and Veerle. It is about their backpacking experience in East Africa, where they lived for two years. It addresses the biases, prejudices, and stereotypes that East Africa often encounters.

Organized by Veerle Koops and Roos Postema.

What impacts chip companies in Germany in their restructuring of global production networks?
Lecture Hall  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CET/GMT+1
Geopolitics and global supply chain redundancy and resilience concerns have led to a rise in semiconductor-related industrial policy worldwide. This is also evident in recent EU policy-making, in particular the EU Chips Act and the Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs) funding policy for microelectronics. These legislations allow for the provision of subsidies by EU member states to semiconductor R&D and production investments in the EU. We analyze these policies and what they mean for semiconductor firms' investment decisions in Germany as part of restructuring their global production networks. We present empirical data and preliminary findings based on interviews conducted in 2023 with global semiconductor companies, policymakers and experts in Germany.

Presentation and discussion by Gale Raj-Reichert and Tobias Wuttke. Part of the Faculty Colloquium Series.

Gale Raj-Reichert is Professor of Politics at Bard College Berlin. She holds a PhD in development studies from the University of Manchester Global Development Institute (2012) and teaches in the Politics concentration at Bard College Berlin. She is currently a principal investigator of a research project on geographical reconfigurations of global production networks in a post-COVID-19 global economy (funded by the German Research Fund 2023 to 2026).

Tobias Wuttke is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Bard College Berlin and is currently working on a three-year research project on "Global production post Covid-19: Assessing the geographical restructuring of firms and industries in global production networks", with a focus on the semiconductor industry. He holds a PhD in International Studies from Roskilde University, Denmark. His research focuses on economic development, global value chains and industrial policy.

Organized by the Faculty Colloquium Organizing Team: Gale Raj-Reichert, Ewa Atanassow, Nina Tecklenburg

Learning Commons (W16)  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CET/GMT+1
This one-hour workshop guides students through a series of helpful research strategies, including developing a research question, generating search terms, and using online databases specifically for HAST topics. Participants are asked to bring their own computer/personal device.

K24 SR11  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CET/GMT+1
Student Life invites you to attend our series of programs aimed at supporting students as you make plans for post-graduation life. 

Career Goal Support 
Date: Tuesday, 14 November
Time: 12:30-13:30
Location: K24 SR11
In this workshop you will learn how to navigate your job search for the German Labor Market. Where can you look for jobs? What job engines and newsletters are out there? Not only for German companies but also international ones located in Germany or Europe or vice versa. Where can you find funding for projects and also free consulting services and additional aid in Berlin for your career vision.

You and Your Residence Permit after Graduation
Date: Wednesday, 15 November
Time: 12:30-13:30
Location: K24 SR11
If you’re interested in staying in Germany, there’s no time like the present to be thinking about what comes after your student residence permit*! We will discuss the different options including extending the student permit for graduate studies and Amber will do her best to demystify the LEA by sharing tips, tricks, and timelines for navigating the process. 
*Student residence permits expire with exmatriculation unless you’re enrolled in another degree program and the specific program isn’t stipulated in your residence permit!

Bureaucracy in Reverse: Paperwork, Contracts, Housing, and More!
Date: Thursday, 16 November
Time: 12:30-13:30
Location: K24 SR11
You did it, but now what? Come learn about how to wrap up your time at BCB and transition to your next adventure, be that in Berlin or across the globe. 
In this session we will cover:  How to wrap up your academic time at BCB What bureaucratic paperwork you need to take care of Finding off campus housing

Holzmarktstraße 25, 10243 Berlin  2:00 pm – 6:00 pm CET/GMT+1
In this workshop with artist, DJ, and researcher Francisca Rocha Gonçalves, participants will explore the depths of aquatic environments and discover the hidden soundscapes of aquatic life. Using specialized equipment such as hydrophones, they will embark on a journey to listen, record, and connect with the underwater world. In the process, participants will gain a better understanding of the ecological importance of underwater soundscapes. Part of the Experimental Humanities Collaborative Network (EHCN) skills-based workshops series. Register here by November 7.

Francisca Rocha Gonçalves is a researcher from Porto, currently living in Berlin. Recently worked on the AQUATAG project at the IGB Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries. Has a background in biological sciences with a degree in Veterinary Medicine from ICBAS (University of Porto), a Multimedia Master in Interactive Music and Sound Design from FEUP (University of Porto), and a PhD in Digital Media from FEUP (University of Porto). The research focuses on acoustic ecology in artistic creation as a tool for environmental awareness concerning underwater soundscapes. Developing artistic artefacts that reveal the problem of noise pollution in underwater environments is possible to understand changes in vibration and particle motion, both vital components in aquatic life. She is presently working for ICARUS, collaborating with Dr Johannes Goessling and Luis Aranda. ICARUS is an arts-science project that focuses on the photonic properties of diatoms and creates upscaled ice sculptures of their internal shells. She's also a co-founder of the artistic collective Openfield Creative Lab and the Ocean Soundscape Awareness project – ØSAW.

Meet us online!
Online Event  3:00 pm – 7:45 pm CET/GMT+1
Interested in Bard College Berlin? Save the date and join us on November 11 for Virtual Open Day! 

You will have the chance to join a conversation with current students, and attend informational sessions about our degree programs, student life, campus facilities, and more.

Please register for the Virtual Open Day sessions at this link.

The Factory, K24  10:00 am – 2:00 pm CET/GMT+1
Join the Student Health Advocates for a morning of wellness: 10-11am, Yoga in the Factory; 11am-12pm, Gardening at K24; 12-1pm, Pancakes and Hot Cocoa in the K24 Kitchen; 1-2pm, Journaling

Lecture Hall  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CET/GMT+1
Most discussions on academic freedom ignore the capability dimension. Even in the absence of government oppression, academics may face pressures that prevent them from pursuing their research agendas. This talk will explore how the intersection of precarity and invisible work in academia reinforces traditional patterns of gendered division of labor, resulting in the feminization of academic precarity, and the devaluation of the academic enterprise as a whole with damaging effects on academic freedom.

Presentation and discussion by Aysuda Kölemen. Kölemen received her Ph.D. in political science at the University of Georgia, Athens, USA. She manages TSI-OSUN, a fellowship program for at-risk scholars, at Bard College Berlin. Her research examines the link between social state policies and discourses on inequality, religiosity and family. Her current work focuses on the combined threat that autocratization and precarious academic employment poses to academic freedom. She recently co-edited Academic Freedom and Precarity in the Global North: Free as a Bird with Aslı Vatansever (Routledge, 2022).

Organized by the Faculty Colloquium Organizing Team: Gale Raj-Reichert, Ewa Atanassow, Nina Tecklenburg

W15  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CET/GMT+1
Come learn about the Civic Engagement Fellowship. The fellowship will open for next spring semester, so come hear a presentation about fellowship requirements and the application process. 

In addition, your fellow student Abdullah Naseer will present about his personal project that he has been working on as a Civic Engagement fellow over the past year.

W15 Cafe  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CET/GMT+1
All members of the BCB community are invited to gather for a series of discussions on important topics relating to campus life.

For November's discussion, come chat with the new Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Lauren Gaillard, and discuss DEI-focussed community outreach with the Civic Engagement Manager Faiza zu Lynar. 

Lecture Hall P98a  3:45 pm – 5:15 pm CET/GMT+1
Kim Todzi (University of Hamburg) will present his much much-discussed economic history of the Hamburg-based Woermann corporation between 1837 to 1916, its role in Cameroon and during the genocide in Namibia. 
Part of the political economy of liberation and self-reliance series.

Part of BCB's Understanding Politics seminar.

Kim Todzi:
Kim Sebastian Todzi, geb. 1981, Wissenschaftlicher Koordinator der Forschungsstelle »Hamburgs (post-)koloniales Erbe / Hamburg und die frühe Globalisierung«, Forschungsschwerpunkte: Verflechtungsgeschichte Westafrikas und Nordeuropas, Geschichte des globalen Südens

P98a Lecture Hall  1:00 pm – 2:00 pm CET/GMT+1
Join us for an in-person info session on "Applying to Graduate Schools in Germany: What are your options and how to boost your chances” presented by Mr. Matthew Poet from the Hertie School, one of Europe’s top policy schools (Berlin, Germany).

Located in the Lecture Hall of P98a.

P98a Lecture Hall  7:00 pm – 10:30 pm CET/GMT+1
In 2010, a series of anti-government protests started in the south of the Mediterranean. They are known as the “Arab Spring”. But why are they called a "Spring"? And why "Arab"?

In this talk, Samir Aita will elaborate on the major events that have characterized “Arab” countries since the disappearance of the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires. He will address questions of identity, and show why nothing like the European Union has developed between these states. 

The talk will also delve into the specific challenges in the region, specifically for young people who will be tasked with leading their countries in the future. Where do they see fields for action – economic and political? How can peace and development be brought back, and what is Germany’s role in that process?

Register here.

Samir Aita is the President of the Cercle des Economistes Arabes and is a lecturer of political economy at Paris Dauphine University, Paris-Panthéon-Assas University, and Saint Joseph University in Beirut, Lebanon.

Learning Commons (W16)  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CET/GMT+1
This one-hour workshop guides students through a series of helpful research strategies, including developing a research question, generating search terms, and using online databases specifically for EPST topics. Participants are asked to bring their own computer/personal device.

W15 Cafe  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CET/GMT+1
Please join the literature faculty of the college for a meeting at 12:30 in the W15 café on Monday (November 6) for a discussion about studying literature at BCB. We will review new courses for Spring 2024, and the elements of the Literature and Rhetoric concentration. Refreshments will be served. 

The remaining faculty-student meeting this semester focuses on Economics (December 5). 

P98a Lecture Hall  7:15 pm – 9:15 pm CET/GMT+1
Moving in Mayhem screening program, curated by Stanislava Ovchinnikova in collaboration with the archive of 80+ films collected by Let the Body Speak project, delves into the Ukrainian contemporary dance scene as it adapts and responds to the ongoing Russian war. The program features ten short films that address changes brought by the full-scale invasion: some deal with the tanks becoming part of the cityscape and birthdays celebrated in the bomb shelters, while others take a more metaphorical approach, investigating themes of the eternal struggle between good and evil, or examining feelings of uncertainty, anxiety, and longing through body language.

Stanislava Ovchinnikova is a trauma-focused interdisciplinary artist and curator whose interests lie primarily in the area of politically engaged artistic practices. She curated Moving in Mayhem as a resident of Ukraine Solidarity Residencies Programme in Finland with support of Helsinki International Artist Programme as part of her ongoing efforts to create spaces for intercultural dialogue and critical engagement.

K24 SR11  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CET/GMT+1
This info session will go over The Open Society University Network Civic Engagement (OSUN CE)'s 2024 Get Engaged Conference. For the first time, the conference will take place here in Berlin (off campus), so many of you will get to take part in open events as part of the conference agenda. The in-person info session on November 2 will take place in K24, hosted by Faiza & Maheen, BCB Civic Engagement team, for all interested BCB students.

In addition, there will be an online info session on November 1, 4pm Berlin time. Hosted by Erin Cannan, Vice President for Civic Engagement at Bard College Annandale. Open to all students in the OSUN network. Join via Zoom.

Get Engaged is a student leadership and civic engagement focused conference. The conference brings together students who lead community based projects together from across the Open Society University Network. Students share lessons learned, discuss challenges and opportunities, collaborate on network initiatives and attend skills-based leadership workshops that include leadership, public speaking, networking, community partnerships, innovation and creativity, fundraising and grant writing, and emotional intelligence. In 2023, 6 BCB students participated. For more about last year's conference, see here.

Get Engaged 2024 WHAT TO EXPECT:
- All applicants are required to check in with their OSUN CE coordinators (Faiza and Maheen) about their application before submitting. Office hours: Tue & Thu 12 - 4 pm.
- Recommendation letters: need to come from someone else other than civic engagement coordinators - Cohort sizes will be between 1-3 students per school
- Decisions will be sent out by the OSUN Civic Engagement team by December 15, 2023.
- Special case for BCB students: As the conference takes place in Berlin, even if you are not among the participants who get to present their projects, there will be opportunities for you to get involved, to help out, or to join open events as part of the conference program

APPLICATION DEADLINE: November 15, 2023
CONFERENCE LOCATION: Berlin, Germany
CONFERENCE DATES: JUNE 24-JULY 1, 2024

Students applying for the conference opportunity must complete the application form.

P98a Lecture Hall (Platanenstraße 98a, 13156 Berlin)  7:00 pm – 9:00 pm CET/GMT+1
Joshua Yaffa, a correspondent for The New Yorker and the inaugural writer-in-residence at Bard College Berlin, has spent a career reporting and writing on Russia and Ukraine. That span has taken him from the Arctic Tundra in Russia's Far North to the grim front lines of the Donbass. Along the way, he has sought out people whose stories illustrate the rich, painful, complicated, and endlessly fascinating history and present of the region.

For his opening lecture, Yaffa will narrate his own journey as a Moscow correspondent and then, unexpectedly and tragically, as a war reporter in Ukraine. He will share what he has learned about both countries, their cultures and people, by opening up his reporter's notebook and returning to articles he has written over the years—at turns, stories of ambition, tragedy, and humor. Registration is open to students and the public through this Google Form. 

Joshua Yaffa is the inaugural writer-in-residence at Bard College Berlin. He is a contributing writer at The New Yorker, where he covers Russia and Ukraine. He is also the author of Between Two Fires: Truth, Ambition, and Compromise in Putin’s Russia, which was awarded the Orwell Prize in 2021.

W15 Cafe  12:00 pm – 4:00 pm CET/GMT+1
As many may have heard, the region of Herat in Afghanistan is going through a tough time. The earthquake on October 15 was the seventh to hit the region in the span of a week, after which the people affected have dealt with heavy storms that wrecked the temporary shelters. Now, with the approaching winter, there is an immediate need to support relief efforts in the region.

The Civic Engagement office would like to invite you to actively take part in a bakesale / donation collection event on Tuesday, October 31st from 12pm-4pm in the W15 Café. The collected donations will go to Aseel which is actively working on the ground in Herat, and you will be kept updated after the event. In addition, Aisha Khurram will speak at the event.

Sign up here to contribute homemade baked goods or artwork, or volunteer for a bakesale shift. Registration for contributions will be open through end of day Monday, Oct 30.

The Factory (Eichenstraße 43, 13156 Berlin)  7:30 pm – 9:45 pm CET/GMT+1
Join your Residential Assistants and Yensen LeBeau for the second annual Halloween Party! The event kicks off at 19:30 with an open mic, with snacks, music, and activities throughout the night.

Put your best Halloween costume together for your chance to win the costume contest! Prize categories include: Scariest, Best Impersonation, Least Effort, and Most Creative

K24 SR11 or Zoom (hybrid)  4:00 pm – 5:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
Join us for an enlightening public talk with Smolny Beyond Borders faculty / Gagarin fellow Andrei Rodin, as he delves into the uncertainties and challenges encompassing the durability of digital storages for archival purposes, a project funded by Maison de Sciences de l’Homme de Lorraine. In an era where digital archives form the backbone of historical, educational, and cultural repositories, Rodin's discourse will navigate critical questions: Will future generations be able to access or trust the data stored today? What measures can ensure the integrity of information against the tides of technological advancements or potential manipulation?

This talk isn't just about technology; it's about the intertwining paths of societal norms, technological evolutions, and historical preservation. By bridging perspectives from computer science, social sciences, and historical epistemology, Rodin's discussion aims to shed light on these looming concerns, exploring the technological and sociological landscapes that dictate the future reliability of our digital legacies. Whether you're a digital native, an archival enthusiast, or simply curious about the digital footprints we leave for posterity, this talk will spark a crucial conversation about the data we entrust to the digital ether.

This is a hybrid event. In-person location is K24 Seminar Room 11 (Kuckhoffstraße 24, 13156 Berlin).
Online option will be hosted via Zoom:
Zoom link
Meeting ID: 951 0784 6486
Passcode: 608209

ICI Berlin Institute for Cultural Inquiry (Christinenstr. 18/19, Haus 8 10119 Berlin)  4:00 pm – 9:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Registration for the "From Solar Futures to Future Solidarity" symposium will open on October 10 and will be accessible via this link. 

The symposium at the ICI Berlin in cooperation with Bard College Berlin is part of a larger project by Sara Castelo Branco entitled ‘Solarity Prospects’, which includes the exhibit 'Solar Capital', on show from 19 October – 5 November 2023 at ACUD Galerie – ACUD Macht Neu (curated by Hugo de Almeida Pinho with the sound collaboration by Manuel Sékou).

At the opening there will be a lecture-performance, 'After the Death of the Sun', by Luïza Luz. For further details please see here.
It is further accompanied by the film screening 'Solar Influx' on 24 October 2023 at Arsenal – Institute for Film and Video Art, with works by Colectivo Los Ingrávidos, Jérôme Cognet, Hugo de Almeida Pinho, and Susan Schuppli. For further details please see here.

Event description:
The sun has been a continuous element of utopian imagination — as a cultural form, an ideological power, and a spiritual force. The energy of the sun keeps the planet functional, regulates the metabolic rhythms of plants and animals, and is part of a contemporary global capital of technological and economic power. Some theories assert that solar emissions also have a biopolitical impact on human sociology, psychology, and historical events; they present a close correlation between the periods of highest solar activity and certain revolutionary or progressive movements.

In this sense, Michel Serres (1980) once defined the sun as our energetic horizon and the ‘ultimate capital’ in the history of modern religion, culture, ecology, and economy. Georges Bataille (1931) also discussed the sun as a constructive and destructive force shifting between order and disorder. One of the foundations of solar politics is its relationship to energy, which in the last centuries has shaped some ideologies related to work, capitalism, progress, imperialism, and productivism; and energy was also the founding basis for certain ethical and epistemological concepts in ecology (Simon-Stickley, 2021).

Solar energy constitutes one of the most important subjects in the current context of international politics: the circulation of power between those who control energy production and those who depend on it. Given this context, it’s crucial to transform solar energy into a possible mechanism of contestation against forms of authoritarianism, neoliberalism, autocratic systems, and climate crisis. Can this critical context be reassessed through concepts such as the ecosocialism of David Schwartzman (1996) or the solar communism of Michael Löwy (2011), which have their origins in the ecological movement as well as in the Marxist critique of political economy? These concepts, which are based in non-monetary and extra-economic criteria, take into account the preservation of ecological balance by opposing it to capitalist production systems. This might imply rescuing the Marxist idea of social justice and articulating it in a new relationship with nature.

Condemning forms of heliocentrism that develop procedures of marginality, appropriation, and energetic imperialism, this symposium will reflect on the complexities of solar energy. It encourages the idea that it is essential to seek solar futures and future solidarity outside of such procedures and to look for responses that promote a sustainable and equitable future in regard to the production of energy.

Speakers: Angela Anderson, Amanda Boetzkes, Michela Coletta, Ricardo Jorge Gafeira, Gökçe Günel, Kai Koddenbrock, Michael Marder, Oxana Timofeeva

Program:
16:00 Welcome and Introduction (Sara Castelo Branco and Claudia Peppel)16:00–18:00 Panel I  Gökçe Günel (online): Leapfrogging to Solar  Ricardo Jorge Gafeira: The Roles of the Sun Over the Last Centuries  Kai Koddenbrock: German Africa Policy. From Eurafrican Utopias to Another Scramble for African Resources?  Oxana Timofeeva: It Is Never Too Early to Decolonize the Sun 19:00–21:00 Panel II  Amanda Boetzkes (online): Capitalist Prize-Fighter. Solarity‘s Observers of Modern Life  Angela Anderson: Queer Eco-intersectional Luxury Communist Solarities. Against Capitalist Authoritarianism  Michela Coletta: Being Planetary. From Managerial Cartography to Post-anthropocentric Solidarity  Michael Marder (online): On Heraclitus, Fr. 6: "The Sun is New Every Day"In cooperation with ICI Berlin Institute for Cultural Inquiry. Organized by Sara Castelo Branco and Claudia Peppel.

Online  2:00 pm – 3:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
This hybrid lecture is part of the IS101 Republic Core course. Outside participants can attend online. 

Now celebrated as the first known author in literary history, Enheduana was a princess and priestess who lived more than four thousand years ago in what is now southern Iraq, about 2300 BCE. The poems attributed to her are hymns of great power, a rare flash of the female voice in the often male-dominated ancient world, treating themes that are as relevant today as they were four thousand years ago: exile, social disruption, the power of storytelling, the devastation of war, and the terrifying forces of nature. Sophus Helle, celebrated translator, writer, and cultural historian, will provide background on the historical context in which Enheduana’s poems were composed and circulated, the works’ literary structure and themes, and their reception in both the ancient and the modern world. Unjustly forgotten for millennia, Enheduana’s poems are essential reading for anyone interested in the literary history of women, religion, the environment, gender, authorship, and empire.

To receive the link for this event online please email Tracy Colony at [email protected].

Sophus Helle received his PhD in Comparative Literature from Aarhus University in 2020 and his MA in Assyriology from the University of Copenhagen in 2017. He was the winner of the European Young Researcher Award Popular Prize in 2020 and the Aarhus University Research Foundation PhD Prize in 2021. Since September 2021, he has been a postdoctoral fellow at Freie Universität Berlin with a stipend from the Carlsberg Foundation.

  W15 Cafe  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
All students, faculty, and staff are invited to a special Community Forum session on the topic “Israel and Palestine and the Bard College Berlin Community.” The session will be held today from 12:30-1:30pm in the W15 cafe. 
 

Swap Shop (garden behind P24)  12:00 pm – 2:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Welcome back to the Swap Shop! We want to open the doors to the little red cabin for you, a place on campus for thrifting and exchanging pretty and useful items that are too good to be thrown away and need a new home! We know you can't wait to take a peek inside. BCB students have been working hard, sorting through and washing the donated clothes, so that you can come by during lunch time on Thursday, October 19, to find a new winter jacket or a nice to item for your room! Besides the opportunity to sift through the Swap Shop, you will get to meet the student initiatives BCB Goes Green and Urban Gardening, to hear about their plans and how you can get involved.
Let's hope for sunny weather. There will be live music by BCB students, snacks, and hot drinks!

Want to get involved with green initiatives on campus? Let us know through this Google Form!

W15 Cafe  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
Sufism was formed at the end of the 8th century in Islamic countries, influenced by Christian mysticism and other religions and rituals. Sufism is a way in which a person wants to reach the truth with the help of a mentor and by self-cultivation. 

Lecture organized by Prof. Ahmad Ghani Khosrawi

W16 SR9  12:45 pm – 1:45 pm CEST/GMT+2
Come learn about study abroad scholarships and opportunities at OSUN institutions. 

Students petition in their second year to go abroad their third year. The study abroad petition form is due December 8.

W16 SR9  12:30 pm – 1:15 pm CEST/GMT+2
Are you interested in Berlin libraries and our own online resources but don’t know where to begin? Come for a short but sweet overview as well as an opportunity to get answers to your burning questions. Rushing around campus? Feel free to jump in anytime until 13:15. Everyone is welcome!

P98a Lecture Hall  12:30 pm – 2:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
POSTPONED to Friday, October 13. Please join us for an information session on the new dual degree MA program between Central European University and Bard College. Earn an MA in Global Studies from Bard College and an MA in International Relations from CEU in one year. Generous financial aid is available through the Open Society University Network. Free pizza!

Location: P98a Lecture Hall

Lecture Hall, Platanenstraße 98A, 13156 Berlin  7:00 pm – 9:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Molecular biology has been critical to the biotech industry for over forty years with the United States and Germany playing key roles in its development. These two countries, however, have rather divergent views on the ethical, social, and legal implications of genomic research. Myles Jackson will contrast various social aspects of genomics research in the two countries including gene patenting and intellectual property, genetic privacy, and the so-called biology of race. He will explain how science policy has been shaped by history and how academics can play a role in forging an ethical policy that does not discredit the scientific enterprise.

Myles W. Jackson is the Albers-Schönberg Professor in the History of Science at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. He has authored over 50 articles on the history, philosophy, and sociology of science and technology from 1750 to the present. He has also authored numerous books including Spectrum of Belief: Joseph von Fraunhofer and the Craft of Precision Optics (MIT Press, 2000), translated into German, Fraunhofers Spektren: Die Präzisionsoptik als Handwerkskunst (Wallstein Verlag, 2007), which won the Paul Bunge Prize of the German Chemical Society for the best work on the history of scientific instruments in 2005 and the Hans Sauer Prize for the best work on the history of inventors and inventions in 2007. In addition, he wrote Harmonious Triads: Physicists, Musicians, and Instrument Makers in Nineteenth-Century Germany (MIT Press, 2006, paperback 2008), and The Genealogy of a Gene: Patents, HIV/AIDS, and Race (MIT Press in 2015, paperback 2017). He has co-edited a collection of essays entitled Music, Sound, and the Laboratory (University of Chicago Press, 2013), and he is the editor of Perspectives on Science: Gene Patenting (MIT Press, 2015).  His most recent monograph, tentatively entitled Engineering Fidelities: Early German Radio, the Trautonium, and Musical Aesthetics, is forthcoming with Princeton University Press in 2024.

Jackson was elected member of the Erfurt Academy of Sciences in 2009, of the German National Academy of Sciences - Leopoldina in 2011, a member of the Académie Internationale d'Histoire des Sciences in 2012, and acatech, the German Academy of Engineering in 2023. He was the recipient of an Alexander-von-Humboldt Fellowship in 1999-2000, and in 2010, he received the Francis Bacon Prize for Contributions to the History of Science and Technology from Caltech, where he was the Francis Bacon Visiting Professor of History of Science and Technology in 2012. In 2014 he received the Reimar Lüst/Humboldt Prize of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and was named Bosch Public Policy Fellow of the American Academy in Berlin. In the academic year 2016-17, Jackson was also a fellow at the Wissenschaftskolleg (Institute for Advanced Study) in Berlin. 

Response and moderation by Tarek Ibrahim (Lecturer, NYU Berlin).

Please register here. Kindly note that seating is limited.

W15 Cafe  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
All members of the BCB community are invited to gather for a series of discussions on important topics relating to campus life. October's discussion will focus on exploring and reimagining current communal spaces on campus.

Learning Commons (W16)  1:00 pm – 2:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
This condensed, one-hour workshop guides students through the main components of a research paper. Topics include constructing a robust thesis statement, writing topic sentences, structuring subsections, sign posting of transitions, and appropriate citations.

P24 SR8  12:30 pm – 2:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
"Making America Unrecognizable" is a lecture by Professor Michelle Murray, Division of Social Studies Chair, about her research on the future of international order with America's isolationism and nationalist narrative. Open to all students.

This lecture takes place during Prof. Murray's visit to BCB as part of the Network Collaborative Course Global Citizenship grant during the week of October 9 to 14. She will be teaching two weekly sessions of Global Citizenship and hold office hours for students. 

Prof. Michelle Murray:
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., University of Chicago. Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for International Studies, University of Chicago (2007–10); Deans Fellow in International Security and U.S. Foreign Policy, John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding, Dartmouth College (2014–15). Recipient, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Dissertation Completion Fellowship (2006–07), Smith Richardson Foundation Summer Research Grant (2004/2006). Teaching and research interests include international relations theory; security studies; the politics of recognition among states; international history, especially pre-World War I Europe; and global governance and international organization. Her current research focuses on how the desire for status recognition shapes the military strategies of rising great powers, with a particular focus on American, British, and German naval strategy before the First World War. This work has appeared in the journals Security Studies and Global Discourse, and as chapters in edited volumes. She presents regularly at the annual meetings of the American Political Science Association and International Studies Association. At Bard since 2010.

Online  7:00 pm – 8:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
The BCB Internship Program gives you the opportunity to gain an off-campus workplace experience in a field that interests you. You can work 10-13h/week in an internship while also exploring various questions regarding work in the internship seminar taught by Aslı Vatansever and Florian Duijsens. Most internships are generally unpaid, but you can earn academic credits through the internship seminar. If you are a current or upcoming third-year student and curious about BCB’s Internship Program and the opportunity to gain practical experience alongside your studies while interning for an organization or individual in Berlin, please save the date.

The information session will take place online at this Zoom link.
Meeting ID: 953 1105 3254
Passcode: 788751

W16 SR9  12:45 pm – 1:45 pm CEST/GMT+2
Come learn about study abroad grants and opportunities at Erasmus institutions as well as two partners not affiliated with Erasmus or OSUN. 

Students petition in their second year to go abroad their third year. The study abroad petition form is due December 8.

W15 Cafe  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
Please join faculty in Art and the Practicing Arts for a meeting in the W15 Café at 12:30 on Monday, 9 October to discuss the new BA in Artistic Practice and Society, and the concentration in Art and Aesthetics in the Humanities BA. Courses, requirements, future opportunities, and the work of faculty and students in the programs are among the topics. Refreshments will be served.

Upcoming meetings this semester focus on Literature (November 6) and Economics (December 5). 

Passionskirche, Marheinekeplatz 1, 10961 Berlin  7:30 pm – 10:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Together with the Curtis Institute of Music, Bard College Berlin is pleased to host Curtis on Tour on October 5, 2023.

The group is comprised of six celebrated artists – Maria Ioudenitch (violin), Emma Meinrenken (violin), Haesue Lee (viola), Grace Takeda (viola), Jean Kim (cello), and Joshua Halpern (cello) – all distinguished alumni of the renowned Curtis Institute of Music.

Curtis on Tour is the Nina von Maltzahn global touring initiative of the Curtis Institute of Music. Grounded in the school’s “learn by doing” philosophy, tours feature extraordinary emerging artists alongside celebrated alumni and faculty. In addition to performances, musicians offer master classes, educational programs, and community engagement activities while on tour. Curtis on Tour also manages solo engagements for Curtis artists with professional orchestras and presenters. Since the program was established in 2008, Curtis on Tour ensembles have performed more than 375 concerts in over 100 cities in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. In Berlin, Curtis on Tour partners with Bard College Berlin to make this unique approach to learning and artistic performance accessible to the public.

PROGRAM (subject to change)

Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
String Sextet from the opera Capriccio, Op. 85

Michael Djupstrom (b. 1980)
Two Fantasies (string trio)
Two Fantasies was commissioned by the Curtis Institute of Music.

Intermission

Pyotr. I. Tchaikovsky (1940-1893)
String Sextet in D minor, Op. 70 “Souvenir de Florence”
I. Allegro con spirito
II. Adagio cantabile
III. Allegretto moderato
IV. Allegro vivace

Kindly register here.

P98a Lecture Hall  12:45 pm – 1:45 pm CEST/GMT+2
New date: Thursday, September 28.  

Interested in going abroad in your third year? Come learn more about the study abroad petition process and the different institutions and grant opportunities available to BCB students for a semester or year abroad at this Study Abroad Info Session. There will also be a student panel.

Students petition in their second year to go abroad their third year. The study abroad petition form is due December 8.

W15 Cafe  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
Please join the Politics faculty of the college in the W15 Café next Wednesday, 27 September at 12:30 for a discussion about studying Politics at BCB, whether as part of the Economics, Politics, and Social Thought BA or in the Ethics and Politics concentration of the BA in Humanities. Courses, requirements, the core program, moderation, the thesis, study abroad, civic engagement, faculty research interests, and future opportunities will be among the subjects addressed. Advanced students in both programs are warmly encouraged to attend and share their experience with those newly arrived at BCB.

Upcoming faculty-student meetings this semester focus on the study of Art and Artistic Practice (October 9), Literature (November 6), and Economics (December 5). 

Waldstraße 15, 13156 Berlin  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
All members of the BCB community are invited to gather for a discussion on important topics relating to campus life. Topics are set together at the beginning of each year, and Community Forums take place once a month. Community Forums are hosted by the Student Life Committee.

Location: W15 Café

Haus Kunst Mitte (Heidestraße 54, 10557 Berlin)  2:00 pm – 4:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
The art exhibition "To Be - Named" at Haus Kunst Mitte, curated by BCB’s long-time collaborator Dr. Dorothea Schöne and created in cooperation with the Experimental Humanities Collaborative Network (EHCN), is dedicated to the topic of naming and the significance of names for the development or suppression of a person's identity. The paintings, installations, films, and photographs selected for the show engage with the traces of colonial history and colonial injustice that have manifested themselves over decades through naming, image appropriation and one-sided forms of historiography.

After the tour led by Dr. Schöne, Dr. Künnei Takaahai, a cultural anthropologist from the University of Warsaw, will lead a unique workshop on the politics of naming. Dr. Takaahai’s research focuses on the societies and cultures of Siberia, Central Asia, and the Arctic as well as the identities of Indigenous peoples and multiculturalism in Siberia and the United States in the context of modern neo-colonialism, post-colonialism, and decolonial studies.

The number of participants is limited, so please sign up for the tour and workshop at your earliest convenience via this Google Form.

Stuttgarter Str. 56, 12059 Berlin-Neukölln  3:00 pm – 10:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
BUCHSTABEN SALAT is the first ever very mini art book / zine fair co-organized by WIRWIR (April Gertler) and Pitzilein Books (Idalia Sautto from Mexico City). Sixteen publishers will be showcasing their newest publications that range from artist books to Risograph zines.

Ongoing from Sept 19-21, 3pm-10pm at Stuttgarter Str. 56, 12059 Berlin-Neukölln.

K30 Reading Room  5:30 pm – 6:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
This two-part workshop offers the opportunity to work with renowned journalist Joshua Yaffa on crafting non-fiction prose. Like academic writing, essay-writing for journals and magazines requires precision, evidence, and a sharp argument, but in other ways, the approach to writing is distinct. Participants will have the chance to write, workshop, and revise pieces intended for a broad readership. 

Session 1 is on Wednesday, September 13, from 5:30-6:30pm in the K30 Reading Room.
Session 2 is on Monday, September 18, from 5:30-7:00pm in the K30 Reading Room. A dinner will be served for participants after Session 2.

Register here. Please sign up only if you are able to attend both sessions of the workshop.

Joshua Yaffa is a contributing writer at The New Yorker as well as author of Between Two Fires: Truth, Ambition, and Compromise in Putin's Russia, winner of the Orwell Prize in 2021.

Monopol Berlin (Provinzstraße 40-44, 13409 Berlin)  3:00 pm – 8:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Monopol Berlin is a former industrial site, built in the 1880s on Provinzstraße in Reinickendorf. After lying empty for many years, the spirits factory is now being established as an art venue. On the occasion of Berlin Art Week 2023, in the spaces where alcohol was once stored, heated, and cooled, a contemporary art exhibition will shed light on the tension between art and the industrial, the two spirits of this extraordinary place.

Exhibition Hours
September 13: 3-8pm
September 14-17: noon-8pm (Friday and Saturday open until 10 pm)

P98a Lecture Hall  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
Join Student Life to learn more about your banking options in Germany. Staff will discuss their own experiences with opening accounts and can offer recommendations for different banks.

Part of the Weeks of Welcome event series. Click here to see the full list of WoW events. 

Every Tuesday until December 12
Platanenstraße 24  7:00 pm – 8:30 pm EDT/GMT-4
Join students and neighbors from Bard College Berlin for a semester long exploration of Migration, Space, and Power. 

Migration, Space, and Power was an undergraduate-level course taught at Bard College Berlin during spring 2023. This semester students will share their knowledge from this course in Open Classroom. The course is an invitation to rethink migration and power, with the help of two influential thinkers: Rosa Luxemburg and Doreen Massey.

To join the course, simply fill out this form and mark your calendar for the first session happening on Tuesday, September 12, from 7:00 - 8:30 pm at Platanenstraße 24. The sessions will take place every Tuesday until December 12, and will hopefully provide a space for engaging discussions, thought-provoking insights, and mutual learning.

Cafeteria Garden (Rain location: W16)  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
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.

Part of the Weeks of Welcome event series. Click here to see the full list of WoW events. 

Waldstraße 15, 13156 Berlin  12:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Women's football around the world has seen a huge rise in popularity in the past few years and the most well attended Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand just came to a close. Come join Atticus Kleen, BCB's Health & Wellness Officer, and get a taste of local women's football as Turbine Potsdam, historically one of the most successful women's football teams in Germany, take on VfL Wolfsburg, currently one of the best teams in the world and last year's Champions League finalist.

The match is on Sunday, September 10th at 2pm at Karl-Liebknecht-Stadion in Potsdam. The first 15 students to show up will have their tickets subsidized by BCB and only pay 5€, otherwise tickets are 11€. Please make sure to bring cash, as they do not accept credit cards. If you are interested in attending, please meet at the W15 Cafe at 12pm sharp. If you have any questions at the event, please don't hesitate to contact Atticus Kleen.

Meeting Point: W15 Cafe

Part of the Berlin Weekend event series. Click here to see the full list of Berlin Weekend events.

Bernauer Str. 119, 13355 Berlin  11:00 am – 1:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
If Paris was the "Capital of the Nineteenth Century," as Walter Benjamin thought, then Berlin -- arguably and catastrophically -- was the capital of the twentieth. After the Holocaust and the Second World War, both initiated in and planned from Berlin, the city was divided and quickly became the center of the emergent Cold War. From 1961 to 1989, the division of the world into East and West became concrete in the shape of the Wallrunning right through the city center and all around its western part. We will visit the Wall's most infamous and best-preserved stretch, along Bernauer Straße, and learn about its deeper political and economic origins and about its existential and everyday effects on the lives of the people, families and systems it separated. Tour led by Florian Becker.

Meeting Point: In front of the entrance to the Visitor Center of the Berlin Wall Memorial (Bernauer Str. 119, 13355 Berlin)

Part of the Berlin Weekend event series. Click here to see the full list of Berlin Weekend events.

Waldstraße 15, 13156 Berlin  6:00 pm – 7:15 pm CEST/GMT+2
Join Muhammed Sayed for a sunset hike to the Drachenburg Viewpoint, from which you can see all of Berlin and the surrounding areas. At 53 meters high, it is perfect to get an expansive view of all of Berlin. Bring a blanket and enjoy watching the sun set over Berlin, and watching the moon rise all in one go. After that, join us to have a lovely late dinner in one of the many amazing restaurants Berlin has to offer! 

Meeting Point: W15 Cafe

Part of the Berlin Weekend event series. Click here to see the full list of Berlin Weekend events.

The Factory (Eichenstraße 43, 13156 Berlin)  4:00 pm – 7:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Are you looking to get a crash course in the production of a film? Do you want to try your hand at getting on set and working with a crew? Come join this lab led by Yensen LeBeau, creator and director of the feature film The Conditions of Youth, to learn editing techniques, the paperwork that's required for  working with talent, how to make a shot-list, prop-list and other organizational aspects--and of course, put together a mini film! 

Meeting Point: The Factory (Eichenstraße 43, 13156 Berlin)

Part of the Berlin Weekend event series. Click here to see the full list of Berlin Weekend events.

St. George's Bookstore in Prenzlauerberg  12:00 pm – 4:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
This tour led by Simone Kyle will visit just some of Berlin’s many exceptional bookstores. Whether you’re in the mood to browse or looking for a new read, we will walk around to various types of bookstores to get an idea of Berlin’s offerings. From Cafés with an extensive zine collection to famed establishments like Dussmann Kulturkaufhaus, this tour will cover the small independent places as well as reliable shops to buy school books. 

Meeting Point: St. George's Bookstore in Prenzlauerberg at noon

Part of the Berlin Weekend event series. Click here to see the full list of Berlin Weekend events.

Schloßpl. 5, 10178 Berlin  2:00 pm – 4:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Join Faiza and Maheen from BCB Civic Engagement on a decolonial journey of discovery through the largest cultural project in Europe. In a two-hour tour, you'll get a closer look at the history of Humboldt Forum: the castle and the museum. Who were the Humboldt brothers? What is the relation to colonialism? What role did missionary work play and what form might future cooperation between African institutions and German museums take? You will find out about this and much more on our tour.

Meeting point is Sanchi Gate Humboldt-Box located at Schloßpl. 5, 10178 Berlin

Part of the Berlin Weekend event series. Click here to see the full list of Berlin Weekend events.

Please note that spots are limited. If you want to join the tour, please let us know by Tuesday, Sept 5, via email to: [email protected] 

P98a Lecture Hall  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
Join us at this session to learn about the various mental health resources that BCB offers students both on and off campus!

Part of the Weeks of Welcome event series. Click here to see the full list of WoW events. 

Please join us for the Fall 2023 Berlin Weekend happening from September 8-10! Berlin Weekend is a collection of free or low cost activities hosted by students, staff, and faculty that offer the entire BCB community a chance to explore Berlin and attend unique events on campus.

Complete list of Berlin Weekend events:

September 8: Guided Decolonial Tour of the Humboldt Forum (2:00pm-4:00pm)
September 9: Berlin’s Bookstore Tour (12:00pm-4:00pm)
September 9: Mini Film Creation Lab (4:00pm-7:00pm)
September 9: Drachenburg Sunset Hike (6:00pm-7:15pm)
September 10: The Wall Tour at Bernauer Straße (11:00am-1:00pm)
September 10: Women's Football Match: Turbine Potsdam vs. VfL Wolfsburg (12:00pm)

W16, Seminar Room 9  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
There are many types of insurances that students should consider purchasing when moving to Germany, including renter's insurance, liability insurance, or bike insurance. Having these insurances can help alleviate future stress.

Part of the Weeks of Welcome event series. Click here to see the full list of WoW events. 

P98a Lecture Hall  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
Finding a Hausarzt (General Practitioner) is one of the most important first steps in getting "into" the German healthcare system. Come learn about how to find one that fits your needs, so you know who to go to when you get sick!

Part of the Weeks of Welcome event series. Click here to see the full list of WoW events. 

P98a Lecture Hall  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
Come learn how to take advantage of all of the resources and services you now have access to through our partnership with STW! BCB students have access to off-campus housing options, inexpensive meals at the Mensa throughout Berlin, arts competitions, mental health counseling, disability support, and more! We will also share more about other discounts in Berlin that students are entitled to.

Part of the Weeks of Welcome event series. Click here to see the full list of WoW events. 

Cafeteria Garden  6:30 pm – 8:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
The Welcome Reception is an opportunity for the BCB community to come together after the first day of classes, welcome our new community members, and reconnect with one another. Join faculty, staff and students to celebrate the start of the semester.

Part of the Weeks of Welcome event series. Click here to see the full list of WoW events. 

Your residence hall  7:30 pm – 8:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
All residents are expected to attend their respective building meeting. It's an opportunity to meet fellow residents, your RA, and to learn more about important policies.

Part of the Weeks of Welcome event series. Click here to see the full list of WoW events. 

Student Life, W16 top floor  11:00 am – 5:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
All students are welcome to join the OLs on one of 3 different excursions: to a nearby lake, to visit the Humboldt Forum, or on a walking tour of Berlin's main sites. Meet in the W15 Cafe to join!

Part of the Weeks of Welcome event series. Click here to see the full list of WoW events. 

Student Life, W16 top floor  9:00 am – 12:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Have questions about Accommodations or the process of getting a disability registered? Come by the Disability Accommodation Coordinator's office and ask any questions you may have.

Part of the Weeks of Welcome event series. Click here to see the full list of WoW events. 

W15 Cafe  8:00 pm – 10:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Student Life welcomes new and returning students to bingo night in the W15 cafe. Don't miss your chance to play and win prizes!

Part of the Weeks of Welcome event series. Click here to see the full list of WoW events. 

St. Matthäus-Kirche, Matthäikirchplatz, 10785 Berlin-Tiergarten.  "To write a poem after Auschwitz is barbaric," Theodor W. Adorno noted in 1949 - and in doing so, he also questioned other forms of artistic engagement with the Holocaust. The exhibition On the Abyss of Pictures (Am Abgrund der Bilder) by the German-British artist Michael Anthony Müller takes a commentative look at Gerhard Richter's Birkenau Cycle in the New National Gallery and poses the question of how the Holocaust was dealt with in art.
What could be appropriate artistic forms of remembrance? How can we approach the human catastrophe of the Shoah in pictures? Internationally renowned image scholars, philosophers and philosophers of religion will discuss these questions at the public symposium. The symposium will be opened with a lecture by Professor Benjamin Buchloh on August 31 at 7:00 p.m. On September 1, renowned scholars such as Professor Almut Shulamit Bruckstein, Professor Thomas Macho, and Lukas Töpfer will discuss various approaches to these questions. The day will conclude with a discussion with Michael Anthony Müller and key experts.

Guests are most welcome to attend the opening lecture by Benjamin Buchloh, individual sessions of the symposium, and/or the closing discussion with the artist Michael Müller as they wish. A participation of the whole program is not required.

For more information, a detailed program, and to register please visit On the Abyss of Pictures.

Meet at W15 Cafe  6:00 pm – 11:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Visit over 70 of Berlin's museums that stay open until 2am once a year. The first 20 students to RSVP will receive free tickets from BCB. Any cancellations or no shows will be distributed the day of on a first come, first serve basis.

Registration required.

Part of the Weeks of Welcome event series. Click here to see the full list of WoW events.

Meet at W15 Cafe  11:00 am – 3:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Visit to the Futurium, a museum with interactive exhibits on vital issues for the future, like climate, housing, food & technology. Free entry.

Registration required.

Part of the Weeks of Welcome event series. Click here to see the full list of WoW events.

Meet at W15 Cafe  11:00 am – 3:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Join the Orientation Leaders on a walk around Berlin. You will visit all of the key sites, including the Reichstag, the TV Tower, Checkpoint Charlie, Brandenburger Tor, and the Eastside Gallery.

Registration required.

Part of the Weeks of Welcome event series. Click here to see the full list of WoW events.

Meet at W15 Cafe  11:00 am – 3:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Explore Mauerpark, a park made from the former part of the Berlin Wall. Every Sunday there is a flea market where you can purchase anything from vintage goods to snacks from around the world.

Registration required.

Part of the Weeks of Welcome event series. Click here to see the full list of WoW events.

Meet at W15 Cafe  11:00 am – 5:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Join the OLs on a trip to Potsdam, a city in Brandenburg. You can explore the Sanssouci Palace grounds, view the amazing architecture, and more!

Registration required.

Part of the Weeks of Welcome event series. Click here to see the full list of WoW events.

Meet at Cafeteria  9:30 am – 6:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Join the OLs and the RAs on a walk through the woods to the spectacular Liepnitzsee, one of the hidden gems of the countryside around Berlin.

Part of the Weeks of Welcome event series. Click here to see the full list of WoW events.

Meet at W15 Cafe  6:00 pm – 7:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
Join the RAs to explore campus. Pair up with other students to be the first group to complete the scavenger hunt and win prizes!

Part of the Weeks of Welcome event series. Click here to see the full list of WoW events.

W15 Cafe  8:00 pm – 10:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Test your general knowledge and win prizes at Trivia Night! We will form teams at the event, so come with a friend or solo.

Part of the Weeks of Welcome event series. Click here to see the full list of WoW events. 

Bard College Berlin  Whether you're a new or returning student, Bard College Berlin wants to give you a warm welcome! During Weeks of Welcome, Student Life and other departments are hosting a variety of free events to introduce campus resources, help students connect with one another, and explore Berlin. Events are open to all students. We look forward to seeing you!

Complete listing of Weeks of Welcome events:

August 26: L&T Excursion for First Years: Walking Tour of Berlin
August 26: L&T Excursion for First Years: Futurium
August 26: L&T Excursion for First Years: Lange Nacht der Museen
August 31: Bingo Night
September 1: Accommodations Drop-in Hours
September 2: Excursions for Transfer & Exchange Students: Lake trip, Humboldt Forum, Berlin Walking Tour
September 3: RA Building Meetings
September 5: Introduction to StudierendenWERK (STW)
September 6: How to Find a Hausarzt
September 7: Germany, the Land of Insurance
September 8: Mental Health: Counseling, Off Campus Resources
September 12: Involvement Fair
September 13: Opening a Bank Account

Bard College Berlin  10:00 am – 3:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
The Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities and Walter de Gruyter publishing present Judgment, Imagination, Politics: Arendt in Berlin. 

10:00 – 10:45: Nicholas Dunn (Bard College NY),
                        “Preparing the Particular: Arendt on Imagination and Judgment”

11:00 – 11:45: Maria Robaszkiewicz (Universität Paderborn),
                        “Hannah Arendt’s Exercises in Political Thinking"

12:00 – 13:00: Lunch and edited volume presentation
                       Arendt’s Lectures on Kant’s Political Philosophy (ed. N. Dunn)
                       Part of ‘Works of Philosophy and Their Reception’ -
                       a new series from De Gruyter

13:15 – 14:00: Anne Eusterschulte (Freie Universität Berlin),
                        “It-seems-to-me / dokei moi”

14:15 – 15:00: Facundo Vega (ICI Berlin/Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez),
                        “Beyond the Theologico-Political: Hannah Arendt
                        and the Principle of Beginning”

Attendance is free and open to the public. To RSVP, email Nicholas Dunn ([email protected]).

Three Performances
The Factory  1:00 pm – 3:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
We would like to invite you to the final project showings of the students who have participated in this summer’s theater intensive.

1:00 pm - Performances begin at the Factory. There will be 3 pieces with a 10-minute interval in between each.
3:00 pm - Pizza reception at the Cafeteria at Waldstraße 70. Everyone is welcome.
4:00 pm - Feedback session with the students begins at the cafeteria, and again, everyone is welcome to attend.
 
It would be helpful for us to know how many people might attend and how much pizza to order, so If you are interested in coming please RSVP by contacting: [email protected].

Haus Kunst Mitte (HKM)   6:00 pm – 9:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
The Experimental Humanities Collaborative Network invites the Bard College Berlin community to the exhibition opening of "To Be - Named" at Haus Kunst Mitte. The exhibition is produced in cooperation with the Experimental Humanities Collaborative Network and curated by Dr Dorothea Schöne, Artistic Director Kunsthaus Dahlem.

About the Exhibition
Names are an important aspect of our cultural and personal identity. They shape our self-image and the way we live. A name not infrequently determines whether people are understood or misunderstood, whether they experience affection or rejection, whether they are supported or disadvantaged. It is also not uncommon for institutions to use names to define and categorize origins.
 
Our names are carriers of our lines of descent and knowledge of our mother tongue. Naming and naming can signify abuse of power and oppression. Renaming of streets or institutions are important aspects of the decolonization process.

In Berlin, the exhibition focuses in particular on the traces of colonial history and colonial injustice that have manifested themselves over decades through naming, image appropriation or one-sided forms of historiography. 

The cultural politics of naming and being named was the starting point for an open call addressed to artists from all over the world, with the invitation to engage with this theme regardless of their cultural backgrounds and identities. From the submissions, 6 artistic positions were selected to form the nucleus of a touring exhibition that will be shown in Athens (Greece), Mexico City (Mexico), Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) and Hudsonville (USA) after Berlin. Each exhibition venue will supplement the selection of "traveling" art positions with just as many local positions - on the one hand to promote a dialogue between the participating artists and on the other hand to respond to the specific discourses on the exhibition theme in the respective countries.  
 

Humboldt University  6:00 pm – 7:45 pm CEST/GMT+2
The idea and ideal of popular sovereignty, which has served to ground the liberal democratic order and to legitimize power in the modern world, has come under increasing pressure in recent decades. On the one hand, the rise of authoritarian populisms purporting to express the will of the people has undermined the commitment to liberal norms and constitutional protections. On the other, a growing influence of international institutions and non-governmental organizations has insulated large areas of policymaking from political contestation and popular control. The result of these developments has been to call into question the very coherence of liberal democracy.

When the People Rule: Popular Sovereignty in Theory and Practice (Cambridge University Press, 2023) - a new interdisciplinary volume co-edited by Ewa Atanassow, Thomas Bartscherer, and David Bateman - proposes that comprehending the political crises of our time, and ensuring the prospects for government that is both genuinely democratic and committedly liberal requires a radical rethinking of popular sovereignty. 

Co-hosted by Bard College Berlin and the Law and Society Institute at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, this international panel will convene scholars from a variety of perspectives such as law, philosophy, political science, and sociology to explore the central themes of the volume, and thus to reconsider the viability of liberal democracy as a constitutional model. Participants include Ewa Atanassow (Bard College Berlin), Thomas Bartscherer (Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson), Berit Ebert (Bard College Berlin), Dieter Grimm (Wissenschaftskolleg Berlin), Anna Bettina Kaiser (Humboldt Universität zu Berlin), and Roni Mann (Barenboim-Said Akademie). The discussion will be moderated by Ira Katznelson (Columbia University). 

This event will take place at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Juristische Fakultät, Unter den Linden 9, 10117 Berlin, room E25.

Learn More

  Reminder for all current or upcoming third- or fourth-year students interested in the BCB Internship Program for Fall 2023, the deadline to submit your application is Thursday May 25th.
  How to Apply Recent Internship Opportunities

 

JFK-Institute, Freie Universität  Join us at the JFK-Institute, Freie Universität for the Annual Conference of Political Science Section of German Association of American Studies! This year's theme is "Sources of Legitimacy: Rethinking US-American Democracy."

Legitimacy can be understood as a multi-dimensional concept, encompassing beliefs on the proper sources, values, goals, procedures, and outcomes of a given institutional order. Considering that both the domestic political order in the U.S. as well as the international order built around American hegemony have come under immense pressure, this conference will provide a forum to discuss the crises of legitimacy of relevant institutions, ideals, and actors.

This event is hosted by The Political Science Section of the German Association for American Studies, Atlantische Akademie Rheinland-Pfalz e.V., Freie Universität and Bard College Berlin. To register for this conference, please use this link.

Keynote Address: "Cold Peace: Avoiding the New Cold War" with Michael Doyle (Columbia University)
Thursday, May 25, 5:00-7:00 pm | Room 340, JFK Institute, Lansstraße 7-9, 14195 Berlin

Michael Doyle is university professor at Columbia University (NYC), specia­lizing in international relations theory, international security, and international or­ganizations.

Doyle previously served as assistant secretary-general and special adviser to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan from 2001 to 2003. Doyle has been a mem­ber of the Council on Foreign Relations since 1992 and is the former chair of the Academic Council of the United Nations System. He has also been a vice president, senior fellow and a member (and chair) of the Board of Directors of the Interna­tional Peace Institute between 1992 and 2018. He served as chair of the board of the UN Democracy Fund (UNDEF) from 2006–2013. In 2015, Doyle helped develop the Model International Mobility Convention which represents a shared framework among over 40 academics.

This open lecture is also part of the combined research colloquium of the Political Science & Sociology Departments of the JFK-I.

Program Schedule: 

Thursday, May 25, 2023

2:30-3:00 pm: Introduction
Christian Lammert / David Sirakov / Boris Vormann / Sarah Wagner
Welcome and Introduction to the Conference

3:00-4:30 pm: Panel 1: Polarization and Anti-Government Sentiments
Chair: Boris Vormann

Claudia Franziska Brühwiler, University of St. Gallen
Beyond Trumpists and Claremonsters: Forging a Postliberal Consensus?

Marcel A. Bloch, University of Tuebingen 
“No longer a Government of the People, for the People, and by the People – The Populists New Offer to Gilded Age America” 

C. Kleinfeld, Universität Leipzig
The Anti-Woke Right

Stefanie Wallbraun, University of Heidelberg
The Insurrectionist Idea in Contemporary American Gun Culture

4:30-5:00 pm: Coffee break

5:00-6:30 pm: Keynote Address
Michael Doyle (Columbia University)

Friday, May 26, 2023

9:00-10:30 am: Panel 2: Inequality and Racism
Chair: Christian Lammert

Anthony J. Obst, GSNAS, FU Berlin
“Challenging the Legitimacy of Racialized Class Rule: Black Communist Critiques of American Democracy in the 1930s”

Shasha Lin, Heidelberg University
Institutional Trust and Policy Acceptance: Chinese Americans’ Perceptions of College Admissions and Attitudes toward Affirmative Action

Laura Kettel, Aarhus University
The Politics of Preemption: Determinants of Local Interventions in Housing Policy 

Kexin Chen, JFKI, FU Berlin
Re-politicizing the Global Supply Chain: Inequality and Democratic Backsliding

10:30-11:00 am: Coffee break

11:00 am -12:30 pm: Public Interest Panel
Margit Mayer (JFKI Berlin) / Heike Paul (University of Erlangen-Nuremburg) / Michael Dreyer (University of Jena)

12:30-2:00 pm: Lunch break

2:00-3:30 pm: Session 3: Elections
Chair: David Sirakov

Rachel Blum, University of Oklahoma; Seth Masket, University of Denver; and Mike Cowburn, Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)
Who Decides? Media, MAGA, Money, and Mentions in the 2022 Republican Primaries 

Julia Simon, Helmut Schmidt University Hamburg 
The Long 2020 Election & the Effects of Epistemological Populism on the Local Level 

Caroline Leicht, University of Southhampton
McKinnon for President – A Comparative Analysis of Gendered Framing in Election Coverage in Political Satire and Traditional News Media

Jörg Hebenstreit, University of Jena
“In Blockchain We Trust!” – Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) as a Remedy for Distrust in the Electoral Process?

3:30-4:00 pm: Coffee break

4:00-6:00 pm: Panel 4: Government Institutions and Separation of Powers
Chair: Laura Kettel

Maciej Turek, Jagiellonian University in Kraków
Doublethink? U.S. Congress and Impeachment Processes of Bill Clinton and Donald Trump

Alexander Brackebusch, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Transformed Conceptions of the Role and Legitimacy of the U.S. Presidency 

Jakob Wiedekind, Leibnitz-University Hannover
Taking the last Stronghold? Analyzing Executive Pressure on Authorization Legislation in Foreign Policy

Tim Haas, Jena University
The Legitimacy of the Vice President in the US American Political System 

Paweł Laidler, Jagiellonian University in Kraków
How Democratic and Legitimate is the U.S. Constitution in 2023?  

Saturday, May 27, 2023

9:00-10:00 am: Business Meeting

10:00-11:30 am: Panel 5: Security and International Relations
Chair: Sarah Wagner

Holger Janusch, Hochschule des Bundes für öffentliche Verwaltung / Daniel Lorberg, Bergische Universität Wuppertal
Digitalization, Trumpismo, and the End of the Liberal World Order? Turning Points and Caesarism in Neo-Gramscianism

Carlos Álvarez-Marín, University of Guadalajara
A nation to be defended? Racism and border security in the US during the Donald J. Trump administration

Philipp Adorf, Bonn University
Affective Polarization, White racial Consciousness and America’s Future Foreign Policy: Are We Entering a new Isolationist Era?

Gordon M. Friedrichs, Freiburg University, and Florian Böller, TU Kaiserlautern
Does Anybody Care? How Domestic Polarization shapes U.S. International Relations 

1:00 pm: Lunch snack and departures

  KW Lawn  5:00 pm – 7:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Join us on the lawn between K30 and W15 for light snacks, refreshments, and interactive lawn games!

Full De-Stress Fest Program

  Ballhaus Pankow  11:00 am CEST/GMT+2
Commencement 2023 will take place at 11:00 am at Ballhaus Pankow, Grabbeallee 53, 13156 Berlin-Pankow. A reception at the Bard College Berlin campus will follow.

Join us in celebrating the graduating class of 2023!
11:00 am EDT/GMT-4
Bard College Berlin celebrates the academic achievements of the graduating class of 2023 and confers their undergraduate degrees. The Commencement Ceremony will take place at Ballhaus Pankow and will be followed by a reception on campus.
The Commencement address will be given by the Iranian-Kurdish journalist, human rights defender, and film producer Behrouz Boochani.

  W15 Cafe  12:30 pm – 2:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Did you know that petting animals has been shown to lower stress hormones? Join us on Tuesday, May 13 to meet the four-legged (and many winged) members of the BCB Community. Take a breather and give some pats to the cutest BCB’ers around!

Full De-Stress Fest Program

  Cafeteria  6:30 pm – 7:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
Kick off completion week with a dinner of breakfast! Your favourite staff and professors will be here to serve you stacks of pancakes and hot beverages.

Full De-Stress Fest Program

  KW Lawn  5:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Join the BCB yoga club for an hour long yoga practice to move your body and relieve some stress! There will be a limited number of yoga mats available, so if you have your own, please bring one! *In case of bad weather, this event will be moved to the Factory.

Full De-Stress Fest Program

An Exhibition, Film Screening, and Panel
Monopol (Provinzstr. 40-44)  4:00 pm – 10:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
We keep coming back to the 1990s: when it seemed that the West had won; when the Apartheid regime in South Africa came down; when there was chaos in so many post-soviet countries while old Stalinist elites reconfigured themselves and capitalism set off on its global triumphal march. In those years of transition, re-unified Germany engaged massively in history production, with a powerful, state-funded reappraisal of its "two dictatorships", the national socialist and the communist one. The famous Vergangenheitsaufarbeitung, e.g. in the Inquiry Commissions of the Federal Parliament on the GDR, primarily served nation-building and came at a prize: it excluded and silenced the migrant pasts that were not considered to belong to Germany.

But the 1990s also saw the publication of a groundbreaking book that theorized how power shapes historical production, Silencing the Past by the Haitian anthropologist Michel-Rolph Trouillot. With Trouillot we can track where the silences enter history, and proceed in unlearning nationalism and decolonising our thinking.

Our Open Society University Network (OSUN) cross campus course, taught together with classes at Witwatersrand University/Johannesburg and at Universidad de los Andes/Bogotá, dealt with processes of silencing and un-silencing the past in the 1990s, and with imagining a future where memories and histories can flow and connect with each other more easily. The exhibition shows artworks created from students’ individual research projects. They revolve around transnational pasts that are alive in family or group memories but have had, or still have, difficulty in being transferred from a communicative memory to a cultural memory.

The evening event focuses specifically on the silencing and the un-silencing of the pasts of non-white migrants, esp. the so-called contract workers of the GDR: Workers from Mozambique, Vietnam, and other “socialist brother countries” for whom the end of the GDR and reunification was a very mixed blessing. The reunified German nation expected them to simply disappear. They experienced murderous racism, massive status insecurity, and a complete public ignorance towards them that combined xenophobic and anti-communist sentiments. The event does not want to see them primarily as victims of violence and discrimination, but as owners and producers of transnational memories and precious knowledge that spans continents and times. How were their pasts silenced, and un-silenced, in the German post-unification process and German self-identifications of those years?

SCHEDULE:
4.00 pm | Exhibition tour, drinks, and Afghan burgers:
with: Margherita Carlon, Abbey Givertzman, Lara Habboub, Omar Haidari, Dorothea von Hantelmann, Imogen Hilton-Barber, Lena Kocutar, Ryann Liljenstolpe, Tamar Maare, Victoria Martínez, Marton McCue, Angelika Nguyen, Hang Nguyen, Michael Nyakundi, and Dachil Sado
6.30 pm | Introduction with Marion Detjen
6.40 pm | Screening of Angelika Nguyen’s film “Brotherland Burnt Down” 1992
7.10 pm | Presentation of Hang Nguyen’s film “Unframed DDeRờ” 2023
7.30 pm | Keynote Address by Phi Su (Williams College)
7.45 pm | Panel with David Macou, Angelika Nguyen, Patrice Poutrus and Katharina Warda, moderated by Marion Detjen
9.00 pm | Drinks and Snacks
 
Featuring: Margherita Carlon, Marion Detjen, Abbey Givertzman, Lara Habboub, Omar Haidari, Dorothea von Hantelmann, Imogen Hilton-Barber, Lena Kocutar, Ryann Liljenstolpe, Tamar Maare, David Macou, Victoria Martínez, Marton McCue, Angelika Nguyen, Hang Nguyen, Michael Nyakundi, Patrice Poutrus, Dachil Sado, Phi Su, and Katharina Warda

Monopol  5:00 pm – 10:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
One of BCB's most celebrated semesterly traditions returns with Open Studios / Performance Factory. All are welcome to this two-night event on the evenings of May 12th and 13th as visual and performing arts students showcase their work at Monopol (Provinzstraße 44, 13409 Berlin). 

Open Studios visual art exhibitions will be open from 5:00-9:00 pm on May 12 and remain on view through May 13.

Performance Factory events will take place from 5:30-10:00 pm on May 12. The complete performance schedule can be found on this webpage below the list of featured classes.

Under Current Pasts: The 1990s' Silencing of Migrants to the GDR will take place on May 13 from 4:00-10:00 pm. Please visit the Under Current Pasts site for the full schedule of events.

Please note: although we have been very lucky to enjoy wonderful weather recently, Monopol is an older building and can get quite chilly, especially at night. Attendees--especially those planning on attending performances--are encouraged to bring an extra layer to stay warm through the event.

Featured classes:
AR330 Global Visual Politics
FA103 Found Fragments & Layered Lines: mixed-media techniques for drawing and collage
FA106 Beginners Black and White Photography Class: The Slow Photo
FA108 Beginners in Digital Photography - Your Own Point of View 
FA289 Practice-Based Sound Studies   
FA290 Touch Screen: Contemporary Moving Image Practices
FA292 Animism. Nature as Self
FA304 Merging the Photo with the Book Form
FA317 Advanced Painting: Illusionistic Surfaces
FA324 Essay Film - As a Documentary Strategy
HI255 Research-Creation: Developing Artistic Approaches to post-1990 Truth and Reconciliation Commissions in immigration societies in Germany, South Africa and Colombia
TH134 Introduction to Playwriting
TH164 Critical Acts: Introduction to Performance Studies
TH180 Rethinking Regie: An Introduction to Directing
TH384 Self-Instructions: Creating Autobiographical Performance with She She Pop
UB250 Berlin Archipelago - An Introduction to Architecture and Urbanism
FA107 Ceramics
FA157 Dance & Community Building - Utopian Practice in the 21st Century
FA188 The Art of Making Videos


Download: ThePerformanceFactory_ProgramSpring23.pdf

  Swap Shop  12:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Come by the Swap Shop flea market to find new relaxing summer outfits. Feel invited to bring items that you can not bring home/store over summer as we are reaching the end of the semester. We are looking forward to some stress and money-free shopping!

Full De-Stress Fest Program

Platanenstraße 98A, 13156 Berlin  7:30 pm – 9:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
In the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the tactics of war were so outrageous it was difficult to process news reports from the battlefield. Was it possible that thousands of Ukrainian children were forcibly deported to Russia without parental consent? Could the brutal stories of mass rape by Russian soldiers be true? Did the Russians really bomb a building with the word “Children” written with huge letter painted on the roof? The answer to all of these questions is unambiguously yes. Such actions constitute not just a humanitarian crisis, but a challenge to nearly a century-old global system of international legal order. The Russia-Ukraine war will have a “pivotal consequence” in how the world responds to the “growth of impunity,” David Miliband, President & CEO of the International Rescue Committee. Is this a moment that the International Community rebuilds an accountability mechanism?  Is this another Nuremberg moment?

A massive judicial mobilization is already underway. Ukraine’s national court is trying war crime cases. There is movement to vote on an international war crimes tribunal at the UN General Assembly. The International Criminal Court has issued the first indictments against the sitting Russian president. Leading governments and international governance institutions may be seriously considering methods of accountability backed by resources, specialists, and renewed resolve. Forty-three countries have referred the Ukraine case to the International Criminal Court, the biggest grouping of states to ever do so. Six European countries have become part of the Joint Investigative Team for the ICC. The UN and the EU have created commissions to document war crimes. The US State Department recently created the Conflict Observatory “to identify, track, and document possible atrocities in Ukraine.” These steps will define the international rule of law for decades to come.

This conversation, moderated by Bard College Berlin Faculty Member Nassim AbiGhanem, will gather the strings of this new accountability movement, and explain how past political decisions could stymy Ukraine’s insistence on an international tribunal. It will tackle the charge of hypocrisy from the Global South when western capitals insist on justice for some but not for all. Finally, this conversation will explore the price for failure to build a new system for accountability.

The event, which includes a reception, takes place on May 11, 2023, 7:30-9:30 p.m. at Bard College Berlin’s Lecture Hall, Platanenstraße 98A, 13156 Berlin.

Please register here until May 2, 2023. Kindly note that seating is limited.
 
Deborah Amos
Deborah Amos covers migration, refugee resettlement and international war crime trials for NPR news. Her reports can be heard on NPR's award-­‐winning Morning Edition, All Things Considered and on the NPR website. As Ferris Professor Amos teaches Migration Reporting at Princeton University in the Fall term. Among other, Amos was awarded a Berlin Prize Fellowship at the American Academy in Berlin, received the IWMF Courage in Journalism Award for a career of war reporting, the Edward R. Murrow Life Time Achievement Award from Washington State University as well as the Alfred I. DuPont-­‐Columbia Award, the George Foster Peabody Award. She was also honored by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation for her coverage of the Syrian uprising and won a Dart Award for “Syria Torture Survivors Seek Justice.” The judges noted; “a case study of thorough, humane, and complete reporting.” A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Amos is also the author of Eclipse of the Sunnis: Power, Exile, and Upheaval in the Middle East (Public Affairs, 2010) chosen as one of the top ten non-­‐fiction books by the Washington Post. She also wrote Lines in the Sand: Desert Storm and the Remaking of the Arab World (Simon and Schuster, 1992)

Joshua Yaffa
Joshua Yaffa is a contributing writer for the New Yorker, where he covers Russia and Ukraine. He is also the author of Between Two Fires: Truth, Ambition, and Compromise in Putin’s Russia, which won the Orwell Prize in 2021. He has been named a fellow at New America, a recipient of the American Academy’s Berlin Prize, and a finalist for the Livingston Award.

Nassim AbiGhanem
Nassim AbiGhanem research focus is on conflict management and peacebuilding, civil society organizations contributions in mediation, demobilization and reintegration of ex-combatants and social reconciliation. AbiGhanem teaches topics on conflict and security and transnational advocacy networks. Beyond academia, AbiGhanem advises the European Endowment for Democracy on Lebanon and is Lebanon’s country expert for Bertelsmann Stiftung Transformation Index for 2022 and 2024.

  W15 Cafe  5:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Take a break from studying and destress with a coloring break! Join Student Life at this drop by event to give your mind a short break from finals. There will be a variety of coloring pages and light snacks available. Come for the whole event or just to color one page!

Full De-Stress Fest Program

Overwhelmed by finals, post-grad plans, seasonal allergies, or just looking to set some time aside for yourself? Student Life's De-Stress Fest is back for another series of events aimed at bringing some fun and relaxation to our final weeks of the semester. 

Schedule:

Wednesday, May 10

Trivia Time
7:00 pm, W15 Cafe

Thursday, May 11:

Coloring Study Break
5:00 pm, W15 Cafe

Friday, May 12:

Swap Shop Shopping
12:00 pm, Swap Shop

Monday, May 15:

Outdoor Yoga with Sanskriti
5:00 pm, KW Lawn

Nighttime Study Breakfast
6:30-7:30 pm, Cafeteria

Tuesday, May 16

Pet Day at BCB!
12:30-2:00 pm, W15 Cafe

Tuesday, May 23

Springle Mingle
5:00-7:00 pm, KW Lawn
 

  W15 Cafe  7:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Think you know it all? Prove it at Trivia Time! Join Student Life on Friday, May 12 at 7:00 p.m. in W15 to show off your random knowledge, hang out with friends, and win prizes. With pals or solo, grab your Smunch and see you there!

Full De-Stress Fest Program

W15 Cafe  1:00 pm – 2:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Dr. Amy King will present and facilitate discussion about research from her latest book, Grotesque Touch: Women, Violence, and Contemporary Circum-Caribbean Narratives (University of North Carolina Press, 2021), which examines how violence between women in contemporary Caribbean and American texts is rooted in plantation slavery.

Analyzing films, television shows, novels, short stories, poems, book covers, and paintings, King shows how contemporary media reuse salacious and stereotypical depictions of relationships between women living within the plantation system to confront its legacy in the present. The vestiges of these relationships--enslavers and enslaved women, employers and domestic servants, lovers and rivals--negate characters' efforts to imagine non-abusive approaches to power and agency. King's work goes beyond any other study to date to examine the intersections of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, class, ability, and nationality in U.S. and Caribbean depictions of violence between women in the wake of slavery.

To attend, please register via email to [email protected].
 
Speakers:

Amy K. King is an assistant professor of English at Tuskegee University. She specializes in circum-Atlantic studies, focusing on the intersections of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, class, ability, and nationality in contemporary written, visual, and audiovisual media. King’s first book, Grotesque Touch (UNC Press 2021), examines how violence between women in recent Caribbean and American texts is rooted in plantation slavery. Her work has recently appeared in the journals The Global South, Women’s Studies, south, and Mississippi Quarterly. Additionally, King enjoys collaborative projects and scholarship—In 2019, she co-wrote the feature “South to The Plantationocene” with Natalie Aikens, Amy Clukey, and Isadora Wagner for ASAP/J. King also co-edited the two-part forum “Emergent Critical Analytics for Alternative Humanities” with Chris A. Eng for Lateral: Journal of the Cultural Studies Association (2016, 2017), which features a call-and-response between established and emergent American Studies scholars.

Dr. Rhonda Collier is a Professor of Modern Languages and Communication at Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama, USA, where she also serves as the Director of the TU Global Office. She has a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Vanderbilt University, and she is a Fulbright Scholar, who studied at the Universidad de São Paulo in Brazil. She has published in the areas of Afro-Brazilian, Afro-Cuban, African-American, and global hip hop studies. At Tuskegee University, she focuses on American literature, Black American literature, and composition courses with an emphasis on service-learning. Her most recent work, Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, co-edited with Dr. Octavia Tripp was released by IG Global Publishing on August 12, 2019. She is an expert in the area of publicly engaged humanities and has several projects in the area of civic engagement. She is an 2022 Affiliate Fellow for the American Academy of Rome and currently working on a project on Afro-Italian Literature and Art as narratives of freedom. Dr. Collier is passionate about education abroad and cross-cultural student engagement.

Online  7:30 pm – 8:45 pm CEST/GMT+2
The Early Modern Science core course extends an invitation to the BCB community for a lecture with Peter Galison, scientest, historian, and filmmaker. Participants are asked to watch his latest film, Black Holes | The Edge of All We Know, prior to the lecture. The film will be screened in the Lecture Hall at 7:30 on Friday, May 5, and can also be watched on Netflix.

Zoom Link

Meeting ID: 881 9773 3220 
Passcode: 461667 

Peter Galison is the Joseph Pellegrino University Professor at Harvard University. He currently directs the Black Hole Initiative at Harvard, a leading center for interdisciplinary research on black holes. His books include How Experiments End; Image and Logic: A Material Culture of Microphysics; Einstein’s Clocks, Poincaré’s Maps; and, with Lorraine Daston, Objectivity. His latest feature film is Black Holes | The Edge of All We Know.  
 

W15 Cafe  7:00 pm – 9:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
BCB has a living and learning community with a special focus on German language and culture: the “DerDieDas Haus,” where students with an interest in exploring German in their daily lives share a designated floor in one of our residence halls. They use German amongst each other during the week and engage in extracurricular activities in the city.

To find out more about how the projects works, how to apply for a place, etc., please join us on Tuesday, May 9, at 7:00pm in the Café at W15. Members of “DerDieDas Haus” and the BCB German Program will host an “Offenes Haus” with snacks and drinks.

W15 Cafe  12:00 pm – 1:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
The Berlin housing market can be daunting. Come learn the difference between hot and cold rent, hear tips and tricks for finding an apartment or WG, and hear from people who have successfully navigated this process. Don’t wait, May is sooner than you think!

This event is part of Student Life's Preparing for Life After BCB event series. 

K24 Garden  3:00 pm – 6:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Do you know your neighbors? This outdoor community gathering is an opportunity to connect with our neighbors in a casual, supportive setting. Join the BCB English Hour Project for refreshments, outdoor games and conversation!

Reading by the alumni(!) of Clare Wigfall's Advanced Fiction Writing Workshop course
Wein Salon  8:00 pm – 10:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
It is a tradition that the writers in Clare Wigfall's fiction writing workshop give a much-anticipated reading of their work as the finale of their course. Once again, they are returning to the charming Wein Salon (Schreinerstraße 59,10247 Berlin) in Friedrichshain. This semester we are delighted to present a mini literary salon series running over three nights with two groups of Clare's advanced writing students and also a special reading from Clare's alumni! Please join us for these cozy and intimate (but also a little bit riotous, let's be frank) evenings of beautiful and surprising stories and words written by the students. All BCB students, alumni, friends, and faculty members are warmly welcome.

This night's readers are all alumni of Clare's creative writing classes at BCB. They include:

Leyla Cubukuoglu
Noor Ender
Simon Ivćević
Annika Julien
Michael Nyakundi
Batu Savas
Elma Talić
Julian Thielman (in absentia)
Sarah Wolbach
Luiza Garcia Zanardi 

(Session I • Session II)

Reading by the students of Clare Wigfall's Advanced Fiction Writing Workshop course
Wein Salon  8:00 pm – 10:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
It is a tradition that the writers in Clare Wigfall's fiction writing workshop give a much-anticipated reading of their work as the finale of their course. Once again, they are returning to the charming Wein Salon (Schreinerstraße 59,10247 Berlin) in Friedrichshain. This semester we are delighted to present a mini literary salon series running over three nights with two groups of Clare's advanced writing students and also a special reading from Clare's alumni! Please join us for these cozy and intimate (but also a little bit riotous, let's be frank) evenings of beautiful and surprising stories and words written by the students. All BCB students, alumni, friends, and faculty members are warmly welcome.

Writers presenting:
Trinity Andrews
Imani Faber
Maibritt Henkel
Nia Kalife de la Garza
Taycia Linford Perez
Izzy Monroe
Miyu Sasaki
Nora Stone Roig
Mica Toscano
Yixin Wang

(Session I • Session III)

Lecture Hall  7:30 pm – 9:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Two teams chase the elusive black hole. One, including Stephen Hawking, works to solve a paradox at the heart of science. The other, the earth-spanning Event Horizon Telescope, attempts the first picture of a black hole, 55-million light years away.

The Film Club will be screening the film Black Holes: The Edge of All We Know (dir. Peter Galison) on Friday, May 5 at 7:30 pm in the Lecture Hall. This screening, open to all, is part of the Early Modern Science core course and is required viewing for all those interested in attending Galison's lecture on Tuesday, May 9 at 7:30pm. 

 

This event has been postponed. The new date is Thursday, May 4 at 6:00pm.
Online  6:00 pm – 7:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
In current Ukrainian public discussions, the critical theory is often deemed useless after the brutal escalation of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Some of the students enrolled in our courses on feminist and queer theory and activism at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy express similar ideas; critical theorizing, they say, seems irrelevant and helpless in the face of the deaths, destructions, and suffering of humans (and non-humans). Such devaluation of critical theory is not only a reaction to the horrific events of this war, however. It is a continuation of the politics of neoliberal education (academic and non-academic) and neoliberal feminism that is hegemonic in Ukraine. In this talk lead by researchers and educators Nadiya Chushak and Galina Yarmanova, we will explore how the broader context of neoliberalization in Ukraine has contributed to the devaluation of certain types of feminist and queer theory and the consequences this has for here and now.

Event Link

This event is part of the series "New Directions in Research and Art: Perspectives from Ukraine", organized in cooperation with the Threatened Scholars Initiative of the Open Society University Network (TSI-OSUN). Other events in this series are DO{K}VIRA (Trust Cut): Ethics, Politics, and Aesthetics in Documentary Filmmaking and Hello, Europe! Russia Goodbye! Verka Serduchka and the History of Queerness in Ukrainian Pop Culture. To learn more about TSI-OSUN, visit their website. 
 
Nadiya Chushak is a researcher and educator from Kyiv, Ukraine.

Galina Yarmanova is a researcher and educator from Kyiv, Ukraine, now based in Germany. 

W15 Cafe  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
Join the Student Life Committee for a discussion of DEI initiatives on campus. All members of the BCB community are welcome to attend. This event takes place in the W15 Cafe.

Reading by the students of Clare Wigfall's Advanced Fiction Writing Workshop course
Wein Salon  8:00 pm – 10:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
It is a tradition that the writers in Clare Wigfall's fiction writing workshop give a much-anticipated reading of their work as the finale of their course. Once again, they are returning to the charming Wein Salon (Schreinerstraße 59,10247 Berlin) in Friedrichshain. This semester we are delighted to present a mini literary salon series running over three nights with two groups of Clare's advanced writing students and also a special reading from Clare's alumni! Please join us for these cozy and intimate (but also a little bit riotous, let's be frank) evenings of beautiful and surprising stories and words written by the students. All BCB students, alumni, friends, and faculty members are warmly welcome.

Writers presenting:
Wanda Alvesová
Elena Chiavazza Prieto
Emma Hubbard
Milla Karon
Emma Maar Mcgilvray
Greta Muellner
Anna Nelson
Scarlett Ricker
Clementine Valtz

(Session II • Session III)

with Sladja Blazan
P24 SR8  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
Marking a critical distinction between history and the past, ghosts have played foundational roles in establishing the transatlantic cultural imaginary, with stories offering a medium for framing political ideologies, philosophical thought, racial anxieties, and social concerns. The study analyses early transatlantic "spectrology" in its relation to modern conceptualizations of subjectivity and moral theory to demonstrate its function as a colonial tool for justifying land appropriation and the exploitation of human labor.

This lecture is open to faculty and staff. It is presented by Dr. Sladja Blazan as part of the Faculty Colloquium series, organized by Gale Raj-Reichert, Ewa Atanassow, and Nina Tecklenburg.

Lecture Hall  5:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Dystopian Fiction x Love Core are thrilled to invite you to an exclusive screening of White Plastic Sky on May 2nd at 5pm in the Lecture Hall. 

In a not too distant future, the Earth is stripped of all living things, and humans must live under a plastic dome, transforming into trees at 50 to provide oxygen and food. Stefan accepts this fate until his wife, Nóra, chooses voluntary implantation. Driven by love, he breaks society's rules to save her. 

This stunning animation, created by Tibor Bánóczki and Sarolta Szabó, is a must-see for anyone concerned about the future of our planet.

Online  2:00 pm – 3:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
Within labor studies, ‘feminization’ is a contested term with multiple connotations – rarely with positive ones. In this talk, Aslı Vatansever will reflect upon whether the experiences of adjunct advocacy groups and precarious researchers’ networks can change the way we conceptualize feminization and help us reclaim the positive traits associated with the historical construct of the feminine. Following a broad overview on the qualitative and quantitative conceptions of the term in the general labor discourse, Vatansever will proceed to introduce its particular framings within the context of academic employment. Drawing on two contemporary cases of academic labor activism, namely the adjunct advocacy group New Faculty Majority in the United States and the precarious researchers’ Network for Decent Work in Academia in Germany, she will illustrate the turn away from performative activism in favor of movements based on relational groundwork. Based on these case examples, Vatansever will propose to reframe ‘feminization’ affirmatively as a type of affective and relational mode of organizing and argue that this ‘affective turn’ in academic labor activism heralds a ‘feminization of resistance’ – a new era for both academic labor activisms and in the conceptual trajectory of the term ‘feminization’.

Meeting Link

Meeting ID: 961 3050 8341
Passcode: 128330

This event is part of OSUN's Transnational Feminism, Solidarity, and Social Justice project.
 
Aslı Vatansever is a sociologist of work and social stratification with a focus on precarious labor and labor activism in academia. Currently, she is a research fellow at Bard College Berlin. Her work on academic labor activism has appeared in prominent outlets in the field of labor studies such as Work, Employment and Society. She has recently published a monograph At the Margins of Academia: Exile, Precariousness, and Subjectivity (Brill, 2020) and an edited volume Academic Freedom and Precarity in the Global North: Free as a Bird (co-edited with Aysuda Kölemen, Routledge, 2022).
 

P98a Lecture Hall  12:30 pm – 1:45 pm CEST/GMT+2
Alia Mossallam is a cultural historian, pedagogue and writer, interested in songs that tell stories and stories that tell of popular struggles behind the better-known events that shape world history. She is working on her book on the visual and musical archiving practices of the builders of the Aswan High Dam and the Nubian communities displaced by it. Her new project at EUME (2021-23), “Tracing Emancipation Under Rubbles of War”, retrieves the physical and political journeys of Egyptian and North African workers on the various fronts of World War I through the songs and memoires that recount their solidarities and struggles. Some of her writings can be found in The Journal of Water History, The History Workshop Journal, the LSE Middle East Paper Series, Ma’azif, Bidayat, Mada Masr, Jadaliyya and 60 Pages. An experimentative pedagogue, she founded the site-specific public history project “Ihky ya Tarikh”, as well as having taught at the American University in Cairo, the Freie Universität Berlin, the Cairo Institute for Liberal Arts and Sciences, and currently at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.

This event is sponsored by the Consortium on Forced Migration, Displacement, and Education, supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

BCB's First Drag Night!
The Factory  7:30 pm – 10:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
The LGBCBTQ+ Group is very excited to announce BCB’s very first drag event taking place Friday the 28th of April from 7:30 p.m. - 10 p.m in the factory. The event will happen as follows; 

EXHIBITION 
The event will kick off with an educational exhibition about the history of drag from 7:30 - 8 p.m. 

DRAG GUEST 
At 8 p.m., we will welcome a local drag performer from Berlin to come talk about this history a little more and show us their talent as a drag performer. 

MAKE US GAG, COME IN DRAG!
After this performance, we are asking our very BCB community to come in (their interpretation of) drag and sign up to perform. We will send these students a separate email on the definition of drag and how to participate respectfully, including different drag forms and aesthetics that may inspire you even more. Alternatively, students may arrive a little earlier and can get assistance in the process of getting into drag collectively before the performances.

HALFTIME SHOW 
For our halftime show, we ask students to sign up for fierce lip sync battles. The songs will be sent to the students beforehand and they have the opportunity to pick the ones they like the most to perform. There will be ‘judges’ who will choose the fiercest lipsyncer, who will take home a lovely grand prize. 

We hope that this event will be educational, push you out of your comfort zone and most of all a lot of fun. However, It is important when considering the art form of drag that people participate respectfully! More information to come. 

Much queer love, 

LGBCBTQ+

W15 Cafe  3:00 pm – 5:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Do you care about Human Rights and Labor rights?

This exhibition will inform on the Human Rights violations occurring in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous region of China, and to call attention to the Uyghur forced labor occurring within the internment camps in Xinjiang, which is supplying clothing to sought-after brands.The exhibition will also include information on activists and organizations currently involved in the struggle against forced labor fashion, and how individuals can help support. One activist in particular, Jewher Ilham, and her father, Professor Ilham Tohti, a prominent public intellectual, who is currently serving a life sentence in China, will be highlighted.

K24 SR12  2:00 pm – 3:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
This lecture and discussion, led by Turkish academic Ismet Akça, focuses on the Justice and Power Party (AKP) in Turkey. AKP was founded by current Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and has held the plurality of seats in Turkish Parliament since its first national election over twenty years ago.

The longstanding autonomous political power of the Turkish military has been curbed to an important extent under the AKP rule through legal reforms and political trials. Yet civilianization reforms were not accompanied by democratization of the political regime in the 2000s. The first sub-period (2002-2013) was marked by the existence of an inclusive hegemony and the relative pacification of the Kurdish question. The socio-political context of the second sub-period (post-2013) was determined by a deepening hegemony and state crisis and the remilitarization of the Kurdish question.

This event takes place in K24, Seminar Room 12. For those unable to attend in-person, a digital stream is available.

Meeting Link
 
Ismet Akça was an Associated Professor at the Department of Political Science and International Relations, Yıldız Technical University in Istanbul, Turkey, until his suspension in 2017 due to his signing of the Academics for Peace petition. He is a fellow at SOAS, Department of Politics and International Relations for the 2022-2023 academic year. He has published in different journals and books, both in English and Turkish, on Turkish military-industrial complex, the military and politics in Turkey, political sociology of Turkey, Justice and Development Party, neoliberal hegemony.

The Factory  5:30 pm – 9:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
We cordially invite you to the public exhibition of art works from this semester’s graduating cohort. The exhibition shows the outcomes of a two-semester creative research process; it includes sculpture, creative writing, theater, performance art, installation, short film, sound and video art. Please join us and celebrate this special occasion!

Works by August Sorenson, Clarissa Shane, Grace Muellner, Helene Cunningham, India Peluce, Jiahui Wu, Michael Nyakundi, Ryn Delgado, Vala Schriefer, Zoe Knable.

Online  5:00 pm – 6:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Being a student at university comes with a range of difficulties, and it's normal to feel stressed and anxious from time to time. Nonetheless, it's important that we know how to look after ourselves and prioritize our well-being and self-care when things get overwhelming. This online workshop will explore how you can be affected by stress and anxiety, and what practical strategies you can apply to create a healthy work-life balance to get the most out of your time as a student.

This workshop aims to: Provide psychoeducation on stress and anxiety Offer practical strategies to create a healthy work-life balance Learn how to manage expectations and treat ourselves with compassion Empower us to set boundaries and say 'no'
Meeting Link

 

An Artist's Talk
P98a Lecture Hall  12:30 pm – 1:45 pm CEST/GMT+2
In her talk, Jumana Manna will speak about her dual practice as a sculptor and a filmmaker, and her ongoing inquiries into the contradictions of preservation and ruination. Manna will focus on her recent film, Foragers, which depicts the criminalization of Palestinian plant foraging traditions. The film challenges the logic of extinction debates under settler-colonial and neoliberal regimes, namely the hierarchies of who determines what is made extinct and what gets to live on. Considering the interdependence of plant and human life, in ecological time and within the moving image, Manna will look at how art forms partake in the refusal of attempted erasures, and can instead re-ground and recode meaning and matter.

The Artist Talk is organized by the OSUN course AR330: Global Visual Politics. This event is made possible with the support of the Open Society University Network's Visual Politics Project.
 
Jumana Manna is a visual artist and filmmaker. Her interdisciplinary practice focuses on infrastructures, body, land and materiality in relation to colonial inheritances and histories of place. She was raised in Jerusalem and lives in Berlin. Manna has participated in group exhibitions and festivals, including FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial (2022); Manifesta 14, Prishtina (2022); Toronto Biennial of Art (2022; 2019); 11th Taipei Biennial (2018); Nordic Pavilion, 57th Venice Biennale (2017); Liverpool Biennial (2016); Marrakech Biennale 6 (2016); 54th and 56th Vienna International Film Festivals (2016 and 2018); 66th and 68th Berlinale (2016 and 2018); and CPH:DOX, Copenhagen (2018), IDFA (2021 and 2022) RIDM, Camden Film Festival, Maine and Open City Film Festival, London (2022).

K24, SR11  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
If you’re interested in staying in Germany, there’s no time like the present to be thinking about what comes after your student residence permit**! We will discuss the different options including extending the student permit for graduate studies and Amber will do her best to demystify the LEA by sharing tips, tricks, and timelines for navigating the process. 

**Student residence permits expire with exmatriculation unless you’re enrolled in another degree program and the specific program isn’t stipulated in your residence permit!

This event is part of Student Life's Preparing for Life After BCB event series. 

K24, SR11  1:00 pm – 2:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
In this workshop you will learn how to navigate your job search for the German Labor Market. Where can you look for jobs? What job engines and newsletters are out there? Not only for German companies but also international ones located in Germany or Europe or vice versa. Where can you find funding for projects and also free consulting services and additional aid in Berlin for your career vision.

This event is part of Student Life's Preparing for Life After BCB event series. 

with Nassim AbiGhanem
P24 SR8  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
This work addresses the broad question: why are some bottom-up peace initiatives successful, while others are not? Looking at the case of Tunisia post-Arab Spring, this research identifies the extent to which social capital and brokerage can contribute to sustainable and successful initiatives by utilizing social network analysis as a conceptual and methodological approach.

This lecture is open to faculty and staff. It is presented by Dr. Nassim AbiGhanem, director of the Politics Concentration at BCB, as part of the Faculty Colloquium series, organized by Gale Raj-Reichert, Ewa Atanassow, and Nina Tecklenburg.

W15 Cafe  7:30 pm – 9:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
As part of the faculty-led DEI event series, Ewa Atanassow and Ulrike Wagner invite you to a conversation with Geoffrey Galt Harpham, a scholar of the humanities and director emeritus of the National Humanities Center. Our conversation will delve into Professor Harpham’s new project, which traces the intellectual history of the concept of race and its impact on the development of modern scientific disciplines. Through this exploration, we aim to gain insights into what we can learn from this history and how we should relate to it today.

This event is sponsored by Early Modern Science Core and the Senior Colloquium. A pre-circulated text, which those interested in attending will be asked to read in advance, will be sent by email.
 
Geoffrey Harpham is a literary scholar and intellectand historian. He has taught at the University of Pennsylvania, Tulane University, and Duke University, and from 2003-15, he served as president and director of the National Humanities Center. During this time he became a prominent historian of and advocate for the humanities, sponsoring initiatives that encouraged dialogues between the humanities and the sciences and social sciences. His longstanding scholarly interests include the role of ethics in literary study, the place of language in intellectual history, the history of education, the place of scholarship in the contemporary world, and the history of the race concept.

SR4  3:45 pm – 6:15 pm CEST/GMT+2
In this presentation, Paul W. Werth (Professor of History at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas and Gerhard Casper Fellow at the American Academy in Berlin) explores an important dimension of the history of territory in Eurasia: the (partial) reconstruction of the Russian Empire as the USSR and the associated problem of the place of Russia within these multi-national states.

This event is sponsored by Bard College in Annandale, the Open Society University Network, and Smolny Beyond Borders. A pre-circulated text, which those interested in attending will be asked to read in advance, will be available on this page.

RSVP Here
 
Paul W. Werth is Professor of History at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas and currently the Gerhard Casper Fellow at the American Academy in Berlin, as well as a Gugenheim Fellow. His books include: 1837: Russia’s Quiet Revolution (Oxford University Press, 2021); Revolutions & Constitutions: The United States, the USSR, and the Islamic Republic of Iran, 4th ed. (Ronkonkoma, NY: Linus Learning, 2020); and The Tsar's Foreign Faiths: Toleration and the Fate of Religious Freedom in Imperial Russia (Oxford University Press, 2014).


 

W16 Reading Room  12:30 pm – 1:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Congratulations! You have your BCB diploma in hand and are ready for your next adventure. Whether your next adventure keeps you in Berlin or somewhere else across the globe, there are a few things that you need to take care of before you leave. 

Remember all of that bureaucracy you went through when you first arrived in Berlin? Now it’s time to do it all in reverse. In this session, we will cover how to complete your Abmeldung (if you are leaving Germany) or Ummeldung (if you are staying in Germany), terminate various contracts (health insurance, phone, bank, etc.) and more!

This event is part of Student Life's Preparing for Life After BCB event series. 

On Data Aesthetics and the Future of AI-Based Art
Online  6:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
REFIK ANADOL (b. 1985, Istanbul, Turkey) is an internationally renowned media artist, director, and pioneer in the aesthetics of data and machine intelligence. He is also a lecturer in UCLA's Department of Design Media Arts. His work locates creativity at the intersection of humans and ma chines. Taking the data that surrounds us as primary material, and the neural network of a computerized mind as a collaborator, Anadol offers us radical visualizations of our digitized memories and expands the possibilities of the arts, architecture, narrative, and the body in motion. Anadol's site-specific Al data sculptures, live audiovisual performances, and environmental installations take many forms, while encouraging us to rethink our engagement with the physical world, decentralized networks, collective experience, and the creative potential of machines. Anadol's work has been exhibited at venues including the Centre Pompidou-Metz, National Gallery of Victoria, Venice Architecture Biennale, Hammer Museum, Dong-daemun Design Plaza, Ars Electronica Festival, Istanbul Design Biennial, and ZKM / Center for Art and New Media. In 2018, Anadol collaborated with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for a live audio-visual performance projected on the façade of Frank Gehry's iconic Walt Disney Concert Hall in celebration of the orchestra's centennial. Refik Anadol: Unsupervised, the artist's first solo North American museum presentation, is currently on view at The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

The virtual event will be held in English and will be recorded. For more information about how to register and attend, refer to the poster attached to this event or hung up around campus. Painting With A Thinking Brush: Refik Anadol is organized by the United States Embassy and Bard College Berlin. If you have any questions for the artist, please send them in advance to: [email protected].

St. Matthäus-Kirche, Matthäikirchplatz, 10785 Berlin
OPENING Saturday, April 22, 2023, 7:00 p.m.
Introduction by Luisa Heese and Rudolf Zwirner
St. Matthäus-Kirche, Berlin

The artist Michael Müller shows a complex of works created between 2013 and 2022 at St. Matthäus-Kirche, Berlin, that is dedicated to the question of the possibilities and impossibilities of an artistic engagement with the Holocaust. In a 16-part work, Müller questions Gerhard Richter's "Birkenau" cycle by uncovering its layers and revealing mechanisms that, when examined closely, open up a space for discussion. What unites the works shown in the exhibition "Am Abgrund der Bilder" is that they represent an interrogation from different perspectives in a broad spectrum of artistic media: Painting, sculpture, photography and text. They evoke the openness of questioning, foregoing a definitive answer and instead allowing for constant discussion. In the church space, Müller's works not only pose anew the question of the biblical ban on images, but also the question of a God who could allow the murder of millions of people. The exhibition runs April 23 – September 3, 2023.

In late summer (date to be announced) Bard College Berlin will cohost the Symposium "AM ABGRUND DER BILDER"

On the occasion of the exhibition, a symposium will take place in the late summer of 2023 that will deal with the artistic and social ways of dealing with the four photographs of the so-called "Sonderkommando" of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the only direct and immediate visual testimonies of the Holocaust. The symposium will present positions from the fields of historical science and art history as well as philosophical and image-theoretical positions that deal with the issue of the depictability of singular historical events and the implications of artistic engagement with them. What functions do images have, what power and responsibility do images have? Can everything be depicted or do certain topics elude depictability? What may and what must be depicted?

This symposium is a cooperation between Bard College Berlin and Evangelische Akademie Berlin. It is generously supported by the Deutsche Postcode Lotterie and Alien Athena Foundation for Art.

Hopscotch Reading Room   7:30 pm – 9:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
The OSUN-funded Transnational Feminism, Solidarity, and Social Justice event series continues with an off-campus event. On 21 April 2023, Professor Srila Roy (University of the Witwatersrand) will present her latest book, Changing the Subject: Feminist and Queer Politics in Neoliberal India (Duke University Press 2022), at the Hopscotch Reading Room in Berlin Wedding (Gerichtstrasse 45). The book launch will be moderated by BCB Migration Studies professor Agata Lisiak. Everyone is welcome!
 
Srila Roy is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and 2022 Hunt-Simes Visiting Professor in Sexuality Studies at the University of Sydney. Her long-standing research and teaching expertise is in the area of transnational feminist studies. Her latest books are the co-edited, Intimacy and Injury: in the wake of #MeToo in India and South Africa (Manchester University Press, 2022) and the sole-authored, Changing the Subject: Feminist and Queer Politics in Neoliberal India (Duke University Press, 2022). She is a co-editor of the journal Feminist Theory and the recipient of the inaugural FTGS Global South Feminist Scholar Award from the International Studies Association (ISA). At Wits, she leads the Governing Intimacies project, which promotes new scholarship on gender and sexuality in Southern Africa and India, supported by the Andrew W. Mellon foundation.

P98a Lecture Hall  7:30 pm – 10:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Join us for a screening of Luchino Visconti’s 1971 adaptation of Thomas Mann's classic novella "Der Tod in Venedig" ("Death in Venice") about Gustav von Aschenbach, a renowned composer paralysed by ennui and repressed emotion. During a visit to Venice, Aschenbach discovers a last vestige of beauty and emotion. Believing himself lost to the muse, he develops a troubling attraction to Tadzio, a handsome boy on holiday with his mother.

The event is part of Martin Widmann’s Introduction to German Literary History course. It is open to all. No advance registration is necessary.

Online  6:00 pm – 7:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
DO{K}VIRA (Trust Cut) is an online art exhibition curated by Valentina Petrova and Yulia Serdyukova and composed mostly of raw video and audio files from Oksana Kazmina's archive collected during six years of her work on the feminist documentary project «На глибині» ("Underwater"). Exploring three layers of 'reality' – the reality of life, the reality captured by a camera lens, and the reality of an editorial cut, the audience can observe the economics of trust and how it emerges and manifests in the documentary genre. The event will include an online curatorial excursion through the exhibition and a discussion on how the time of war amplifies the main topics of DO{K}VIRA (Trust Cut), the interconnectedness of ethics, politics, and aesthetics in documentary film production.

Event Link

This event is part of the series "New Directions in Research and Art: Perspectives from Ukraine", organized in cooperation with the Threatened Scholars Initiative of the Open Society University Network (TSI-OSUN). Other events in this series are Feminist Pedagogy and Theory in the Times of Crises and Hello, Europe! Russia Goodbye! Verka Serduchka and the History of Queerness in Ukrainian Pop Culture. To learn more about TSI-OSUN, visit their website. 
 
Yulia Serdyukova is a film producer, photographer, curator, and a member of the cinemovent and NGO Freefilmers.

Oksana Kazmina is an artist whose practice is situated at the intersection of body, moving image, text, and virtual interfaces. Kazmina is a member of the cinemovent and NGO Freefilmers.

Grisebach  7:00 pm – 9:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
You are cordially invited to join us for the first Berlin Liberal Arts Talk featuring the lecture A Journey Through Modern Political Art in the Arab World by Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi on April 18, 2023. In the tradition of liberal arts education, this new lecture, jointly established by Bard College Berlin and Grisebach, will address the importance of artistic work in our world, both with a view to history, the present, and the future – be it creative, philosophical, political, or social.

This talk shall survey the political underpinnings of Arab art in the 20th century and the socio-political conditions that shaped cultural production in the region. Whether it is under the Baathist regimes of Syria and Iraq, or under Egypt’s pan-Arabism championed by Gamal Abdel Nasser, painting and sculpture, as well as music, film, and literature have been employed by various governments as a tool of soft power to propagate their policies to the public not only in their respective states but throughout the region and beyond. Despite this widespread government patronage of the arts, many artists have chosen to challenge the authorities through subversive movements and practices. By focusing on creative practices and the strategic use of the arts, this presentation will shed light on an important dimension of the modern history of the Arab world and other parts of the Middle East. The event will take place at Grisebach, Fasanenstraße 25, 10719 Berlin. Doors will open for registration at 6:30 p.m. The lecture starts at 7:00 p.m. After the talk, at 8:30 p.m., a reception with light refreshments will allow us to continue the conversation.

This event requires advance registration. Please register here by April 9, 2023.
 
Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi is an acclaimed Emirati columnist and researcher on social, political, and cultural affairs in the Arab Gulf States. He is also the founder of the Barjeel Art Foundation, an independent initiative established in 2010 to contribute to the intellectual development of the art
scene in the Arab region. He has taught Politics of Modern Middle Eastern Art at New York University, Yale University, Georgetown University, Boston College, The American University at Paris, Columbia University, and at Bard College Berlin, where he currently teaches. Al-Qassemi is also a Spring 2023 fellow at the Wissenschaftskolleg, The Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin.
 

Online  12:15 pm – 2:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Are you interested in learning more about antisemitism in Germany today? Faculty, students, and staff are invited to join us for an educational lecture hosted by the Competence Center for Prevention and Empowerment (Kompetenzzentrum für Prävention und Empowerment - ZWST e.V.). The experienced experts will provide an in-depth look into the current state of antisemitism in Germany, and discuss the strategies and resources available to help combat it. Attendees will leave the lecture with a better understanding of the issues and solutions related to antisemitism in Germany today. The aim of the lecture is to raise awareness about the issue, to provide an opportunity to discuss it, and to discover what steps can be taken to promote tolerance and understanding.

To register for this event, please reach out to May Zeidani Yufanyi at [email protected]. 

P98a Lecture Hall  6:00 pm – 7:15 pm CEST/GMT+2
Join us in the lecture hall on Monday, April 17 for a talk by Dr. Prof. Stephan Weber titled "The Museum for Islamic Art at the Pergamon Museum: From the Ivory Tower to the Centre of Our Society."

This event is organized by the The Middle East and North Africa Student Forum at Bard College Berlin. Advance registration is requested, a sign-up link will be available shortly via Google Form.

10:00 am – 4:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
This event is for admitted students only.

Congratulations on your admission!

We're delighted to invite you to get to know Bard College Berlin on Admitted Students Day. Join us for a day on our campus where you can meet fellow admitted students, attend a seminar with our professors, meet our staff, and hear from our current students about life as a Bard Berliner.

Register now through your applicant portal to decide which seminar you'll attend and begin planning your trip to Berlin! 
 

Online  7:30 pm – 9:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
The ideal of “government of the people, by the people, and for the people” suggests that democracy entails participation by the governed in the acts of governing. What forms this participation can--and should--take may be viewed as the central question of democracy.

This event brings together an international panel of scholars from a variety of perspectives to explore the relationship between civil society and popular self-government. How can grassroots organizing and civic engagement help to enhance and legitimize democratic institutions? When and why might they deepen social polarization and distrust? Is there a relationship between national identity, civic participation, and democratic resilience? And what is the role of higher education in promoting best practices and collective self-understanding?

The event will also serve as a book launch for When the People Rule: Popular Sovereignty in Theory and Practice, forthcoming from Cambridge University Press. The epilogue from this book is attached to this event as a PDF.

Meeting Link

This event is made possible through the cooperation of Bard College Berlin, Bard College in Annandale, the Open Society University Network, OSUN’s Smolny Beyond Borders, and the Consortium on Forced Migration, Displacement, and Education. 

Speakers:

Ewa Atanassow is Professor of Politics at Bard College Berlin. She is co-editor, with Thomas Bartscherer and David Bateman, of When the People Rule: Popular Sovereignty in Theory and Practice (Cambridge, 2023).

Thomas Bartscherer is Peter Sourian Senior Lecturer in the Humanities at Bard College. He is co-editor, with Ewa Atanassow and David Bateman, of When the People Rule: Popular Sovereignty in Theory and Practice (Cambridge, 2023).

Kerry Bystrom is an Associate Professor of English and Human Rights, and an associate Dean of Bard College Berlin. She has published widely on South African literary and cultural studies, and comparative literature.

Berit Ebert specializes in European Union law with a focus on the intersection of gender equity, democracy, and the rule of law, as well as the judicial reform in Poland, and subnational influence on supranational policymaking.

Mie Inouye is Assistant Professor of Political Studies at Bard College. Her scholarship investigates the ways that institutions shape people’s understandings of themselves and the social world, and the practices that allow oppressed people to develop and exercise agency.

Ekaterina Schulmann is a political scientist specializing in the legislative process in modern Russia, and in parliamentarism and decision-making mechanisms in hybrid political regimes. This academic year she is a Fellow at the Robert Bosch Academy in Berlin.


Download: When the People Rule_Epilogue - Ewa Atanassow.pdf

Online  6:00 pm – 7:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
This online lecture will briefly explore histories of queer themes and queer representation in Ukrainian Popular Culture from the late 1990s to the 2020s. Geo will focus on drag performer and Eurovision contestant Verka Serduchka, who, in their reading, embodies a complicated intersection between postsocialist, postcolonial, and queer identities.

Event Link

This event is part of the series "New Directions in Research and Art: Perspectives from Ukraine", organized in cooperation with the Threatened Scholars Initiative of the Open Society University Network (TSI-OSUN). Other events in this series are Feminist Pedagogy and Theory in the Times of Crises and DO{K}VIRA (Trust Cut): Ethics, Politics, and Aesthetics in Documentary Filmmaking. To learn more about TSI-OSUN, visit their website. 
 
Geo is a queer-feminist activist from Ukraine, a member of ZBOKU Art Initiative, and an independent researcher and translator.
 

The Factory (Performance Space)  2:00 pm – 3:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
In the context of the Berlin Internship Seminar: Working Cultures, Urban Cultures, we are proud to welcome Dr. Shana Almeida, Assistant Professor in the School of Professional Communication at Toronto Metropolitan University, for the Berlin launch of her book Toronto the Good?: Negotiating Race in the Diverse City. The book brings together Almeida’s critical insights as a former political staff member along with her years of in-depth research on diversity in Toronto to offer a compelling case to rethink how we understand diversity and racial inclusion in Toronto and beyond. Initiated in a local context, Toronto the Good? critically contributes to global discussions on diversity, race, democracy, political participation, and power. Hosted by Prof. Agata Lisiak.

To register for this event, please contact Florian Duijsens.
 
Shana Almeida is an assistant professor in the School of Professional Communication at the Toronto Metropolitan University. Her research and teaching contributions are informed by over six years as a senior political staff member at the City of Toronto.
 

K24 SR 11  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
The BCB Internship Program gives you the opportunity to gain an off-campus workplace experience in a field that interests you. You can work 10-13h/week in an internship while also exploring various questions regarding work in the internship seminar taught by Agata Lisiak, Florian Duijsens and Asli Vatansever. Most internships are generally unpaid, but you can earn academic credits through the internship seminar.

If you are a current or upcoming third-year student and curious about BCB’s Internship Program and the opportunity to gain practical experience alongside your studies while interning for an organization or individual in Berlin, please save the date.

W15 Cafe  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
Join the Student Life Committee for a discussion of space and place on campus. All members of the BCB community are welcome to attend. This event takes place in the W15 Cafe.

An Online Workshop with ECCHR
Online  5:00 pm – 7:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
To register for this event, please email Zeynep Kıvılcım no later than March 25, 2023.

Together with partners worldwide and those affected by human rights abuses, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) uses legal interventions to combat the impunity of perpetrators responsible for torture, war crimes, sexual and gender-based violence, corporate exploitation and border violence.

ECCHR’s current project, the Living Open Archive project, aims to render legal interventions visible, as well as to provide a platform to access and explore the last 15 years of accumulated knowledge within the organization and wider network. As both an active tool and a repository of knowledge, the Archive will help generate new ways of visualizing the possibilities and challenges of human rights work that extend beyond singular cases.

In this workshop, Dr. Annelen Micus (Director of the ECCHR Institute for Legal Intervention) and Rieke Ernst (Coordinator of Activism & Art at ECCHR) will present the in-progress Living Open Archive project and lead a critical discussion that reflects on the narratives that shape, as well as emerge from, human rights work. The workshop will bring together students from the Bard College in NY and in Berlin to work together with ECCHR to develop creative approaches and ideas for the Archive to become a living tool accessible for a wide range of human rights activists.

ECCHR is an independent, non-profit legal and educational organization dedicated to enforcing civil and human rights worldwide. Together with those affected and partners worldwide, ECCHR uses legal means to end impunity for those responsible for torture, war crimes, sexual and gender-based violence, corporate exploitation and fortressed borders.

Online  6:00 pm – 7:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
This talk centers on documentation and self-documentation following the brutal full-scale military Russian invasion of Ukraine. Queer feminist scholars, artists, and activists Ira Tantsiura, Marina Gaba, and Natalka Chezh explore the challenges of creating and preserving war memories and experiences from a decolonial perspective. Panelists make timely contributions to the discussion of the ethics and politics of war documentation through various examples: from planning a feminist film festival to the self-documentation of performance art in the streets to the autoethnographic sketch on changes that experiencing living in wartime brings to one's writing.

This event is sponsored by the Threatened Scholars Initiative of the Open Society University Network (TSI-OSUN) and open to the public. It is part of the series New Directions in Research and Art: Perspectives from Ukraine.

Meeting Link
 
Natalka Chezh is a burned-out grassroots queer anarcho activist who now sporadically translates texts of her comrades and writes her own, most of which will never see the light of day.

Marina Gaba is an artist who works with performance, photo and video documentation, and zine-making. She grew up and established herself as an artist in Dnipro, where she still lives.

Ira Tantsiura is an independent researcher, queer feminist activist, and film festival programmer.

with Boris Vormann
P24 SR8  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CEST/GMT+2
How is it possible that the American state, often characterized as weak and decentralized, has built the largest circulation systems in human history? Putting under scrutiny widespread myths of American statelessness, this talk fleshes out how the United States’s ascent to global economic hegemony rested, fundamentally, on the consolidation of the state apparatus and its direct and indirect investments in logistical infrastructure.

This lecture is open to faculty and staff. It is presented by Prof. Dr. Boris Vormann, director of the Politics Concentration at BCB, as part of the Faculty Colloquium series, organized by Gale Raj-Reichert, Ewa Atanassow, and Nina Tecklenburg.

Online  7:00 pm – 8:10 pm CEST/GMT+2
Author Fatin Abbas returns to our campus (via zoom) to talk about her debut novel, Ghost Season. Weaving a sweeping history of the breakup of Sudan into the lives of five captivating characters, Abbas explores the porous and perilous nature of borders—whether they be national, ethnic, or religious—and the profound consequences for those who cross them. The book discussion is part of SO285 Migration, Space, and Power, a course taught by BCB Migration Studies professor Agata Lisiak who will also moderate the event.

The event takes place within the framework of and is funded by the Mellon Cluster of Forced Migration, Displacement, and Education. A Zoom link will be included in the "This Week at BCB" email on 3.23 & 3.27.
 
Fatin Abbas is the author of Ghost Season: A Novel (W.W. Norton 2023; also forthcoming in the UK and Germany). Her short fiction has appeared in Granta, Freeman’s: The Best New Writing on Arrival, The Warwick Review, and Friction, amongst other places, and her journalism and non-fiction have appeared in The Nation, Le Monde diplomatique, Zeit Online, and Africa Is a Country, among other venues. She has been a Miles Morland Foundation Writing Scholar (UK), a Writer-in-Residence at the Jan Michalski Foundation for Writing and Literature (Switzerland), a Maison Baldwin St. Paul de Vence Writer-in-Residence (France), an Austrian Federal Chancellery/KulturKontakt Artist-in-Residence (Austria), and has held fellowships at the Akademie Schloss Solitude and Schloss Wiepersdorf in Germany. She gained her BA in English from the University of Cambridge, her PhD in Comparative Literature from Harvard University, and her MFA in Creative Writing from Hunter College, CUNY.
 

Live Info Session with BCB Admissions
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Please fill out the form below to register and receive the access link to this Admissions event.



 Loading.../**/

The Factory  3:45 pm – 4:45 pm CEST/GMT+2
For all who would like to know how to collaborate productively, how to survive as an independent artist group or how to succeed as a feminist performance collective in the male dominated theater and arts business: Award-winning performance collective She She Pop will hold a one-hour Q&A session about their work as a feminist performance collective whose member have been collaborating for 30 years.

Artists present: Ilia Papatheodorou, Sebastian Bark

This Q&A session is part of the course Self-Instructions: Creating Autobiographical Performance with She She Pop (Nina Tecklenburg, in collaboration with She She Pop)

Waldstr. 15 Cafe  1:30 pm – 3:00 pm CEST/GMT+2
Bard College Berlin, with help from the Civic Engagement office, invites you to attend a special one-day gallery exhibition entitled Feminist Movements Across Space and Time. This event will begin following the lecture "Why Do We 'Care'? Roots and Consequences of the Feminist Revolution in Iran," which gallery visitors are encouraged to attend. This event is open to the public.

Throughout March 2023, BCB community members were invited to share their interests, perspectives or personal experiences regarding women’s rights movements from across the world. Ranging from particular initiatives, demands, protest slogan or images that the contributors find especially powerful, inspiring or urgent, the exhibition features visual and written personal reflections and testimonies to the many shapes and shades of women's rights movements and feminist fights across space and time.

The full list of contributors will be announced closer to the date of the event.
 

P98a Lecture Hall / Online  12:30 pm – 1:15 pm CEST/GMT+2
Despite its uniqueness and unpredictability, the current Jin Jiyan Azadi revolution in Iran is not born out of a void. In this lecture, Firoozeh Farvardin, a feminist activist/scholar, addresses the historical contexts of political discontent and mobilizations against gender/sexual politics of the Islamic Republic in the past four decades that led to the revolutionary movement in the present. She also discusses the meanings and implications of calling the revolutionary movement in Iran a feminist revolution. The lecture will be concluded with an invitation to think about the implications and long-term impacts of the Jin Jiyan Azadi revolution on transnational feminist struggles.

Bard College Berlin students are encouraged to attend the lecture in-person in the P98a Lecture Hall.
OSUN attendees can join the lecture online using this link.

This event is part of the Transnational Feminism, Solidarity, and Social Justice lecture series and is organized with the course SE294 Social Justice & Transnational Feminism. 
 
Firoozeh Farvardin is a feminist activist/scholar based in Berlin. She is currently a postdoc fellow of IRGAC (International Research Group on Authoritarianism and Counter-strategies), Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, where she is working on gender/sexual (counter) strategies of authoritarian neoliberalism in Iran. She is also an affiliated researcher at MERGE (Middle East and Migration Research Network) and a former guest lecturer at the Berlin Institute for Integration and Migration Research (BIM), Humboldt University of Berlin.
 

WIRWIR  4:00 pm – 8:00 pm CET/GMT+1
On Sunday, April 26, WIRWIR will host the launch of BCB arts faculty April Gertler's new book, Bread Banter.

From Berlin Independents Guide: 

April Gertler will be launching her latest book, BREAD BANTER - a collection of over 30 recipes and stories of Irish Soda Bread, which was a component of the lecture baking performance TAKE THE CAKE; Soda Bread in Ireland late last year. The book is the result of over 2 years of research in Ireland which is considered the national cake of the country. 

In the words of Julia Gelezova from Terms of Consumption, which commissioned the project, "The cake plays the protagonist in TAKE THE CAKE and I believe it is because the cake embodies nostalgia, commensality through the act of slicing and sharing, and the opportunity to dissect the ingredients to explore the historical and social landscape of, in this case, a country. The gathering of oral stories, memories, and recipes is an empowering part of [the] process, allowing the participants to own, and at times reclaim, their stories and share the intrinsic knowledge that has been passed on through generations.”

BREAD BANTER - the book and a video of the lecture performance TAKE THE CAKE: SODA BREAD will be on view in addition to some fresh ready to eat Soda Bread with homemade butter!

The event will take place at WIRWIR, Stuttgarter Str. 56, 12059 Berlin. You can find out more about the event here.

The Factory  7:00 pm – 9:30 pm CET/GMT+1
Due to a scheduling change, this event will begin at 7pm.

This semester's Open Mic Night will take place in The Factory as usual, and the stage is open to any student willing to perform. Whether it's singing, playing an instrument, reading from a book about feet, dancing, stand-up comedy, it doesn't matter! It's a place to showcase the talents of our student body. Sign up in advance to perform here. Sign-ups will also be available at the event.

W15 Cafe  6:00 pm – 8:00 pm CET/GMT+1
Another year, another Ramadan! A month for reflection and evaluation as much as it is a time for community and solidarity. The BCB community is invited to come together to break fast and enjoy a community Iftar. All are welcome!

If you wish to help with organizing and cooking, contact the DEI office or come by the kitchen at K24 starting at 4 pm.

Live Information Session with BCB Admissions
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm CET/GMT+1
Please fill out the form below to register and receive the access link to this Admissions event.



 Loading.../**/

A Theatrical Adaptation of Christina Rossetti's 1862 Poem
The Factory  5:00 pm – 7:45 pm CET/GMT+1
Goblin Market is an experimental theater production inspired by the poem of the same name by Christina Rosetti, originally published in 1862. This production attempts to capture the essence of Rosetti's narrative and transform her words into a visually immersive performance. Goblin Market (1862) tells the story of two sisters, Laura and Lizzie, as they interact with a group of river goblins who sell them forbidden fruits. Considering the relevance of the poem's subtext, which hints at sexual assault and drug addiction, Goblin Market (2023) plans to introduce an unabriged interpretation of this Pre-Paphaelite text by abstracting it into a re-imagined modernity.

Goblin Market investigates the embodied experience of oral transmission, particularly in its darker manifestations. As an embodied experience, the theater as a medium is the ideal experimentation ground for what Freud termed “the uncanny" (das unheimlich); this phenomenon ultimately springs forth from the incongruity between our bodily experience and the space that surrounds us. 

This event is organized by Michaella Toscano and Nora Stone. 

Performance times are:
Friday, March 24: 5:00 - 5:30 pm
Saturday, March 25: 6:00 - 6:30 pm 

*EXTENDED* Enrollment Deadline: Monday, March 27, 2023
This set of four reading group sessions lead by  will introduce students to the Persian poet Ferdowsi and his 10th century epic poem and classic of world literature, Shahnameh/The Persian Book of Kings. Participants should commit to all four sessions, and will be expected to complete readings, preparatory work, and individual consultations between sessions. Students who satisfactorily complete the workshop series will be eligible for 2 ECTS credits.

This event is generously supported by the Philipp Schwartz Initiative of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

To enroll, please write to Maheen Atif by Monday, March 27, 2023.

Schedule:

Session I | Tuesday March 28, 2023, 12:30 - 1:30 pm | Lecture Hall
The series will begin with an introductory talk by Dr. Khosrawi on Ferdowsi and the Shahnameh in the context of world literature. All are invited to this event, including those not participating in the reading group.

Session II | Tuesday April 18, 2023, 12:30-1:30pm | P98A SR4
Close reading and discussion of selected sections of the Shahnameh; Ferdowsi and his world 

Session III | Tuesday May 2, 2023, 12:30-1:30pm | P98A SR4
Close reading and discussion of selected sections of the Shahnameh;  Impact of the Shahnameh on the formation of other types of Persian literature and culture

Session IV: Closing Event | To be scheduled for Completion Week
Reflections on the Shahnameh and contemporary Afghanistan, combined with Afghan music, food and photography exhibition (TBC)
 
Prof. Ahmad Ghani Khosrawi is a Philipp Schwartz Fellow at Bard College Berlin. He was previously the Dean of Humanities and Literature faculty of Herat University. A scholar and humanitarian, he is the author of 15 books and more than 50 articles published in several countries. He serves as a Senior Cultural Advisor of the Belt and Road Initiative 2018-2030 (China), and is a member of International linguistics, a member of ECHO, and a researcher of AIL. He also founded the German department at Herat University. Prof. Khosrawi received his Bachelor’s degree in Humanities and Literature from Herat University, and received his Masters and Doctorate degrees from the Jamia Millia Islamic University in New Delhi, India.

  P24 SR5  12:30 pm – 2:00 pm CET/GMT+1
In the second workshop, we will briefly discuss which news writing techniques we can use for which media environment. Students should come with a news draft/proposal to pitch at this workshop, which will now function as a news room. 

This event is part of a series of three workshops, led by Ayşe Çavdar. These workshops will introduce BCB students to the basics of practical journalism, through discussion and hands-on work writing and editing stories. Students should commit to all three sessions, and will be expected to do reading and preparatory work and to have individual consultations between sessions. Students who satisfactorily complete the workshop series will be eligible for 2 ECTS credits.

To enroll in this workshop series, please write to Ayse ([email protected]) by Friday March 10, 2023.
 
Ayşe Çavdar completed her BA degree in Journalism at Ankara University and received her MA in History at Boğaziçi University in Turkey. She finalized her doctoral thesis titled "The Loss of Modesty: The Adventure of Muslim Family from Neighborhood to Gated Community" at the European University of Viadrina in 2014 . She was a postdoctoral fellow at Käte Hamburger Kolleg - Center for Global Cooperation Research in Duisburg in 2017. She continued her studies as a visiting scholar at Philipps University in Marburg for two years between 2018-2020. Recently, she has been a visiting scholar at Bard College Berlin. 

Alongside her academic career, Çavdar has been a journalist for three decades, working on diverse political, cultural, and social issues. She participated in and worked for different NGOs in Turkey professionally and as a volunteer.

K30 Lounge   12:00 pm – 2:00 pm CET/GMT+1
This event is part of "Academic Writing: The Research Paper", a series of events designed to help students improve their academic scholarship. Two workshops will take place over four days. No advance registration is required.

All four events will take place from 12:00-2:00pm in the K30 Lounge. 

Workshop 1
Part 1: Research Methods and Practices | Feb 23, 2023
Part 2: Structuring a Research Paper | Feb 27, 2023

Workshop 2
Part 1: Constructing Arguments and Using Evidence | Mar 21, 2023
Part 2: Writing and Editing Strategies | Mar 23, 2023

with the Hertie School
P98 Lecture Hall  4:00 pm – 5:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Join us for an in-person info session on "Applying to Graduate Schools in Germany: What are your options and how to boost your chances” presented by Mr. Matthew Poet from the Hertie School, one of Europe’s top policy schools (Berlin, Germany). 

with Riaz Partha Khan
P24 SR8  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CET/GMT+1
As both legal norm and political exception, the interim regimes in Bangladesh conducted a series of successful elections, but succumbed to partisan conflicts and emergency rule. Riaz Partha Khan will present his paper on these caretaker governments and turns to Walter Benjamin's materialist conception of history to identify the specificities of each extreme event by means of conceptual distinctions that shed light on the overall caretaker phenomena. The paper will be available in print format at the event and a digital version is attached to this invitation.

This lecture is open to faculty and staff. It is presented by Dr. Riaz Partha Khan as part of the Faculty Colloquium series, organized by Gale Raj-Reichert, Ewa Atanassow, and Nina Tecklenburg.
 


Download: colloquium_riaz_bangladesh.pdf

Registration Deadline: Sunday, March 19
4:00 pm – 7:00 pm CET/GMT+1
Give Something Back to Berlin, an award-winning association that connects migrants, refugees, and locals to engage in building an open and inclusive society kindly invited us to join their Newroz Community Gathering - Newroz is the Kurdish celebration of Nowruz; the arrival of spring and new year in Kurdish culture.

We will have an exclusive introduction meeting with Ragip Zik, Co-Director on Communications and Partnerships at Give Something Back to Berlin, where you can learn about Internship & Volunteering Opportunities and all their programs like music and language teaching, social cooking, arts & activism.

Afterwards we can explore their program offerings, e.g. in music and language teaching, social cooking, arts & activism and spend some leisure time there together!

Please register via email to: [email protected] by Sunday, March 19th. We need to have a rough idea of the group size.
 
Ragıp brings with him over 20 years’ experience in project management, communication, and international cooperation. Working for NGOs in Greece, Italy, and Turkey, Ragıp coordinated multi-partner projects across the Euro-Mediterranean area, the Middle East, and the Caucasus in the past. Ragıp holds a PhD in Sociology from Freie Universität Berlin and blends his civil society practice with social research. He has taught on nonprofit communications at various universities and occasionally serves as a trainer and consultant in human rights, advocacy, peacebuilding, and youth work. His research on visual activism, social movements, and digital media appeared in academic and non-academic publications and also in artistic formats. At GSBTB, Ragıp is part of the Senior Management Team. At the same time, he oversees strategic communications and partnership efforts.

W16 SR9  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CET/GMT+1
This event, originally scheduled for March 14, will now take place on Tuesday, March 21 in W16 SR9.

Wondering what comes next after the student residence permit**? Come chat with three BCB alum about their different post-BCB residence permit paths! 

**Student residence permits expire with exmatriculation unless you’re enrolled in another degree program and the specific program isn’t stipulated in your residence permit!

This event is part of Student Life's Preparing for Life After BCB event series. If you are unable to attend this event, there will be a similar event on Thursday, April 27.

K30 Lounge   12:00 pm – 2:00 pm CET/GMT+1
This event is part of "Academic Writing: The Research Paper", a series of events designed to help students improve their academic scholarship. Two workshops will take place over four days. No advance registration is required.

All four events will take place from 12:00-2:00pm in the K30 Lounge. 

Workshop 1
Part 1: Research Methods and Practices | Feb 23, 2023
Part 2: Structuring a Research Paper | Feb 27, 2023

Workshop 2
Part 1: Constructing Arguments and Using Evidence | Mar 21, 2023
Part 2: Writing and Editing Strategies | Mar 23, 2023

Lunch Lecture
W15 Cafe  12:30 pm – 2:00 pm CET/GMT+1
Please join us for an artist talk with Tanya Marcuse, Professor of Photography at Bard College, at the W15 Cafeteria. Bring your lunch or enjoy light refreshments provided at the event.

Tanya Marcuse makes large-scale photographs investigating the imperiled natural world in elaborately constructed tableaux. In 2005, she embarked on a three part, 14 year project – Fruitless | Fallen | Woven –moving from iconic, serial photographs of trees in Fruitless to immersive, allegorical works in Fallen and Woven. Fueled by the Biblical narrative of the fall from Eden, these related projects use increasingly fantastical imagery and more elaborate methods of construction to explore cycles of growth and decay and the dynamic tension between the passage of time and the photographic medium.

Tanya's photographs are in many collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Art and the George Eastman Museum. Her books include Undergarments and Armor (Nazraeli Press, 2005), Wax Bodies, (Nazraeli Press, 2012), Fruitless | Fallen | Woven  (Radius Press, 2019) and Ink (Fall Line Press (2021). Tanya Marcuse is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Peter S. Reed Grant and MacDowell Fellowships. Tanya is a student of martial arts and boxing to cultivate mental and physical discipline. She teaches at Bard College.

Pankow  Join BCB and the borough of Pankow for the annual Pankow Gegen Rassismus (weeks against racism). While we all strive to oppose and eliminate prejudice throughout the year, this annual tradition brings special attention to opposing racism in our neighborhood. Several events, some organized by BCB and some organized externally, will take place over the two week period from March 20 to April 2. All students, faculty, and staff are invited to attend.
 
AntiRacism Reading Group!
Are you ready to commit to anti-racism & addressing racial inequality?

If the answer is yes, Then join the AR group! The group will discuss anti-racist texts and materials and engage in critical and productive reflection.
First session and a guided tour through the Janusz-Korczak-Bibliothek (local library) will take place between 28th and 31st of March! (date tbc)

Email Kat Southern for more information and register via the sign up form!
 
March 20 - April 2
Book fair featuring BIPoC authors and literature on (anti-)racism

Discover books and other media by BIPoc authors and literature addressing (anti)racism, migration, and diversity. At the following libraries, you'll find special displays of books during the Weeks against Racism.

Locations/Libraries:
1) Janusz-Korczak-Bibliothek
2) Bettina-von-Arnim Bibliothek
3) Stadtteilbibliothek Buch
 
March 25, 2pm
Vietnamese Cooking Crash Course
@Club Asiaticus e.V. | viTa | VINAPHUNU
Schönfließer Str. 7
10439 Berlin

For all lovers of Vietnamese cuisine and culture. This crash course teaches you the Vietnamese language in the form of a cooking course. A traditional dish usually consists of, among other things, Vietnamese herbs and spices. Simple sentences and a vocabulary will be taught to the participants. At the common meal afterwards there is time and space for questions and exchange.

Since over 30 years, VINAPHUNU offers Vietnamese women in Prenzlauer Berg, Pankow, legal advice and social consulting, various courses e.g. German/ handcrafts/ health classes, divers activities for families and children, plus large library.

Please register in advance via phone or mail.
Contact: Aymi Tran ([email protected] / 015251903106)
 
March 30, 10am
Theatre Workshop: Generational Healing
by Migra Up!
@Scaling Spaces, Berliner Straße 80, 13189 Berlin

What if you could tap into the wisdom and love of the ancestors that lies behind our painful family stories? In this 3-hour workshop you're invited to explore what you've inherited and how we you can best tap into that wisdom.

Migra UP! is the place for migrant self-organization in Pankow. They promote cooperation between Pankow migrant associations and the local administration. Empowerment is written in capital letters at Migra UP! and professional networking is our most important offer.

Contact:
Marita Orbegoso Alvarez
[email protected]
+49163-6380397
 
More Info: Weeks Against Racism
 

P98A Lecture Hall  4:00 pm – 6:00 pm CET/GMT+1
Join us in the P98A Lecture Hall for a screening of the documentary Academic_Puszi, followed by a Q&A session with the director, Dr. Georgiana Turculet. Academic_Puszi addresses pressing questions about hypermobility, precarity and solidarity in today's academia. This event is sponsored by the Philipp-Schwartz-Initiative of the Alexander-von-Humbolt Foundation.
 
Georgiana Turculet is a Principal Investigator for an EU-funded Marie S. Curie research project titled On Just Movement, JUSMOVE, hosted by the Law Department at the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) in Barcelona and the Big Data Science Laboratory at Universitatea de Vest din Timișoara (WUT). Her project aims at impacting scholarly and public contemporary debates, as well as stakeholders, such as United Nations agencies and the European Union. She holds a PhD from the Doctoral School of Political Science, Public Policy and International Relations of Central European University (CEU). Her Alma Mater University CEU was forced to move together with its students and faculty, from Hungary to Austria, which explains her interest in academic freedom and mobility.

  P24 SR5  12:30 pm – 2:00 pm CET/GMT+1
In this workshop, we will discuss the basic concepts and processes of journalism. What is news, what does a newsroom look like, how does it function, and why is not all information news, even if they are important? Who does a journalist work for, or to whom are they responsible? What do we talk about when we talk about journalistic ethics? What should we pay attention to when thinking about the media-politics-capital triad? 

This event is part of a series of three workshops, led by Ayşe Çavdar. These workshops will introduce BCB students to the basics of practical journalism, through discussion and hands-on work writing and editing stories. Students should commit to all three sessions, and will be expected to do reading and preparatory work and to have individual consultations between sessions. Students who satisfactorily complete the workshop series will be eligible for 2 ECTS credits.

To enroll in this workshop series, please write to Ayse ([email protected]) by Friday March 10, 2023.
 
Ayşe Çavdar completed her BA degree in Journalism at Ankara University and received her MA in History at Boğaziçi University in Turkey. She finalized her doctoral thesis titled "The Loss of Modesty: The Adventure of Muslim Family from Neighborhood to Gated Community" at the European University of Viadrina in 2014 . She was a postdoctoral fellow at Käte Hamburger Kolleg - Center for Global Cooperation Research in Duisburg in 2017. She continued her studies as a visiting scholar at Philipps University in Marburg for two years between 2018-2020. Recently, she has been a visiting scholar at Bard College Berlin. 

Alongside her academic career, Çavdar has been a journalist for three decades, working on diverse political, cultural, and social issues. She participated in and worked for different NGOs in Turkey professionally and as a volunteer.

K24 Reading Room  7:30 pm – 9:00 pm CET/GMT+1
On behalf of LGBCBTQ+, we are proud to announce the official opening of the Queer Community Library on Wednesday, March 15th from 7:30 p.m. till 9 p.m in the reading room of K24. The Queer Community Library was established in order to bring queer literature, history, and awareness to our community. By starting this library, we hope to elevate queer perspectives, resources and politics on campus, which are too often missing in our personal and academic lives. This library is open to all members of BCB, and we hope that both LGBTQIA+ people and allies can utilize this space and engage with the texts to spark further conversation and action. 

Come by to celebrate the official opening with snacks and drinks. We'll be hearing from a Berlin-based queer guest speaker sharing some of their work and we invite our very own BCB community to come and share readings from their own or others' queer work (prose, poetry, spoken word, visual art) during the event! If you'd like to present, please use this signup link.

Would you like to share queer-related works, but rather not during the event? We encourage you to add them to our digital library/archive, where you can find political essays, literature, studies and art.

We hope to see you all there next week for an evening full of queer works and creations, love and celebration!

Lots of queer love,
LGBCBTQ+

W15 Cafe  5:00 pm – 6:00 pm CET/GMT+1
The Berlin housing market can be daunting. Come learn the difference between hot and cold rent, hear tips and tricks for finding an apartment or WG, and hear from people who have successfully navigated this process. Don’t wait, May is sooner than you think!

This event is part of Student Life's Preparing for Life After BCB event series. For students unable to attend this event, a repeat session will take place on Tuesday, May 9.

K24, SR11  1:00 pm – 2:00 pm CET/GMT+1
It's never too early to start tackling some of the following key questions:
What do I want from my career?
What are my core values?
What are my strengths and aptitudes? Soft skills and hard skills?
Do I want to specialize in certain technical skills or take on a management role?

We will also explore different routes to go after graduation:
- Internships
- Traineeships
- Entry-Level Jobs
- Grad Programs in Germany and Abroad
- Ausbildung & Weiterbildung
- Fellowships/Stipends/Residencies
- Freiwilliges Soziales Jahr / Peace Corps / Travel & Work Abroad
- Own Business, Start-Up, NGO
- Arbeitslosigkeit (for EU citizens)

This event is part of Student Life's Preparing for Life After BCB event series. 

A Lecture with Lorraine Daston
Online  7:30 pm – 9:00 pm CET/GMT+1
Nature is a layer-cake concept: it has always meant many things and has never been morally neutral. In early modern Europe, radically new natural philosophies shifted the meanings of nature but did not put an end to its moral authority. We can understand the continuing moral resonances of nature by exploring early modern ideas still present in modern ideas of nature.

This online lecture, organized by the Early Modern Science core course in collaboration with Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG) in Berlin, is open to all interested members of the BCB community. Participants can register for the lecture here.
 
Prof. Dr. Lorraine Daston is director emerita of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, visiting professor  in 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. 
 

W15 Cafe  1:00 pm – 2:00 pm CET/GMT+1
Students are warmly invited to this information session in the W15 Cafe about Open Society University Network certificate programs, hosted by BCB faculty and staff. Those who enter certificate programs join cohorts of like-minded students from across the globe taking OSUN classes and participating in co-curricular activities. Students can enroll in three certificate programs: Civic Engagement, Human Rights, and Public Policy & Economic Analysis.

This session will take place on Monday, March 13 from 1:00-2:00pm at the W15 Cafe. The deadline to apply for OSUN certificates is Monday, April 3, 2023.

Live Information Session with BCB Admissions
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm CET/GMT+1
Please fill out the form below to register and receive the access link to this Admissions event.



 Loading.../**/

W15 Cafe  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm EST/GMT-5
Join the Student Life Committee for a discussion of mental health resources available on campus. All members of the BCB community are welcome to attend. This event takes place in the W15 Cafe.

A Neighborhood Tour Along Historical Sites of Civic Engagement
Meet at the Old Parish Church (Breite Straße 37)  10:00 am – 12:15 pm CET/GMT+1
Did you know that just a few feet from campus, only a couple of years ago, senior citzens successfully occupied their senior community center for over 90 days to prevent it from gentrification? Did you know that the secret center of the feminist and queer movement in the GDR dictatorship was the Old Parish Church in Pankow--pretty much right next to the residential district of the political dictatorship elite? Award-winning novelist, historian, performer and former GDR civil rights activist Annett Gröschner takes us to places of civil disobedience against political and economic oppression of the past 50 years. The various historical snapshots will form the basis of a midterm site-specific performance project "Performing Pankow", but for now, the BCB community is warmly invited to join the class and discover the historical layers of our BCB neighborhood in a collective walk.

To RSVP, please contact Nina Tecklenburg.

Online  6:00 pm – 7:15 pm CET/GMT+1
In this talk, Sara Salem focuses on a trip Angela Davis made to Egypt in the early 1980s to explore questions of transnational feminist solidarity and feminist difference. The focus on Marxism and feminism enabled Egyptian feminists to forge solidarity with women across the globe, including Angela Davis, who located gender oppression within the same structures—namely, capitalism and imperialism. Focusing on this trip, Salem shows how the encounters Davis had with feminists during this trip reveal much about the workings of transnational feminism as praxis, as well as the possibilities of feminist solidarity that sees difference as productive rather than divisive.

This event is part of the OSUN Transnational Feminism, Solidarity, and Social Justice series.
 
Sara Salem is an Associate Professor in Sociology at the London School of Economics. Her research interests include postcolonial studies, Marxist theory, and global histories of anticolonialism. Her recently published book with Cambridge University Press is entitled Anticolonial Afterlives in Egypt: The Politics of Hegemony (2020). She is currently thinking and writing about ghosts and anticolonial archives. 

W16 Reading Room  12:30 pm – 1:00 pm CET/GMT+1
Congratulations! You have your BCB diploma in hand and are ready for your next adventure. Whether your next adventure keeps you in Berlin or somewhere else across the globe, there are a few things that you need to take care of before you leave. 

Remember all of that bureaucracy you went through when you first arrived in Berlin? Now it’s time to do it all in reverse. In this session, we will cover how to complete your Abmeldung (if you are leaving Germany) or Ummeldung (if you are staying in Germany), terminate various contracts (health insurance, phone, bank, etc.) and more!

This event is part of Student Life's Preparing for Life After BCB event series. If you are unable to attend this event, there will be a second session on Tuesday, April 25.

Tuesday, March 7 | 12:30-1:00pm | W16 Reading Room
Bureaucracy in Reverse: Post-grad Paperwork

Tuesday, March 14 | 12:30-1:30pm | K24, SR11
You and Your Residence Permit after Graduation: BCB Alum Panel

Wednesday, March 15 | 1:00-2:00pm | K24, SR11
Post-Grad Options in Germany and Abroad

Wednesday, March 15 | 5:00-6:00pm | W15 Café
Navigating the Off-Campus Housing Search

Tuesday, April 25 | 12:30-1:30pm | W16 Reading Room
Bureaucracy in Reverse: Post-grad Paperwork (Repeat Event)

Wednesday, April 26 | 1:00-2:00pm | K24, SR11
Career Goal Support 

Thursday, April 27 | 12:30-1:30pm | K24, SR11
You and Your Residence Permit After Graduation: Info Session

Tuesday, May 9 | 12:00-1:00pm | W15 Café
Navigating the Off-Campus Housing Search (Repeat Event)



 Graduating from college is an exciting time--but also a scary one, filled with lots of questions about what comes next. While you may need to address your existential quandaries in the classroom, Student Life has put together a series of events to tackle your logistical questions about post-grad life. These eight events will take place in two sessions over the Spring Semester. 
 

Lecture Hall - Platanenstraße 98, 13156 Berlin  6:00 pm – 8:00 pm EST/GMT-5
Celebrating Black History Month
Da Quebrada Pro Mundo and BCB Present

BCB student, writer, and social entrepreneur Alexandre Ribeiro's linguistics study reveals that the Brazilian and North American Black populations share many cultural aspects as a means of survival and counterculture in highly racist societies.

In the first 10-15 minutes we will have a selection of Afrobeats, Afro-Brazilian, and African-American music. After that, writer Alexandre Ribeiro will present some of his comparative research between AAVE and Blackguese. At the end of the presentation, students and Black members of Bard will be called to have a debate about poetry within Black experiences at Bard and in Germany. Finally, we will open the last fifteen minutes for a fundraiser for institutions of underrepresented people. At the end, Brazilian soul food will be served provided by Quilombo Allee, a company founded and run by a Black feminist woman named Sandra Bello.

Registration is mandatory, and the event is subject to capacity.
Please register here: https://forms.gle/VEEKJmJKHZZL8pZg9


Questions? Send an email to [email protected]
 

W15 Cafe  12:00 pm – 4:00 pm CET/GMT+1
One of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded in the region struck Turkey and Syria, killing tens of thousands of people and devastating a densely populated region of southern Turkey, northern Syria and Rojava. As a campus community, we want to raise awareness, show solidarity and take action in support of those affected by the earthquake. It is also a way of showing solidarity with fellow BCB students, staff and faculty from Turkey and Syria. We want to invite you to actively take part in our donation collection event / bake sale, scheduled for February 28, 2023, 12pm – 4pm, in W15 café. The collected donations will go to trusted organizations supporting the relief effort. More events organized in solidarity with the victims of this disaster will be announced shortly.

If you would like to sign up to bake goods for the sale, please sign up with your BCB email here.

BCB Civic Engagement extends this invitation in the name of BCB student Melis and other BCB community members from Turkey and Syria.

K30 Lounge   12:00 pm – 2:00 pm CET/GMT+1
This event is part of "Academic Writing: The Research Paper", a series of events designed to help students improve their academic scholarship. Two workshops will take place over four days. No advance registration is required.

All four events will take place from 12:00-2:00pm in the K30 Lounge. 

Workshop 1
Part 1: Research Methods and Practices | Feb 23, 2023
Part 2: Structuring a Research Paper | Feb 27, 2023

Workshop 2
Part 1: Constructing arguments and Using Evidence | Mar 21, 2023
Part 2: Writing and Editing Strategies | Mar 23, 2023

Niederkirchnerstraße 8, 10963 Berlin  2:00 pm – 4:00 pm CET/GMT+1
BCB students and other community members are invited to join the PT 351 Civic Engagement course for a tour and discussion of the Topography of Terror, a museum and documentation center which examines the role of the SS and police during the Third Reich and the crimes they committed across Europe. The site will be explored through the lens of civic engagement, i.e. thinking about the historical role of citizens' initiatives in bringing discussions about Nazi crimes to the forefront of society and in creating this particular museum. The tour will be led by activist Sebastian Gerhardt. 

Limited space available. This event requires advance registration. To register, email [email protected] by Monday February 20 at 5:00 pm.

An on-campus commemoration of the invasion of Ukraine
The Factory  On the 24th of February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian courage, unity, and desire for freedom throughout the year opposed Russian troops’ brutality and numerous crimes against humanity. To express solidarity with the Ukrainian nation on this tragic date, we invite you to look at the devastating Russian aggression through the eyes of youth that stayed, fled or decided to fight for their country. The event will include an exhibition on the experience of exile, screenings of short artistic documentaries and fundraising for the Ukrainian humanitarian initiative based in Berlin.

Event Program:

6:30 pm | The Factory | Stanislava Ovchinnikova: Exhibition “A Home, A Place to Sleep” 
This exhibition is an invitation to reflect on the complexities of home and homelessness. Rooted in the author’s own search for refuge, the artworks meditate on the journey of displacement, investigating its impact on the sense of self and belonging. Created in response to the ongoing war in Europe, they serve as a testament to all of those who were ever forced to migrate.

8:00 pm | The Factory | Vidlik Projects: Screening “The street I need” 
20 teenagers from different parts of Ukraine give testimonies to the attack on their home in a series of video essays. In cooperation with independent musicians, they document wartime reality, feelings, and reflections on the loss of their former lives. The alienated and generalised perspective of the media rarely builds a narrative around human destinies. This project will do the exact opposite. Because each and every story matters.

9:00 pm | The Factory | Bake for Ukraine: Fresh bread, charity market and discussion
The initiative that provides assistance to Ukrainian bakeries (donations and free grain) during the war will share their special recipe of palyanysya! If you purchase a piece of their bread or a memory postcard, you will have a chance to help them with their mission to secure local food supply. We invite you to have a thorough discussion about the ongoing war and share your impressions of the event while tasting fresh palyanytsya and traditional Ukrainian drinks.

K30 Lounge   12:00 pm – 2:00 pm CET/GMT+1
This event is part of "Academic Writing: The Research Paper", a series of events designed to help students improve their academic scholarship. Two workshops will take place over four days. No advance registration is required.

All four events will take place from 12:00-2:00pm in the K30 Lounge. 

Workshop 1
Part 1: Research Methods and Practices | Feb 23, 2023
Part 2: Structuring a Research Paper | Feb 27, 2023

Workshop 2
Part 1: Constructing arguments and Using Evidence | Mar 21, 2023
Part 2: Writing and Editing Strategies | Mar 23, 2023

Online  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CET/GMT+1
Theater professor Nina Tecklenburg will hold a zoom info session about the Summer Theatre Intensive Program and application process on Friday 17th of February 2023 between 12:30-13:30. For students who are seeking to apply, please sign up for the info session by sending an email to [email protected]. The Summer Theatre Intensive Program will run from June 2 to July 3, 2023 and BCB will be awarding two scholarships to participating students. 

This extraordinary program aims to foster creative engagement between students and a wide variety of multidisciplinary artists working in theater and performance in Berlin (amongst others Rimini Protokoll, Gob Squad, She She Pop). The rigorous four-week program explores techniques in the devising and creating of original theater works, and immerses students in the city’s theater and performance culture through regular outings to performances, museums, galleries, and other cultural venues; visits to artistic and historical landmarks; and meetings with artists. The work in the studio is organized around distinct themes such as space, text, composition, body/movement, sound and image. It includes guided rehearsals, regular showings, feedback and a final presentation.

Summer Theater Intensive is run by directors Jonathan Rosenberg (Bard College Annandale) and Dawn Akemi Saito (Fordham University). 

Students who are interested in the scholarship should fill out the general program application until the 15th of March 2023. The two BCB scholarships will be granted according to financial need.
 

Online  7:30 pm – 10:00 pm CET/GMT+1
In observation of Black History Month, join us for a virtual screening of I Am Not Your Negro hosted by the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion office. Raoul Peck's 2016 film envisions the book James Baldwin never finished--a radical narration about race in America--using the writer's original words. He draws upon James Baldwin's notes on the lives and assassinations of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr. to explore and bring a fresh and radical perspective to the current racial narrative in America.

W15 Cafe  1:00 pm – 2:00 pm CET/GMT+1
Faculty and staff are warmly invited to this Open House to learn about current and recent OSUN projects and opportunities. There will be short presentations by colleagues involved in Network Collaborative Courses, the Experimental Humanities Collaborative Network and beyond, as well as informal discussion time.

P98a Lecture Hall  5:30 pm – 6:30 pm CET/GMT+1
Join us for a lecture on Wednesday, February 15 at 5:30 pm in the Lecture Hall with Jackie Murray, Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Kentucky and Associate Professor of Classics, SUNY Buffalo. This lecture is presented with Riaz Partha Khan's course PL180: Marxist Social and Political Thought and is open to all interested members of the Bard College Berlin community.

Plato's Republic is considered a foundational text of 'Western' thought. We nevertheless confront the fact that it emerged from a society based on slavery, and that it evokes slavery not only in its dramatic encounters and themes, but in its very rhetoric and imagery. For theorists seeking to understand the development of human social formations, the text represents an important document of testimony as well as of intervention. What is the connection between the kinds of slavery Republic contains and the variants of this institution that develop in the modern and contemporary eras? What (if any) is the role played by race? And what, finally, is the relation between slavery and Plato's concepts of justice and political power? 

Meet us online!
3:00 pm – 7:45 pm CET/GMT+1
Interested in Bard College Berlin? Join us on February 11 for Virtual Open Day!

Join a conversation with current students, and attend informational sessions about our degree programs, campus facilities, student life, and more.

Register for the events here or at the website linked to below.

 

W16  12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CET/GMT+1
New and returning students are invited to our Spring 2023 Involvement Fair! The Involvement Fair is your chance to meet the student clubs and organizations we offer on campus 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.

 

Berlin, Germany  Friday, February 3

Trial & Error: Cultural Laboratory Visit and DIY Workshop
1:50pm, Trial & Error in Neukölln, Braunschweiger Str. 80, 12055 Berlin.
Tour & Workshop led by BCB Civic Engagement

We’re going to visit “Trial & Error“, an NGO / cultural laboratory in Berlin Neukölln where you can learn about and explore creative activism, DIY, upcycling, urban gardening, and solidarity economy. Not just a place to swap clothes and books etc, Trial & Error also swaps skills, knowledge and space in exchange for people’s time, willingness to learn and creativity. They offer an array of workshops using a diverse range of materials- all found, dumpster-dived and rescued from a sad ending – and then transformed into a new funky life. We‘ll get an introduction to their work and participate in a DIY workshop. Interested students are asked to RSVP to [email protected].

History of Jazz (From Swing to RnB)
5:00-7:00pm, The Factory
Workshop led by Yensen P. S. LeBeau

In this event, learn some easy music theory and some music history surrounding jazz! Beginning with swing music in the early 20th century, we'll learn what it means for a beat to be "swung" as well as general theory surrounding how this type of music later developed into genres like bebop jazz, the foundation of funk music! From there we will see how this changes into modern music genres like hiphop and RnB. All along the way there will be examples in music you may know, and music you may not. Snacks and drinks will be provided, just bring an attitude ready to learn and have a good ol' groovy time.

Saturday, February 4

Memorial of the Socialists 
12:00-3:00, meet at the entrance to the Zentralfriedhof Friedrichsfelde/Gedenkstätte der Sozialisten  
Tour led by Frances Grimm

This tour invites all students new and old to visit the final resting place of the leaders of Berlin's November Revolution (Rosa Luxemburg and Karl  Liebknecht) and other famous German socialists. We will discuss the exciting history of the German Revolution of 1918-1919 that followed the  end of World War I, as well as read some of Luxemburg's most famous writings. The Friedrichsfelde cemetery in Lichtenberg is also in a quiet  neighborhood, separate from the busy (and sometimes overwhelming!) center of Berlin. So, if you are looking for an excursion that will take you  away from the city for a bit, this is a great choice. 

Sunset Hike at Drachenberg Viewpoint 
2:45-7:00pm, meet at W15 Cafe
Hike led by Muhammed Sayed

A hike through the Grunewald forest up to the Drachenberg viewpoint. From which all of Berlin and the surrounding area can be seen. Done at sunset you will see the sun set next to the old American radar base, and see the moon rise over Berlin. Possibly getting to see people para gliding  off the look out. Bring some warm clothes, a blanket, some tea and see the city from above! 

Sunday, February 5 

Visit to the temporary exhibition of the German Historical Museum
*UPDATED* 3:00pm, meet at the German Historical Museum
Visit led by Zoltan Helmich 

We are going to visit the temporary exhibition ROADS NOT TAKEN. OR:  THINGS COULD HAVE TURNED OUT DIFFERENTLY. GERMAN  CAESURAS 1989–1848 in the Pei-Bau of the German Historical Museum. This unusual exhibition uses 14 events in German history to show what other possible courses of history were also laid out in these decisive, often dramatic turning points.

Women's Football Match: Turbine Potsdam vs. Bayern München
12:00-3:00pm, RSVP for meeting point
Event led by Atticus Kleen

Women's football around the world has seen a huge rise in popularity in the past few years. Come join me and get a taste of local women's football as Turbine Potsdam, historically one of the most successful  women's football teams in Germany, take on Bayern München, currently one of the best teams in the world.  

The match is on Sunday, February 5th at 1pm at Karl-Liebknecht-Stadion  in Potsdam. The first 15 students to RSVP can have their tickets subsidized by BCB and pay 5€, otherwise tickets are 9€. If you are interested in attending, please email Atticus ([email protected]) to  RSVP and get more info regarding meeting time and transportation to the match. Please RSVP by Friday, February 3rd. 
 

W15 Cafe  6:30 pm – 7:30 pm EST/GMT-5
The Welcome Reception is an opportunity for the BCB community to come together after the first day of classes, welcome our new community members, and reconnect with one another.

 

W15 Cafe  4:00 pm – 6:00 pm CET/GMT+1
All are invited to join us for some delicious Afghan food and the launch of the Voices of Afghan Students Across the OSUN Network Website by OSUN TSI scholar Aziza Sarmast and her team.

Voices of Afghan Students Across the OSUN Network (VASA-OSUN) is a civic engagement project led by an OSUN TSI scholar Aziza Sarmast and a group of young Afghan student leaders at BCB that reflect on the work that Afghan students are doing across the OSUN network. The main goals of this project are to create a platform that is specific to Afghan students and enables them to share a word about the civic engagement projects that they are leading at their universities, and to connect Afghan students across the network to strengthen connections and sense of community.

Advance registration is requested. To register, click here.

We are open to publishing articles with a focus on Afghan students, their civic engagement work, their needs, challenges and the support they are receiving. If you are an Afghan Student Leader and want to share your work on this platform to ask for further support in your civic engagement journey, please reach out to us by writing an email to the email addresses on our Contact Page.

Live Information Session with BCB Admissions
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm CET/GMT+1
Please fill out the form below to register and receive the access link to this Admissions event.


 Loading.../**/