Skip to main content.
Skip to main content.
Bard BerlinBard Berlin
BCB
  • About sub-menuAbout Us
    About BCB

    Discover Bard
    College Berlin

    Learn More
    • About Bard College Berlin
      • At a Glance
      • History
      • Governance
      • Accreditation
      • Educational Mission
      • Employment
    • Discover
      • People
      • Apply
      • BCB Merch Shop
      • Donate
      • COVID-19 Safety
      • Search
    • Networks
      • Open Society
        University Network
        (OSUN)
      • Freundeskreis / Circle of Friends
  • Academics sub-menuAcademics
    BCB Academics

    Bard College Berlin offers high-quality small-group teaching in the humanities and social sciences.

    • Degree Programs
      • BA in Economics, Politics,
        and Social Thought
      • BA in Humanities,
        the Arts,and Social Thought
      • BA in Artistic Practice
        and Society
      • Joint BA-Master’s Degree Program
      • Concentrations
      • Core Curriculum
      • German Studies Program
    • Semester and
      One-Year Programs

      • Academy Year Program
      • Project Year Program
      • Arts and Society in Berlin
      • LAB: Liberal Arts Berlin
      • Begin in Berlin
      • Study Abroad
      • Erasmus and Exchange Agreements
    • More Information
      • Courses
      • Internships
      • Certificates
      • Language and Thinking Program
      • Summer Programs
      • Academic Services
  • Admissions sub-menuAdmissions
    BCB Admissions

    Bard College Berlin accepts applications for first-year and transfer admission to its BA degree programs. Students can also apply for one-year programs, such as the Academy Year and Project Year.

    Apply Now
    • Applying to BCB
      • How to Apply
      • Discover BCB
      • Connect with Us
      • Ask a Student
      • Admissions Team
    • Financing Your Studies
      • Tuition and Fees
      • Financial Aid
      • Financial Aid Renewal
      • Scholarships
      • Payment Options
  • Student Life sub-menuStudent Life
    Student Life

    The student body at Bard College Berlin is small yet highly international.

    More About Students
    • Campus Life
      • Dining
      • Housing
      • Facilities
      • Group Housing Rentals
    • Services and Resources
      • Accessibility
      • BCB Orientation
      • Career Services
      • Equal Opportunity, Participation, and Nondiscrimination
      • Gender-Based Misconduct
      • Health & Counseling
      • Internships
      • Student Organizations & Activities
      • Study Abroad
    • For Students
      • Registrar's Office
      • Academic Calendar
      • Student Handbook
      • Jobs & Opportunities
      • Finances
      • Fellowship Opportunities
  • Civic Engagement sub-menuCivic Engagement
    Civic Engagement
    • Areas of Engagement
      • Arts and Society
      • Equal Opportunity, Participation, and Nondiscrimination
      • Education and Language
      • Human Rights and Global Justice
      • Sustainability and Climate
    • Access to Education
      • PIESC
      • Consortium on Forced Migration
      • OLIve
      • Threatened Scholars Integration
      • Smolny Beyond Borders
    • Opportunities
      • Awards and Funding
      • Civic Engagement Fellowship
      • Civic Engagement Certificate
      • Global Engagement
      • Network Courses
      • Project Creation
  • News sub-menuNews + Events
    BCB News
    • Newsroom
      • Events
      • Video Archive
      • Bard College Berlin in the Media
      • Office of Communications
      • For the Media

    Keep up to date with the latest campus news, learn more about upcoming events, read press articles featuring Bard College Berlin, and explore our photo and video archives.

    Learn More
  • Donate
  • Search
News Menu
  • News Archive
  • Events sub-menuEvents
    • Events Calendar
    • Events Archive
  • Video Archive
  • In the Media
  • News Home

Bard College Berlin News

View All News

Prof. Dr. Matthias Hurst discusses the personification of death in film for ARTE documentary

Prof. Dr. Matthias Hurst was featured in a short documentary titled "Die Gestalt des Todes" (The Figure of Death) which explores the concept and tradition of incarnations of death in art and film.

In the documentary, which was filmed on BCB’s campus last summer, Hurst discusses the personification of death as it is portrayed in films and series. “People have been trying for a long time to give shape to death, to symbolize death,” Hurst explains, “and that means not only finding an image for death but also a meaning for death.”

Examples of films and series personifying death mentioned in the documentary include Das siebente Siegel (1957, Ingmar Bergman), Space is the Place (1974, John Coney), and Sandman (2022, Neil Gaiman). Ingmar Bergman’s films are also featured in Hurst’s courses in the BCB curriculum. Last semester, Hurst taught FM325: The Films of Ingmar Bergman, as well as FM229: Aliens in Film. This semester, he is teaching FM340: Robots, Computers, and AI in Film.

In the documentary, Hurst notes that while cultural attitudes toward death have changed through the centuries, and in the history of film the incarnations of death have represented different aspects of the concept depending on historical, cultural, or aesthetic contexts, the personification of death in narrative art as a humanlike character that could be understood—to a certain degree—in human terms has remained a constant idea. That idea is based on the awareness that death is an essential, but unknown and uncontrollable force in all our lives. He references the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, which, even in the 18th century BC portrayed the knowledge that while death affects everyone, no one truly knows what death looks like.

The documentary is part of the series Flick Flack - Kultur über Kopf, and is available to stream for free on ARTE, the public German-French European culture channel. View the full documentary episode in German here.

Post Date: 01-22-2024
BCB Logo, Address, and Links

Bard College Berlin, A Liberal Arts University gGmbH

Mailing address: Platanenstrasse 24, 13156 Berlin, Germany
Phone: +49 30 43733 0
Fax: +49 30 43733 100
Email: [email protected] 
[email protected]

Directions | Contact Us | Impressum | Cookie Policy | Data Policy

Bard College Berlin is institutionally accredited at the national level in Germany by the Wissenschaftsrat.

In the United States, Bard College Berlin is accredited through
Bard College by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

Qualifying students receive both a German BA and an American BA. 
© 2024 Bard College Berlin, A Liberal Arts University gGmbH
Wordpress Blog
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
Tik Tok