Gallatin in Berlin

Berlin, Capital of Modernity, K55.9500

July 4 - July 25, 2009

Some of the most thrilling, momentous, and terrible events of the 1900’s occurred in Berlin, and today its streets, buildings, and cultural monuments offer tales of warning and inspiration to the present century.  This three-week course will take in many of the sights and sounds of old and contemporary Berlin, but our course will focus on the involvement of twentieth-century, Berlin-based politicians, activists, artists, architects, bohemians, writers, and intellectuals with the causes, experience, and consequences of World War II.

Berlin’s streets, buildings, memorials, and cultural monuments offer cautionary tales about the folly of nationalist ambition; inspiring sagas of intellectual and physical courage; cold testimonials of crime and retribution; lyrical ballads of brutal honesty; personal records of hope and despair.  From one perspective, all of these narratives are episodes in an epic whose grand and central scene is World War II—and that is the point of view to be adopted in this three-week interdisciplinary seminar set in Berlin. Our period of study begins just before the outbreak of World War I and ends during the astonishing building boom of the post-Wall 1990’s and early 2000’s.

Classes, taught in English, meet four days a week.  Group site visits occur throughout the week and on weekends, but students will be given ample opportunity to explore Berlin and develop their own individual projects.  Survival German language courses will be offered daily. Students will live in apartments conveniently located near our classroom.  Students will provide their own meals. Field trips encompass the rich resources of the city’s museums, neighborhoods, historical sites, memorials and cultural monuments. 

Faculty:

Karen Hornick, Ph.D., Columbia (currently teaches at the Gallatin School)

Fredric Smoler, Ph.D., Columbia (currently teaches at Sarah Lawrence College)

Expenses

Tuition for 4 points: $2800

Program Fee (includes some meals, museum admissions and excursions):

$350

Housing Fee:

$725

Deposit:

$300 (due approximately two weeks after date of acceptance, nonrefundable)

Application Requirements:

  • Application www.nyu.edu/summer/abroad/apply.html
  • One-page essay explaining your interest in the program you've selected and what you hope to gain from the study abroad experience
  • Letter of recommendation
  • Official Transcript
  • Interview with the Program director and administrator

 

All application materials should be submitted to:

Melissa Daniel
Gallatin Office of Faculty Services
715 Broadway, Room 614
New York, NY 10003
Fax: (212) 995-4743

For more information regarding the application process, please contact Melissa Daniel at (212) 998-7316 or melissa.daniel@nyu.edu

Calendar
Application Deadline March 2, 2009

Arrival Date

 July 4
Classes Begin  July 6
Classes End    July 24
Departure Date   July 25

Course Notes:

Open only to undergraduates. Gallatin students please note this course fulfills 4 Interdisciplinary Seminar K-credits.