Modern German history is a useful vantage point for exploring European developments during the 20th century. This lecture will take a look at the German and European contest(s) between democracy and dictatorship and the related tension between freedom and security in changing times under different political regimes up to the present day. Given the profound and paradoxical impact which Germany has had on the trajectories of European history, which role can it, does it, and perhaps must it play in Europe today because of lessons learned from its past and its multiple transformations?

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This lecture will explore how popular culture reflects social and political developments in Germany and take as examples the present-day phenomena of hip hop and street art. How do young artists express contemporary youth identity (or identities), and in how far do they use their art to criticize or contribute to the public discourse about their (sub)culture? Which role do hip hop and street art play as expressions of ethnicity in the public sphere, and how do such manifestations of youth identity compare between Europe/Germany and America?

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This lecture will take a closer look at Berlin’s Muslim community and at the dynamic way their identity has been formed and negotiated vis-à-vis other identities in this multicultural city in the 20th and the early 21st century. Various public discourses regarding Islam and Muslims in Europe on issues such as Muslim-state relations, secularism, gender, and religious practices of Muslims in Europe will be introduced and applied to the situation of Muslims in Berlin. In order to show the diversity within Islam itself, this lecture will aim to sketch the idea of a “Muslim Cosmopolitanism” in Berlin. What makes Islam in Berlin different to that in other European cities? What are the dynamics and discourses impacting the Muslim Community in Berlin? What is the relationship of Muslims with other religious communities in Berlin? 

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This lecture takes you on a virtual tour to some of the most splendid art collections in the world: Using the treasure troves of Berlin’s many museums and galleries, we will give you a survey of the visual arts in Central Europe from the rise of modernism around 1900 to the present after postmodernism. Focusing on German art, this session will also illustrate the relationship of the arts to society and to philosophical ideas of their respective times. One of the questions that keep coming up in this relationship deals with the role of art for a national self-understanding. So discover some unique works of art with us and find out why they are relevant to European and German identity.

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