Digital Lecture Series 2021
Welcome to the FU-BEST Digital Lecture Series 2021!
Building on the success of two digital lecture series in 2020 (see here and here), the international programs of Freie Universität Berlin, FU-BEST (European Studies Program) and FUBiS (International Summer and Winter University), are organizing a joint series of live online events and varied on-demand programming under the banner “What’s Next?” Voices from Dynamic Berlin, running from June 30 until November 3, 2021.
The series features four separate live German language sessions and six pre-recorded video entries from disciplines as varied as history, music, environmental studies, sociology, politics and more. All contributors are experienced FU-BEST or FUBiS instructors or friends of the programs and bring their unique perspectives to the question “What’s next?” for Berlin, Germany and Europe.
All sessions are approx. 45-60 mins. long. The interactive German language sessions are presented live (please register at least one week prior to the event to receive an access code for the live sessions). Be sure to take note of the different times and recommended language skills indicated for each live session.Video recordings of the subject course lectures will be made available on our website and on YouTube. See below for the full schedule and more information.
The central question “What’s Next?” looks at Berlin as a city that is and has always been in flux. Constantly adapting to one change or another – be it cultural, societal, geographical, political or linguistic. This lens allows our contributors to contextualize recent feelings of overwhelming uncertainty by discussing other periods of consequential change in Berlin’s history or present and examining how disruptive influences can also be a conduit for positive transformation. How did life in the city adapt to these changes and what positive lessons can be drawn from these examples of human resilience? These deliberations are not only presented in the form of lectures but made tangible for a remote international audience by including short video clips of site visits on location in Berlin, interview segments or performances – taking the audience on an off-campus discovery tour of Berlin.
We hope you enjoy the online program we have assembled for you – information on the regular FU-BEST or FUBiS course corresponding to each lecture as well as our instructors is available in each lecture description below. For more details about the FU-BEST and FUBiS programs as a whole and how to participate in person, please explore our websites in full.
German Language Sessions
Aug. 11, 2021 | "Von Schubert bis Rammstein: Musik der Sprache und Sprache der Musik“ – LIVE! at 9 a.m. CEST (Central European Summer Time)
Instructor: Yun-Chu ChoLevel: German Language and Culture for Intermediate Learners (B1 and above)
Time: 9:00 a.m. CEST
Regular FU-BEST Course: German Language Courses
Please register here until August 4, 2021.
For reasons of data protection, no participant video will be recorded during our live German language sessions; however, you can watch a general introduction to the FU-BEST German Language Program here (link to YouTube).
Sept. 8, 2021 | „Alte Geschichten, neues Gedächtnis: Umdeutungen (un)bekannter Berliner Erinnerungsorte“ – LIVE! at 9 a.m. CEST (Central European Summer Time)
Instructor: Katrin MensingLevel: German Language and Culture for Advanced and Intermediate Learners (B2, C1 and above)
Time: 9:00 a.m. CEST
Regular FU-BEST Course: German Language Courses
Please register here until September 1, 2021.
For reasons of data protection, no participant video will be recorded during our live German language sessions; however, you can watch a general introduction to the FU-BEST German Language Program here (link to YouTube).
Sept. 22, 2021 | „Qual der Wahl?: Institutionen, Akteure und Visionen im deutschen Wahljahr 2021“ – LIVE! at 7 p.m. CEST (Central European Summer Time)
Instructor: Susanne ThielLevel: German Language and Culture for Advanced and Intermediate Learners (B2, C1 and above)
Time: 7:00 p.m. CEST
Regular FU-BEST Course: German Language Courses
Please register here until September 15, 2021.
For reasons of data protection, no participant video will be recorded during our live German language sessions; however, you can watch a general introduction to the FU-BEST German Language Program here (link to YouTube).
Oct. 20, 2021 | „Dynamische Identitäten in Berlin: Kiez-Entdeckungsreise in einer multikulturellen Metropole“ – LIVE! at 7 p.m. CEST (Central European Summer Time)
Instructor: Dr. Agata CzarkowskaLevel: German Language and Culture for Intermediate Learners (B1 and above)
Time: 7:00 p.m. CEST
Regular FU-BEST Course: German Language Courses
Please register here until October 13, 2021.
For reasons of data protection, no participant video will be recorded during our live German language sessions; however, you can watch a general introduction to the FU-BEST German Language Program here (link to YouTube).
Subject Course Sessions
Jun. 30, 2021 | The Haunted City: The Re-Imagining(s) Of Berlin in the Twentieth Century
Contributor: Dr. Lauren van VuurenRecording: Go to YouTube
Jul. 14, 2021 | Decolonizing Classical Music: Future of Black German Musicians
Contributor: Dr. Dr. Daniele G. DaudeRegular FU-BEST course: Music and Theater on the Stage: Past and Present in European Opera
Recording: Go to YouTube
Jul. 28, 2021 | Urban Sustainability for Tomorrow’s Berlin: Moving Challenges and Creative Options
Contributor: Sebastian OlényiRegular FU-BEST course: Green Business: German and European Sustainable Entrepreneurship
Recording: Go to YouTube
Aug. 25, 2021 | A City in Daily Loves: An Affective Geography of Post-Migrant Berlin
Contributor: Dr. Omar KasmaniRecording: Go to YouTube
Nov. 3, 2021 | Designing the Future Together: People, Planet, Technology
Contributor: Dr. Arndt PechsteinRecording: November 3 on YouTube
The participation in the lecture series is free of charge; no credits will be awarded after completion.