There was once a boy in a bubble. He had, for all eighteen years of his life, lived in the same country, resided in the same house, and been surrounded by the same people. His plans for the future quite resembled his past: graduate from an American high school, go to an American college, then
Let’s ask Goethe about Muslim Integration – A Theater Project by Maria Khan
There’s a breath of fresh air coming from Cambridge University to Berlin. Bard College Berlin alumna Maria Khan (BA HAST 2015) is currently working on a unique PhD project on German Literature and Education. She had the idea to break with mainstream discourse and instead research Muslim integration in consultation with Goethe, the most famous
A Press Conference with Sara Mardini and Seán Binder: The Volunteers Tell Their Stories
On Monday, the 10th of December, Bard College Berlin welcomed Sara Mardini back to its campus. It felt fitting that Sara came back to her new home in Berlin on Human Rights Day. During lunch in the cafeteria, Managing Director Florian Becker quoted articles from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights regarding the right to
Living Berlin – Pause
Serenity is hard to find in a city. Even the parks are often crowded with those seeking solace from the bustling pace or somewhere to pause. Only one place is ever truly calm: The cemeteries of Berlin possess a morbid serenity. Friedhof: a field of peace. The German captures a feeling the English “graveyard” misses,
Institutional Racism in an “It City”: How Nashvillians Fought for Community Oversight of the Police Department (and Won)
I was handed a copy of the Driving While Black Report’s Executive Summary at an East Nashville church one night in November 2016. I was born and raised in the capital of Tennessee and had recently moved home. Dozens of other people were scattered through the chapel flipping through the report, which illustrates systematic racism
A Demonstration, An Occupation, A Study Abroad Semester: Thoughts from Central European University
I am teaching English at a high school in a different part of Budapest. To get there from the Central European University (CEU) I take a train with stations that are decorated with orange and red interiors. The other day, along with one of the officially employed teachers, I suggested that we read “The Old
Passing Florida’s Amendment 4: A Prison Abolitionist Horizon?
On November 6th, Florida overwhelmingly voted in favor of Amendment 4, with 64.5% giving back the right to vote to 1.4 million Floridians with nonviolent felony charges – a constitutional right that had been revoked at the moment of a criminal charge or imprisonment. It was the biggest restoration of the right to vote to
6 Degrees Berlin: A Recap
On Monday, November 12th, I headed from Pankow to Pierre Boulez Saal at the Barenboim-Said Akademie with my classmates from the Global Citizenship course to attend a workshop organized by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship with a prominent guest list. I had skimmed through the programme a couple of days before and saw that participants