On Tuesday the 29th May, Thomas Schmidt visited ECLA to give a lecture entitled “Why Lying is Wrong (When it is Wrong)”. Schmidt, who teaches at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin’s Department of Practical Philosophy and Normative Ethics, is regarded as one of Germany’s most important writers in his field. Thomas Schmidt began by defining exactly what
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Krytyka’s Look at Ukrainian Politics
In 1997 Professor Grabowicz founded Krytyka, a Ukrainian-language journal that discusses politics, history and cultural studies, amongst other things, and serves as, “the highest standard of intellectual debate” available in Ukraine. Though this would of course be considered a respectable project in any circumstances, it became clear to us that this is a particularly important provision
At The Gemäldegalerie
On Wednesday the 23rd of May students taking ECLA’s core ‘Values of the Florentine Renaissance’ course visited the Gemäldegalerie—literally ‘picture gallery’—located at the Kulturforum near Berlin’s Postdamer Platz. And first impressions were that the Kulturforum was quiet… too quiet. Open since 1830 and revamped in 1998, the Gemäldegalerie lies in the shadow of East Berlin’s
Babette Babich: “The Aesthetics of the Between: On Beauty and the Museum”
On May 21st, ECLA students had the honor of having Professor Babette Babich for a guest lecture titled “The Aesthetics of the Between: On Beauty and the Museum”. Babette Babich is Professor of Philosophy at Fordham University in New York and her works have covered studies of Nietzsche and Heidegger, as well as theories in philosophies of
Carnival of Cultures
As the countdown to leaving ECLA—and for most of us, Berlin—is left with a zero in front of the month units, everyone is trying to use the remaining days, hours and minutes to cross off as many “to do and visit while in Berlin” entries that might have been postponed during the cold winter months.
Democracy and Political Compromise
On Thursday 10th May, Richard Bellamy, Director of the European Institute at University College London, gave a lecture entitled “Democracy, Compromise and the Representation Paradox” at Berlin’s Hertie School of Governance. Richard Bellamy’s lecture dealt with the very real and relevant topic of compromise in coalition governments. Indeed, Professor Bellamy began by offering a reminder
Taking First Position
When it comes to ballet, I’m a beginner. I can’t pirouette, prance or go ‘en pointe’. In fact, until recently I hadn’t even seen a single performance. It was slightly daunting, therefore, to take a trip with ECLA to see Tchaikovsky’s Onegin, a ballet whose name I can’t even pronounce. But for a nominal fee I
The Path Of Kings
Spring term’s Berlin architecture class took a trip to Potsdam on April 29th with the aim of exploring Frederick the Great’s favoured place of residence, Sanssouci, which means “without worry”.The architecture class has so far dealt with various museums located in Berlin’s city center and their historical significance — how the architectural design as well