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
CategoryAcademic Events
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
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
Discovering Milan and Michelangelo
This year’s trip to Italy, as part of the core course The Florentine Renaissance and its Values, offered an additional excursion to ECLA Academy Year and BA First Year students: a day in Milan.In the course’s history, where students spend several days in Florence at the beginning of the spring term, brief visits to other
The Laurentian Library: experiencing the Renaissance through Michelangelo’s architecture
The Laurentian Library is an official symbol of the growth of power and wealth of the Medici family in Florence. Commissioned in 1523, Michelangelo designed and began working on the building in 1525. In 1535, Michelangelo left Florence and his work was finished, based on his designs, by Ammannati, Basari and Tribolo. The Library remains
Frank Ruda on Hegel and Marx – From Abstraction to Alienation to Universalism
The BA2 Core Course for the spring term, on the topic of ‘Property’, co-taught by faculty members Catherine Toal and Michael Weinman, commenced on the 16th of April with two guest seminars from Frank Ruda, Visiting Lecturer at the Institute of Philosophy, Scientific Research Centre in Ljubljana, Research Associate in Philosophy at the Free University