This series of analog photographs is a sort of mash-up of images created throughout the past semester as part of the Beginners Black and White Photography course taught by April Gertler. Although seemingly unrelated, they do all picture interesting moments in time within our beloved Berlin. Tackled are thoughts on the changing environment, industrialization, and surveillance—and me
CategoryCampus Life
How To Actively Be Anti-Racist: A Resource List
The summer of 2020 was marked by the resurgence of a social and political activist movement, known as Black Lives Matter. The protests, which spanned across the globe, were sparked by the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and Jacob Black as a result of police brutality. With COVID-19 affecting social interaction and
A Campaign for Uyghur Scholars at Risk
This semester, the Critical Human Rights and Humanitarian Advocacy class in partnership with Scholars at Risk and taught by Prof. Dr. Kerry Bystrom, worked on designing an advocacy campaign to support detained and disappeared Uyghur scholars in the Xinjiang Autonomous region in China. The campaign consisted of the production of this short film and a
On Belonging, Writing, and Migrating with Dr. Fatin Abbas
Bard College Berlin offers a myriad of classes dealing with questions of race, migration, and culture. This semester, I am grateful to be part of one such course, African Narratives of Migration and Globalisation with Dr. Fatin Abbas. Fatin is a writer and professor whose work lies at the intersection of African and Middle Eastern
Encyclopedia of Stray Knowledge Gained During Quarantine
Locked up in my home for the last several weeks, I am missing the banal ecstasies of waking up next to the person I care about. Touch is impossible at the moment, as is casual conversation and the simple pleasure of being in a room together, quietly enjoying their company. Romance is replaced by the dull ache of missing someone: their bed, body, and self. Touch and companionship are gentle necessities, often forgotten or neglected until everyone in the world is feeling forgotten and neglected, and then we’re reminded how much we need each other.
The Best (socially distanced) Study Spots in Berlin
In the midst of Mumbai’s scorching hot summer under a strict COVID-19 lockdown, I found myself longing for an M1 tram ride across Berlin. So much so, that I started watching eight-minute long YouTube videos of the M1 tram going from Pastor Niemöller Platz to Am Kupfergraben on loop. This longing also prompted me to
The First Years’ First Months at BCB
When you hear the word “college”, many things spring to mind: late nights, gallons of coffee, mountains of textbooks, new friends. For many teenagers, going to university represents a new chapter in their life, as for many it’s their first time living away from home. Countless film and TV scenes depict young adults heading off
Wondering about the #Wirhabenplatz banners?
Slogans like #Leavenoonebehind, #Wirhabenplatz, and #EvacuateMoria are currently spilling off of balconies, out of windows, and painted on walls and buildings throughout the city of Berlin, including on our own on-campus porta-potty. For a city (and world, for that matter) divided on migration, Berlin doesn’t seem to be divided at all recently. So, what is