Sunday 3 August 2008: the most beautiful weather in Berlin and ECLA students just can’t get enough food for thought. Art historian Aya Soika gave ISU 2008 students a tour of the Gemäldegalerie focusing on the week’s themes: religion, violence, martyrdom. Situated in the Kulturforum, west of Potsdamer Platz, the Gemäldegalerie hosts two kilometers of
Thinking Big
The night before Barack Obama delivered his speech in front of the Victory Pillar, in a covert location in Pankow suggestively referred to as ‘24’, ISU 2008 students came together to practice their oratorical talents and reward the best among them. Professors and students of the ISU gathered – outside the classroom this time –
International Summer University 2008
ECLA’s International Summer University has welcomed its 5th class of students from across the world. This year’s ISU opened its doors in Berlin for 37 students from 18 countries. For six weeks, students and professors will work together in a core course “The Mantle of the Prophet: Demons, Saints, and Terrorists.” Also for the first
Graduation of the class of 2008
On Sunday 15 June the European College of Liberal Arts held its graduation ceremony. The event was an opportunity to celebrate the year’s achievements and to say goodbye to the class of 2008. Academic and Project Year students gathered with professors, administration staff, parents and friends to receive their certificates from ECLA’s co-deans, Peter Hajnal
Turin World Forum: ‘Water & Cultures in Dialogue’
It is difficult to change the way people think, but it becomes possible if we learn first to listen and to accept changes ourselves. I saw this phenomenon at work first-hand when, between 20th and 25th May, I went to Italy to attend the Turin Youth Forum 2008 on ‘Water & Cultures in Dialogue’. The
The Twilight Hours of the Class of 2008
June 2008 – the last week of the Academy and Project Years. The first article I wrote on this website raised the question of identity, whether we would live in the tradition of previous years and how we would create our own ways. Looking back, it seems that it is now possible to recognize a
Roger Scruton on ‘Hegel’s conception of private property and its critics’
On Thursday 29 May, ECLA was visited by academic heavyweight, Professor Roger Scruton, who delivered a guest lecture on Hegel’s idea of property and its role in the larger framework of Hegelian philosophy. Scruton introduced Hegel’s theory of property in the context of the work of Locke, one of the so-called ‘social contract’ theorists. Locke
Julia Peters on ‘Hegel’s Theory of Freedom’
On Thursday 22 May Julia Peters, future post-doctoral fellow at ECLA, helped us to understand the notoriously difficult ideas of German philosopher G.W.F. Hegel. In a focused lecture, Peters traced Hegel’s argument for the institution of private property as a necessary condition for human freedom. Hegel endorses the idea that institutional constraints allow for freedom