To celebrate the changing of the seasons and the commemoration of time, Berlin offered many opportunities to take a break from studying. At the end of October Berlin celebrated its 775th birthday with “fire poetry” in the streets. Combining medieval traditions with new age practices, the streets were alive with people and flames. The lights
Interview with Lars
Last year, the European College of Liberal Arts (presently ECLA of Bard) became one of the satellite academic institutions of Bard College, located in the Hudson River Valley of New York state. The new leadership of the college aims to expand the student body and administration. As a result, the current physical structure is also
A Trip to the South Seas
When venturing to the Ethnologisches Museum on October 20th, many of the students in Laura Scuriatti’s Museums, Literature and Collections class were in the midst of writing midterm papers due that evening. As the group was waiting for the tour to start and the stragglers to join the rest, you could find students sleeping on
Berliner Philharmoniker’s Left Shoulder
The Korean conductor and pianist Myung-Wung Chung whom we were supposed to see conducting at the Berliner Pilharmoniker on the 19th of October was replaced by the young Kristjan Järvi. This last minute change reminded me of a somewhat funny legend that dwells among the members of this orchestra. Whenever a new conductor is invited
Glenn Most and the Bacchae
Evening guest academic lectures are always special for the ECLA of Bard community. Apart from presenting the students with the possibility to sleep longer and prepare better, they give a chance to hear some fresh thoughts on the familiar texts and participate in a vivid discussion with experts from the “outside”. On the 16th of
A Visit to Sachsenhausen
On the morning of 13th of October, a small group of ECLA students gathered at the Platanenstrasse tram station, the majority of which preparing to go on a trip for their classes – Introduction to Human Rights with Prof. Kerry Bystrom, and Berlin: An Experiment in Modernity with Prof. Florian Becker. The destination: Sachsenhausen Concentration
Bard to Berlin
After a year of living a “choose your own adventure” lifestyle (highlights include but are not limited to: learning the proper way to slaughter a chicken in the south of France, running from a wild boar, catching a swarm of honeybees in the 19th district of Paris, and the serendipitous meeting of a member of
Coming Home
I completed the Academy Year programme at the European College of Liberal Arts (ECLA) in the summer of 2011. This fall, I returned to ECLA for the BA program. During the whole recent year, I worked with a theatre group and also taught theatre skills back home in Pakistan. Working in the theatre industry required