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
Impressions From a Theatre Play
This spring term, as part of the Studio Theatre Class, ECLA of Bard is taking its students to performances in various theatres in Berlin to enable them to develop their perspective on the art of theatre-making, but also to offer a personal experience of Berlin, as one of the most vibrant sites for the art
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
The 7th Berlin Biennale: political enough
On the 19th of May a group of ECLA students attended a guided tour of some of the events of the 7th Berlin Biennale.The interest that I had in the event (I saw the first promotion materials in September 2011) had only increased to that day. Plus, since the beginning (27th of April 2012), I
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