I walked into the Pierre Boulez Saal on a chilly Saturday night, I found my music class among the crowd and exclaimed to them, “Everything around here looks so new!” I’d just walked over from the U2 stop at Hausvogteiplatz and was surprised by the tall, modern buildings, smooth concrete, and shops that seemed to
TagHistory
The Century-Long Quarrel between Politicians and Scientists
When it comes to major modern crises—climate change, anti-vaxxers, the proliferation of weaponized technology, to name a few—it becomes clear how science and politics are intimately connected to one another. In our discussion with Siarhei Biareishyk, we looked back to the infamous Lysenko affair as a relevant chapter in history in examining questions at the intersection of science and politics.
Feminist Resistance to Modern-Day Fascism: An Interview with Dr. Ewa Majewska
Dr. Ewa Majewska is a feminist philosopher of culture and activist living in Warsaw. She has taught at the University of Warsaw and the Jagiellonian University in Kraków and was also a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, ICI Berlin, and the Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen in Vienna. She is the
Remembering in Place: Reflections on Berlin’s Memorials
I have often wondered if places hold traces of the past beyond the past’s material inscription. If the pain or joy of a family who has moved out of a house still resides there in some ineffable way. If tragedy stays somewhere in those walls. If memories float through the hallways. Or maybe, the presence
Pankow, Old and New: An Interview With Prof. Aya Soika
Walking around our college’s neighborhood, I find myself trying to trace a history through the different styles of architecture. Whether you stop to glance at the stoic church next to our administration building, or the newly constructed apartment buildings on the way to the supermarket slowly filling up, it is clear that Pankow holds a
Why are we here? A Bard College Berlin Experience
Dear Bard College Berlin community, You are where you are today because approximately twenty-one years ago, three people had one idea. They had studied at top universities in the US or Great Britain, returned to Germany, and met while working at consulting firms. They were impressed with the education they had received abroad and expressed
Militarization and Love
My grandmother says, Das Militär steckt in unserem Blut. My grandmother says, The military runs in our family. What is lost in translation is the word steckt. Hides, is stuck, is plugged. Somehow the military exists in our blood, lingering. The verb steckt suggests something active, positive or negative, but a presence nonetheless.
Why are we here?
Dear Bard College Berlin community, You are where you are today because approximately twenty-one years ago, three people had one idea. They had studied at top universities in the US or Great Britain, returned to Germany, and met while working at consulting firms. They were impressed with the education they had received abroad and expressed