Berlin Weekend 2016 Spring Semester

The program below is traditionally organized by the College as a means for new and returning students to dive together into the cultural events that Berlin has to offer.

Please consider the following:

- Note that the sign-up is open only until 12 pm on Thursday the 28th. - Make sure that you don’t sign up for events that run parallel to one another and that you attend all the

events you sign up for. - Make sure to always bring your BCB student ID to the external events. - In case you do not have a valid Monthly Pass, the College will reimburse you for only 4 one-way tickets (that

is, you will have free transportation for only two events.) - Please make sure to keep your validated tickets. - Note that in case of external events, there will always be an RA taking the group to the meeting points. On-

campus meeting times will be announced prior to the events by the respective RAs. Alternatively, you are free to meet the group at the off-campus meeting point.

We hope you take this opportunity to get to know each other and enjoy the diverse program that we put together.

Friday 29.1.2016

Panel discussion “Refugees and the city of Berlin”—moderated by Kerry Bystrom

"Refugees and the city of Berlin: Activist and Local Government Perspectives" The Berlin Weekend kicks off with a panel discussion with two Bard alumnae, Emily Dische-Becker, a documentary

filmmaker who has been working on the grassroots level with Syrian refugees, and Irina Kalinka, a Green Party representative working to resettle refugees in the district of Fläming.

Meeting point: Lecture hall 4:30 pm

Minimum number of participants: 5

Maximum number of participants: 30

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Visit to the opening of the exhibition “Seismographic Sounds. Visions of a New World”—with Zoltan Helmich

“‘Seismographic Sounds. Visions of a New World’ is a multi-authored exhibition assembling distinct music, sound art and videos created, compiled and commented by 250 artists, musicians, academics and bloggers from 50 countries.

Often produced in small studios from Jakarta to La Paz, Cape Town to Helsinki, these works experiment with the possibilities of the internet age and illuminate new spaces beyond the confines of commercialism, propaganda, and bigotry. Countering pessimistic views that globalization and digitization have led to cultural uniformity, they foresee a

changing geography of multi-layered modernities, far beyond old ideas of North versus South, West versus East.”

Meeting point: Kunstraum Kreuzberg Bethanien at 6:45 pm

Minimum number of students: 5

Maximum number of students: 20

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Performance at the Maxim Gorki Theater: In Unserem Namen – with Anke Sharma (German and English surtitles)

“In our name refugees are detained, deported, criminalized. In our name Europe is expanding the battlements of its fortress. Using texts by Aeschylus and Jelinek as a starting point, Sebastian Nübling's staging questions the

democratic fabric of Berlin: Who represents whom?”

Meeting point: Maxim Gorki Theater at 7:00 pm

*Tickets are sponsored, but if you do not show up, you have to pay 8 Euros

Maximum number of students: 14

Saturday 30.1.2016

Yoga-session with Dikte Gronvold

Start your morning with Yoga in the Factory. The session is open for people of all levels. Mats are available on the spot.

Meeting point: Factory at 10 am

Minimum number of students: 5

Maximum number of students: 15

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“Pankow, Politics and Power” with Florian Becker

Local walk with an introduction to the changing history of our neighborhood and its role as a diplomatic center during World

War II and the Cold War.

Meeting point: Cafeteria at 11 am

Minimum number of students: 5

Maximum number of students: 20

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Gallery tour with Bendetta Roux

Known for its very vibrant and international gallery scene, Berlin probably has one of the densest concentrations of galleries in the world. This does not mean that they are all close together as Berlin is incredibly wide-spread and the nomad nature of galleries (and gallerists) guarantees that they never stay clustered neatly together for very long. On this tour we will visit a number of galleries in the area where Mitte meets Kreuzberg. We will not visit the Checkpoint Charlie Museum but will swing by a number of internationally renowned galleries such as Galerie Thomas Schulte, Buchmann Galerie and Konrad Fischer to name just a few.

Meeting point: in front of the Concert Hall at Gendarmenmarkt at 11 am

Minimum number of students: 5

Maximum number of students: 15

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Visit to the Jewish Museum with Aya Soika

We will look at Daniel Libeskind’s architecture, the relevance of the space as a memorial, and the architect's metaphorical interpretation of the “void”. After our communal discussion, you will have time to explore the collections which deal with Jewish Life in Germany and Berlin from the Middle Ages to the current day on your own or in small groups.

Meeting point: at the entrance of the Jewish Museum at 12 pm.

Minimum number of students: 5

Maximum number of students: 15

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Lecture: “Badiou and Kant’s Critique of the Power of Judgement” at the Universität der Künste Berlin

Visit to the conference on ‘Badiou and the Presence of Philosophy’ with Katalin Makkai following a conversation at the nearby Schwarzes Café.

Meeting point: in the Schwarzes Cafe (Kantstraße 148) at 1:30 pm.

Minimum number of students: 5

Maximum number of students: 12

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“Bildung” and Ideology

Join Tracy Colony for a walk in the heart of the city and visit the newly restored Caspar David Friedrich paintings in the Old National Gallery.

In this tour we will use the backdrop of historical layering in the center of Berlin to

trace the changing interpretations of the role of the university in society. In particular we will

look at the history of the intersection of politics and higher education as a context for understanding our current situation.

Meeting point: Humboldt main building Unter den Linden 6 at 3 pm.

Minimum number of students: 5

Maximum number of students: 15

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Installation Visit with Andrés Martínez

Vincent Moon — "Rituals", installation opening

Vincent Moon is a wanderer, independent filmmaker and sound researcher devoted to the exploration of global music-making practices, from experiments in electronic music to local sacred

rituals involving or centered on sound.

Meeting point: HAU2 at 5:45 pm

Minimum number of students: 5

Maximum number of students: 20

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Poetry evening in K24 with Alexandria Sisson and Bisera Djundeva

Bring a poem or two that you like, it could but doesn't have to be from your home country, it could also be in

your native language with an English translation. You can also bring a poem that you have written and are willing to

share with others.

Meeting point: K24 at 8 pm

Minimum number of students: 5

Maximum number of students: 24

Sunday 31.1.2016

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Cemetery/Café tour through Kreuzberg/Schöneberg with Paul Festa

We meet Paul in his apartment and visit Felix & Fanny Mendelssohn one block away, listen to some of their music while laying flowers at the graves. We continue through Gleisdreieck Park to visit composer Max Bruch and the

Grimm Brothers and appreciate some of their work at the Alter St. Mattäus Kirchhof where Paul could get the key to the chapel and play some music for us live. After a spell at the cafe there the tour will end at Marlene Dietrich's grave.

Meeting point: Obentrautstr. 29, Front building, 2nd floor at 11 am

Minimum number of students: 5

Maximum number of students: 12

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Multikulti Berlin—a walk with Jeffrey Champlin

In the years following World War II, several major waves of immigrants entered Germany. This walk led by Jeffrey Champlin traces the history of people from Italy, Turkey, and the broader Middle East (including Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria) through the Berlin neighborhoods of Kreuzberg and Neukölln. In the process of our tour, we'll discuss the debate over multiculturalism (Multikulti) and the idea of a leading culture (Leitkultur) in German politics. Tea and lunch stops along the way.

Meeting point: Goldmarie (café), Grimmstr. 29, 10967 Berlin at 2 pm

Minimum number of students: 5

Maximum number of students: 12

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A walk through Mitte

Walk with Laura Scuriatti around Mitte, specifically the Scheunenviertel and browse around old and new monuments, consider the urban landscape and

structure.

Meeting point: outside S-Bahn station Oranienburger Strasse at 2:30 pm

Minimum number of students: 5

Maximum number of students: 15

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What's a liberal education? Thinking what we're doing - a plenary session on liberal arts education with Ewa Atanassow and David Kretz

Ewa Atanassow and David Kretz invite everyone to reflect on the meaning and purpose of liberal arts education

through a discussion of the opening chapter of Martha Nussbaum's Cultivating Humanity.

The text will be made available.

Meeting point: P 98a at 5 pm

Minimum number of students: 5

Maximum number of students: 30

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Classical music concert in the Mirror-Hall of the Claerchens Ballhaus

Join Bisera Djundeva for an exquisite oboe-piano concert featuring works by Jacques-Christian-Michel Widerkehr, Robert Schumann, Diego Sanchez Haase, Frank Martin, Benjamin Britten and Antonio Pasculli

Meeting point: Augustrasse 24 at 6:30 pm

Only half of the price of the ticket (full price: 8 EUR) is covered by the college.

Minimum number of students: 5

Maximum number of students: 9