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SoSe 20: Green Germany: Nature and the Environment in German Culture, Society and Politics

Susanne Scharnowski

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Subject: Germany is often presented as a country that leads the way in climate protection, in the development of renewable energies, and in garbage separation and recycling, in brief: as a “green” country, even as the “Greenest Nation”. The “Energiewende”, the transition from nuclear energy and coal to solar and wind energy, is even meant to serve as a model that other countries are expected to imitate. At the same time, Germany has, at least for the time being, an economy that relies very much on the production of fast cars, and plastic packaging as well as CO2 emissions in Germany remain well above the European average. Is the relationship between economy and ecology in Germany perhaps more fractious than it seems at first glance? Program: We will look at some of the key moments in the history of environmental awareness in Germany, considering political, social and cultural aspects of the complex relationship between industry, modernity, technology and the environment. We will examine the movement for nature conservation at the end of the 19th century, when Germany became a major industrial power; the NS period, when the foundations of modern laws for protection of the environment were laid; the environmental movements of the 1970s in West Germany and environmental protection in the GDR, and current debates about the conflicts between the protection of nature and landscape on the one hand, and climate on the other hand. We will also examine the particular German interest in the forest. At least during the first weeks of the semester, the course will be conducted online, using PPT presentations as well as short audio or video podcasts, texts with questions and guidelines for studying at home, online tests and an online discussion forum. If we are able to return from virtual space into the real world, one seminar will take place in the forest: on Saturday, June 27th. Is this course suitable for you? The course is open to students from all fields, but you should be interested in environmental questions in an historical, cultural, and political perspective, and you should be prepared to study and engage with complex academic and journalistic texts. Workload and Assessment: In order to obtain 5 ECTS credits, you will have to have studied the course materials and engaged with them, submit some written work and pass the final examination. close