16843

WiSe 13/14: Berlin, Seen from the Outside. Intercultural Perspectives on the German Metropolis

Susanne Scharnowski

Hinweise für Studierende

Englischkenntnisse im Bereich B 1 (GER)

Kommentar

After having been the capital of Imperial, Weimar, Nazi and Socialist Germany as well as a, or even the, symbol of the Cold War, Berlin is now one of the three most popular tourist destinations in Europe: the number of overnight stays has almost tripled in a matter of 10 years. It is also a magnet for students, international members of the "creative class", extremely desirable for real estate investors and - possibly - on its way to becoming a "global city". As a result, "touristification" and "gentrification" are two of the most frequently used terms in the current debate about the present situation, which shows that these developments are not universally appreciated by Berliners. In this seminar, we will examine the reasons for and possible consequences of Berlin's enormous popularity, taking into consideration the role that films and (literary) texts have played in creating an image of Berlin that makes it so attractive for non-Berliners, as well as foreign views of Berlin in the 19th and 20th centuries. The course objective is to determine how the history of Berlin and its "cultural capital" are used by the tourism industry in order to create spaces and places for tourism, and what effects tourism has on the city and on the people who live here. The course materials will be made available as a digital course reader; in addition to studying academic texts analysing urban tourism, city "branding" and processes of imagining and "staging" the city, as well as journalistic and literary texts, students will venture out and do research in the streets of Berlin. Assessment: Along with regularly attending the seminar, studying the course materials and preparing questions for discussion, students will be expected to participate in a small group research project. At the end of the course, students will sit a written examination (90 minutes). Schließen

16 Termine

Regelmäßige Termine der Lehrveranstaltung

Mi, 12:00 - 14:00 16 Termine

Mi, 16.10.2013 12:00 - 14:00

Dozenten:
Dr. Susanne Scharnowski