16843

WiSe 16/17: Berlin's urban development from Cölln to capital: people, politics and places

Mary Hartshorn Dellenbaugh

Hinweise für Studierende

Is this course suitable for you? This course is open to students from all academic fields. Nevertheless, you should be prepared to study a number of academic texts in English from the social sciences and cultural studies. You should be interested in reflecting critically on architecture and politics, and you should be prepared to select and research the history of a building in the city in small groups and present the results in class.

Workload and Evaluation: In order to obtain 5 ECTS credits, you will have to

Attend the course regularly (at least 13 out of 16 sessions);
Have studied the weekly course materials (an average of 20 pages of English texts per week);
Participate in a working group (background/field research) with a presentation in class;
Take part in the three excursions (1 December 2016, 15 December 2016 & 2 February 2017);
Pass the written examination (90 minutes).

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Kommentar

Subject: Berlin has been the center of architectural posturing and politically-motivated building for centuries. In this seminar, we will explore the architectural history of Berlin’s capital city from its genesis to the present day. The course material will alternate between architectural and urban theory, Berlin’s architectural past and present, and the historical and political developments that helped shape the built fabric of Germany’s capital city. We will examine Berlin’s emergence in the 13th century, its growth during the Margraviate of Brandenburg, its role as first the Prussian und later the Imperial capital, the development of the city during the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich, and finally its destruction, division, and rebirth as the new German capital. Students will learn not only about the various architectural styles present in the city (historicism, modernism, postmodernism, etc.), but also how these link to historical and political developments in Germany and the world, global architectural movements, political posturing during the Cold War, and demographic changes.

Program: The course consists of lectures and three excursions. In the lectures, we will examine the significant architectural movements in Berlin’s history, and their political background, in chronological order. As we progress through the material, we will begin to compare and contrast movements stylistically, politically, and spatially. The lectures will be supported by readings from urban geography, history, architecture, urban planning and sociology. The excursions will give real-world experience to the theoretical material examined in the lectures and the readings. Schließen