The module explores the development of Berlin since 1945, tracing the city’s different phases of development: as a city of ruins after Second World War, a divided city, a city in transition during unification, and finally as the new capital of united Germany. Berlin will be examined from a variety of cultural and linguistic perspectives, and the module will be structured around key thematic engagements with – and in – the city through different media, such as literature, film, the linguistic environment and landscape, and the built environment.
By the end of the module, students will have a better understanding of Berlin and Germany, together with its many contested layers of histories and identities; they will be able to explain Berlin’s unique role in the making and remaking of national, regional and multicultural identities in Germany. Advanced students of German are expected to engage with primary materials in German, but translations will be made available for ab initio students of German.
The module is taught through a lecture-seminar format and is assessed through two pieces of coursework: a podcast (3-4 minute, 40%) and a mapping exercise (1,500 words, 60%).