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syllabus

Interdisciplinary Explorations of the Middle East in Berlin

Walk Berlin. Notice buildings, streets, spaces that draw your attention. Syrian restaurants occupy former East German buildings. Turkish families have lived in Kreuzberg for decades. Arabic appears on memorial plaques. Kurdish newspapers sell at corner kiosks. What stories do these layers tell? How do communities make themselves at home in cities that have been repeatedly unmade and remade? What gets preserved and what gets erased? Who decides what belongs? Students choose one book to read: Anna Tsing’s The Mushroom at the End of the World, James C. Scott’s Seeing Like a State, or Robert Macfarlane’s Is a River Alive?


Format: Mostly independent walking with few intensive sessions

Week 1: Oct 14 (Tue 10-12) – Course introduction + book selection (2 hours)

Weeks 2-6: Walking, reading, thinking, writing

Week 7: Nov 18 (Tue 10-14) – “What has been catching your attention?” (4 hours)

Weeks 8-11: Continue walking, reading, thinking, writing

Week 12: Jan 20 (Tue 10-14) – “What patterns are you noticing?” (4 hours)

Weeks 13-14: Continue walking, reading, thinking, writing

Week 15: Feb 10 (Tue 10-14) – “What questions do you have now?” (4 hours)