What are the sources, networks, and voices that currently shape the discourses of the German public sphere? In semester long seminars, Bard College Berlin students of German are looking at media outlets, individuals, and institutions that shape the content, tone, and direction of debates that have recently emerged with great urgency: immigration, the rise of populism, anti-Semitism, Leitkultur, Islam in Germany, the future of Europe, gender roles, and Germany’s role in the world, present and past.

We engage with these themes in small seminar discussions, and in conversations with journalists, faculty, and Berlin-based activists. And we visit sites of social activism and media institutions such as the Bundespressekonferenz, Deutsche Welle, Deutschlandfunk, and Tactical Technology.

Our discussions and visits have inspired much writing, thinking, and debate beyond the classroom, and we want to share some of it here. Various activities of the course are funded by the DAAD (Integra and STIBET).