HS/US 320 - The Politics of Memory: Museums and Memorials in Berlin

This course addresses the relationship between history, memory, identity, and trauma. The fate of Berlin and Germany’s history in modern times have been shaped by conflicting ideologies, historical ruptures, and collective traumas. We will focus on how these events left traces in the urban geography. Discussions will revolve around the relationship between politics, collective memory, and urban identity by considering modes of commemoration and distinct instrumentalizations of commemorative forms in the divided and later reunited city. While discussing how memorials, exhibitions, art, and architecture as well as mass media shape individual and collective memory, our approach will be comparative and interdisciplinary with an emphasis on relevant political and cultural events. How does the interplay between urban landscape, politics and memory create a sense of identity? How do we make sense of the multiplicity of meanings that resonate with hybrid memories in a city like Berlin where we encounter multiple Berlins and diverse stories of belonging? What is the relationship between narratives of memory and perceptions of the ongoing transformations of the city? How is the German historical legacy adopted by newcomers - migrants and refugees? There will be regular course related field study trips, city walks and film screenings.