Rainer Forst speaks on Toleration and Democracy (Video)

"One doesn’t need to explain these days why toleration is an important issue,” Rainer Forst said at the beginning of his Katz Distinguished Lecture in the Humanities April 29. Forst, Professor of Political Theory and Philosophy at Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, defended a particular democratic notion of toleration to a full Kane Hall auditorium. See the video.

Rift Forms in Germany Over Asylum

By MELISSA EDDY

MAY 9, 2015

TUTZING, Germany — A bronze statue of St. Joseph, bending protectively over the Holy Family, stands at the center of a bubbling fountain outside the St. Joseph Church in this Bavarian village.

Across a cobblestone courtyard, parishioners show up regularly at the Roman Catholic church’s community center to teach German and math to asylum seekers and refugees. During a recent weeknight service, Ali, a young Afghan, demonstrated his progress, reading aloud a prayer for peace to the congregation.

This tranquil place is also the backdrop for a bitter debate between Germany’s government and its Roman Catholic and Protestant churches over the fates of hundreds of migrants they are sheltering.

Just before Christmas, to stave off their imminent deportations, Ali and another young Muslim moved into the two-room guest apartment on the parish grounds, invoking a Christian practice of seeking protection within a church, a form of asylum known in German as Kirchenasyl.

Read full article... 

Project Proposal Guidelines

PROJECT PROPOSAL GUIDELINES 2015

Project Proposals//Completed Proposal Posted to blog by June 12

Note: Preliminary proposal due by Thursday, June 4

6-8 pages posted to blog

“University of Washington Honors and Education 2015: Re-enacting 

German and American Identities”

1.     ABSTRACT of group project (approx 200-500 words). This is the main theme of the group, i.e. Arts; Performance; Social Media, Immigration; Education; Healthcare Services; Globalization and Identity; etc. (GROUP)

2.     BACKGROUND (approx 1,000 words).  This is an overview that synthesizes the group project. Include the process of coming to the main theme idea and consider context, i.e. why is the topic relevant? How will it advance your and others understanding? Remember to consider why it is of personal interest as well as why others (local and global communities) should care to know more about the topic. Also consider any struggles you have encountered while beginning your exploration. (GROUP or INDIVIDUAL)

3.     QUESTION

Each group member will set up their own question as related to the main theme of the group project, which relates to the main theme of the program. Each member will discuss the background and relevance of question. Why have you chosen this question? What have you learned so far? (INDIVIDUAL)

4.     CULTURAL SENSITIVITY. What are your biases? What is your subject position? (INDIVIDUAL)

5.     DAILY SCHEDULE in Berlin and Jena. This will be tentative and may be a combination of group and individual schedules. This schedule will very likely be adjusted, but it’s good to start planning a tentative plan of action. How will you explore this question while you are in Berlin and possibly Jena? What kind of background research schedule will you develop before you leave for Berlin?  Where will you go? Who will you meet? (Seattle, Berlin, Jena) (INDIVIDUAL)

People (names, titles, etc.)

Places (location and transportation)

Equipment (cameras, video recorders, paints, logbook, etc.)

Information you’ll gather (photos, notes from interviews, observations noted in logbook, etc.)

6.     REFERENCES at this point (bibliography, use correct formatting) (INDIVIDUAL)

7.     Groups will present their preliminary project proposals to the class on June 5 (four to five groups at approx. 15 minutes per group with additional time for Q&A). We will have an extended class on June 5, 2:15-4:00 p.m. with guest panel discussants (colleagues from Berlin who are in Seattle).

NOTE:  You can present and post the above information in any format. Just make certain to cover all key points (post a copy on each group 

Cultures clash as gentrification engulfs Capitol Hill

Originally published March 13, 2015 at 1:01 am Updated March 17, 2015 at 2:38 pm 

Nightlife and development on Capitol Hill have become a source of tension for longtime residents, who worry the area is losing its eclectic, artistic character.

Read the full article:  

http://www.seattletimes.com/life/lifestyle/culture-clash-on-capitol-hill/

Tour/performance hosted by Theater Ballhaus Naunystrasse- June 27 in Berlin

@ J. Zeller

PERFORMANCE

DAUERKOLONIE BERLIN

Performative Stadtführung

27. Juni 2015, 13:00 Uhr
Eintritt 10 € / 7 €

Treffpunkt: EOTO e.V., Paul Gerhardt Stift, Müllerstraße 56-58.

Afrikanisches Viertel und Schlossplatz, „Mohrenstraße“, Wilhelmstraße und May-Ayim-Ufer: Diese so unterschiedlichen Orte haben eines gemeinsam: Sie waren Schauplätze deutscher Versklavungs- und Kolonialpolitik. Hier wurden Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit geplant, begangen oder durch Ehrung der Aggressoren gefeiert. Bis heute wirkt koloniale Propaganda aus der Weimarer Republik und Nazideutschland im Berliner Stadtbild fort - und bis heute profitieren Menschen in Berlin, Deutschland und Europa unbewusst, aber alltäglich von kolonialen Kontinuitäten. Schauspieler_innen des Theaterensembles Label Noir nehmen gemeinsam mit Politikwissenschaftler und Aktivist Joshua Kwesi Aikins die Teilnehmenden mit auf eine Stadttour, die performative Einblicke in die ebenso verdrängte wie präsente Geschichte und Gegenwart gibt und zugleich von dem sich früh formierenden Widerstand Schwarzer Menschen erzählt

.......................................

Performative City Tour

Afrikanisches Viertel (African Quarter) and Schlossplatz, “Mohrenstraße”, Wilhelmstraße and May-Ayim-Ufer – all of these very different places have one thing in common: they were sites of German politics of enslavement and colonialism. Up to the present day, the colonial propaganda from the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany continues to have an effect in Berlin’s cityscape. And until this day people in Berlin, Germany and Europe unconsciously but commonly benefit from colonial continuities. Actors and actresses of the theatre ensemble Label Noir and the political scientist and activist Joshua Kwesi Aikins take the participants on a city tour providing performative insights into a suppressed but nevertheless very present history and present, while at the same addressing the quickly emerging resistance of Black people.

Meeting point: EOTO e.V., Paul Gerhardt Stift, Müllerstraße 56-58

Hosted by Joshua Kwesi Aikins, Dela Dabulamanzi, Lara-Sophie Milagro and other

An event by Kultursprünge at Ballhaus Naunynstraße gemeinnützige GmbH.

Agenda for Saturday

May 2^nd: 10-3.00

10:00 Welcome!

10:10 Manuela Mangold, Humboldt, Skype in (to be confirmed)

Current events in Berlin relevant to our program and your research

10:30 Practical Matters- Draft Summer Schedule; Credits; Travel Logistics (suggestions); and Travel to Hostel from Airport, etc.

11:00-11:45 Research Groups

12:00 Lunch in suite (delivered)- break

12:30 Lunch talk with 2013 Berlin/Spain students Juliana Borges, Jessica Wang, Lynn Zhao They will discuss their own research process and final presentation. Interdisciplinary process and research group process also will be discussed

1:30-2:00  Research methods discussion (Humanities/arts, Social Science/Education, Interdisciplinary) with examples discussed, best practices for ethical research abroad

2:00-3:00 Interview and observation in the area (field research). Post to blog: 1) Observation notes (from research notebook); 2) Interview responses and your reflections on process and your perspective/positionality

Friday, May 9 class- Follow up discussion from Saturday's assignment. related to field research exercise)

(language class will be scheduled for May, stay tuned!)