Are you in Berlin for the Summer? Did you know that one third of Berlin’s surface is green (gardens, parks, woods) and water (lakes, rivers, canals)? Stroll around Tiergarten, the largest inner city park; take a boat from Wannsee and go all the way to Potsdam; go swimming in the open-air pool in Kreuzberg. Berlin’s tourism bureau visitBerlin has put together a great list of places to go and things to do: https://www.visitberlin.de/en/summer-berlin.
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The World at Your Fingertips in Berlin
by Ethan Johnson
I was born and raised around 30 miles away from New York City in Somerset and Princeton in New Jersey and I am currently finishing up my last semester at NYU. For the last four years at NYU Gallatin, I have worked across several departments to design my own major that blended international relations, 20th century political history, and social ontology.
In focusing on 20th century liberalism, fascism, and communism, I sought to understand how certain philosophical constructs influenced societal outcomes and especially foreign policymaking. Although it was a herculean undertaking, it was a definitive highlight in my academic history.
My enduring passions for history, international politics, and philosophy – and perhaps for learning about the world in general – have defined me as a person. Curiosity is the driving force in my life – a force that will accompany me to graduate school this fall.
A Disturbing Fascination with Native Americans
by Irelyn Mulvaney*
During my last six months in Berlin, there have been a lot of new and exciting cultural information and norms that I have become adjusted to.
Everything shuts down on Sundays, going to Biergartens after work with colleagues on a Tuesday is normal, clubs are open 72 hours, club mate will get you through exam season, doner is your new 2 am meal, and do not jaywalk in front of children unless you want to be screamed at by a woman on her bike. On that note, try to avoid stepping in the bike lanes; the only indicator I’ve been able to pick up on is a darker cobblestone, which means that you’ve crossed into biking territory. Once you’re in that lane, you must accept the consequences- which means you will probably be yelled at.
So yeah, I have learned a lot of new information and adjusted my life accordingly. Don’t get me wrong, I love to go thrifting at flea markets or rollerskating (this is a fiction of my imagination, I have the grace of an elephant) at Tempelhof.
Some things have been more challenging for me to adjust to, things nobody told me about.
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Pride Month in Berlin: An event calendar
The second “Pride Month Berlin” takes place from Wednesday June 2023 – the Stonewall Day – for four weeks, until Sunday, July 23.
Pride month is a time of celebration and recognition for the LGBTQ+ community. It is a time to honor the accomplishments of LGBTQ+ individuals, to reflect on the struggles and sacrifices made for equality, and to promote awareness and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community.
The origins of Pride month can be traced back to the Stonewall riots in 1969, which were a series of violent protests by members of the LGBTQ+ community against police brutality and discrimination. These riots are considered a turning point in the LGBTQ+ rights movement and sparked the creation of many LGBTQ+ organizations and advocacy groups.
Berghain – Urban Tourism in Berlin
by Claire Zhu*
It would be most unusual if you did not hear somebody mention Berghain in a conversation about the top nightlife spots in Berlin, a city that is simultaneously the capital of Germany and the world’s techno capital. An emblem of the city’s alternative culture, the legendary club is housed in a former industrial power plant building and exalted for its top-tier techno music. Arguably, Berghain’s most notable feature is its famed exclusivity as part of the club’s allure is its mysteriously strict door policy that makes a visit alone to such a reputable establishment a touristic experience.
On Genealogy: Excavating Nietzsche and Weber
by Isabella Yang*
The academic landscape is decorated with various methods used to build conceptual understanding but genealogy stands out as an encyclopedic approach that transverses the past, present, and future. Nietzsche’s On the Genealogy of Morality and Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism provide two distinct genealogy accounts. Though both authors are united in pursuing a historical exposition of the present, their approaches diverge. Nietzsche segments morality into goodness and guilt and performs a genealogical assessment of each to refine his genealogy of morality. Weber inspects Protestantism and capitalism and induces a causal relationship to explain the correlation between the two. Though Nietzsche’s argumentation is more cogent and compelling, both accounts bestow depth and texture to the reader’s conception of the self and society. [Read more…] about On Genealogy: Excavating Nietzsche and Weber