L&T at Bard College Berlin
The Language and Thinking (L&T) Program at Bard College Berlin is a 2.5-week intensive introduction to the liberal arts. The program serves as the start of the Bard College Berlin academic experience, with small-group writing-focused workshops and one-on-one meetings with faculty. L&T also offers a range of guest lectures, excursions in Berlin and its environs, film screenings, museum visits, and guided tours, which help acquaint new students with the city’s diverse cultural and intellectual landscape.
Why Begin in Berlin?
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John Templeton KayI decided to come here because I thought that coming to Berlin would be an interesting experience, not just because it’s in Europe, but also because of all the people with different nationalities that I would interact with at this school. The main Bard campus in Annandale is very diverse, but this campus is even more diverse and has a different kind of international perspective.
John Templeton Kay
I decided to come here because I thought that coming to Berlin would be an interesting experience, not just because it’s in Europe, but also because of all the people with different nationalities that I would interact with at this school. The main Bard campus in Annandale is very diverse, but this campus is even more diverse and has a different kind of international perspective.
What were some of your first impressions of Berlin?
There is Berlin and there is Pankow, which are different in a lot of ways. Of course, Berlin is the capital of Germany, a big city. One of the nicest things about Berlin is that you have people from all walks of life. Also, everything is pretty inexpensive, which is useful. You can always use public transit to get from Pankow into the city. I actually really like that Pankow is rather quiet during the day. It’s also a very safe neighborhood, which is nice.
What does a typical day at Bard College Berlin look like for you?
The nice thing about this place is that, while at college you generally have a lot more free time than in high school, here you can spend this free time in the city of Berlin. The biggest number of classes I have in a day is three, and that seems to be the most anyone really has, so you have these large chunks of free time. Usually my day starts with going to class and then, depending on what I feel like doing, I can stay and do things at the dorms or, a lot of times, I can just go to a café at night and explore a really amazing and interesting city.
What are your classes like? Tell us about one of your academic highlights so far.
Classes here are really interesting. All the professors are extremely dedicated to what they teach. For example, the teachers of the first-semester core course have studied Plato’s Republic and Greek civilization for years and you come and learn about these things in a very intense and inspirational way, and it’s very personal. One of my academic highlights so far was a speech that my teacher Michael Weinman gave one time about justice in Plato’s Republic and I remember walking back from class and thinking about it again and again.
How do you feel about studying in Berlin?
Studying in Berlin, you definitely have to bear in mind that it can come with a lot of distractions, because there is so much going on. But since we are in Pankow, it’s a little more secluded from all that. Still, Berlin has any kind of opportunity that you might look for in a major city, so you have this kind of secluded study space but you still feel very connected to the world. Especially with everything that’s happening here right now, such as the migrant crisis and all the protests, this is one of the big centers for politics.
What do you like about campus life at Bard College Berlin?
I like the personal connections between all the students. It’s a very small campus, so you get to know a lot of interesting people from different backgrounds. There are people who have done work in Indonesian orphanages for the past few years, there are people who have lived in several different countries, so I really like having these personal connections with everyone due to the small campus size.
What are some of your passions outside the classroom and how are you pursuing them here?
In high school, I was really passionate about debate and Model UN, and in my time here we actually started a Model UN club at Bard College Berlin. I’m also looking into the debate society here in Berlin, which holds weekly meetings. I think I’m going to start attending. The debate society is open to all students in Berlin; you watch interesting debates, and if you’re on the team you can travel with them. They have both an English and a German section.
What are your plans for the future?
I’m very interested in pursuing the Global International Studies major at Bard that was just launched this year. This was also one of the reasons I decided to come here. Personally, I grew up in the town right next to the Bard campus, so I thought that having a more international perspective on things and not studying in the same place where I grew up would be a good thing, especially at the start of my college career. My future plans are to pursue politics and international affairs at Bard, and I think this has been a good starting point to get a different perspective before I study these issues more in depth. -
Deldar GolchehrehI had previously taken a gap year during which I traveled all around. Afterward I didn’t really know if I was ready to start college, but I was already enrolled at Bard Annandale and had just deferred for my year off, so I thought it was a good idea to do the Begin in Berlin program, because I could still sort of be traveling but also go to college. It’s an in-between place.
Deldar Golchehreh
I had previously taken a gap year during which I traveled all around. Afterward I didn’t really know if I was ready to start college, but I was already enrolled at Bard Annandale and had just deferred for my year off, so I thought it was a good idea to do the Begin in Berlin program, because I could still sort of be traveling but also go to college. It’s an in-between place.
What were some of your first impressions of Berlin?
It reminded me of Prague a little bit aesthetically, because it has a similar post-Soviet, artistic hipster-fusion theme. I thought it was exciting. The people are really interesting. There is lots of diversity. Also, lots of cool coffee shops.
What does a typical day at Bard College Berlin look like for you?
On weekdays, I usually wake up too late for breakfast, so I just make toast and tea at my apartment before I go to class. When I feel like it, I go to the cafeteria for lunch and dinner, but I often just go home and cook. Then I do work for class or I work on movies for my documentary class in the evening. Wednesdays and weekends are my days off, so those are the days I like to go out into the city to explore museums or spend time in coffee shops.
What are your classes like? Tell us about one of your academic highlights so far.
My classes are all very interesting. I’m taking an ethics class called Truth in Action, where we read and discuss a lot of core philosophical texts. My Writing and Gender class is also great: the professor is very passionate about her subject, which really adds to the class. And then there is Experiments in Documentary, which is really fun. It’s hands-on, which I really appreciate, because, while I like film theory, this class is a lot more about actually making films and the technicalities—camerawork, shooting—but also the history of documentary, like cinéma vérité and lots of interpretation of where documentary bleeds into the fiction genre. My academic highlight so far was Tracy Colony, who was my professor for the core course on Plato’s Republic. I love his class because it’s very philosophical; although the class is a seminar, he brings in a lot of lecture, but he has interesting philosophical insights into the text, so it’s very enlightening. We also get to discuss and ask questions, but it’s mostly a very poetic and philosophical lecture. There is something new each time and it’s always intriguing what the professor will say about the text and what connections he will prompt us to make. He has a very broad perspective, so he explores how the texts or ideas fit into the larger map of ideas and philosophical concepts, rather than just sticking to one aspect of the text.
How do you feel about studying in Berlin?
It is definitely a really nice opportunity to spend my freshman year here. The city has so much going on all the time. I attended the International Literature Festival a few weeks ago, which featured a lot of speakers who came to talk about subjects such as feminism or the sexual revolution in the Islamic world; Salman Rushdie was also present to discuss his new book. Things like that are always happening in Berlin, so it’s great to have that complement your studies.
What do you like about campus life at Bard College Berlin?
Bard College Berlin’s location is not so much a normal campus but more like a collection of buildings that are close to one another, which I find preferable. It doesn’t feel like a closed community, but it feels very much integrated with the German neighborhood and it has the feel of a Berlin neighborhood, so not being in a closed campus setting feels nice.
What are some of your passions outside the classroom and how are you pursuing them here?
Film is a big passion of mine. In addition to taking the documentary class and making films, I also go to film screenings in the city and get my own footage. I’m currently interviewing and working with the Syrian refugees to make my own film. It’s really nice to be able to take advantage of that, since Germany is the epicenter of the refugee crisis. I really enjoy art, so being able to go to Berlin’s art museums is creatively inspiring. I’m also looking into volunteering at an animal shelter here. I did that back in New York and I want to continue.
What are your plans for the future?
I have a lot of academic interests, so I’m looking for an interdisciplinary setting to either mesh them all together or focus on several of them. I really love astronomy and cosmology, so I might focus on astrophysics, or perhaps I’ll do a film major. I enjoy either film theory or filmmaking, so I’d probably do both. Gender studies, linguistics, and zoology are other really big passions of mine, but they are very different, and I haven’t yet figured out how to work all that into a major or double major (but I’m trying).
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Archer HendersonWhen I signed up for Bard Annandale, I didn’t know much about Begin in Berlin except that it existed. But in May or April before coming here, I got an email about the possibility of signing up to come to Berlin, which was a big surprise. It sounded like something that was pretty much the farthest thing from my school life at home, so I felt that, if I could be successful here, everything else I would experience in college would be much less intimidating and unknown to me.
Archer Henderson
When I signed up for Bard Annandale, I didn’t know much about Begin in Berlin except that it existed. But in May or April before coming here, I got an email about the possibility of signing up to come to Berlin, which was a big surprise. It sounded like something that was pretty much the farthest thing from my school life at home, so I felt that, if I could be successful here, everything else I would experience in college would be much less intimidating and unknown to me.
What were some of your first impressions of Berlin?
One difference I noticed is that there is much more order in Germany than in the U.S. The public transportation system is a big difference in terms of the timeliness and the precision. It is really easy to get basically anywhere. Also, the scale of the buildings was surprising—they are much smaller than I imagined them to be for such a big city.
What does a typical day at BCB look like for you?
I wake up, I go to breakfast, go to class, and at lunch I usually spend a little too much time just chatting with my friends, especially if it is nice outside. Then I come back to my dorm and do my work until I go back to the dining hall for dinner and hang out with everybody there; I love talking to people and socializing during meals. Sometimes when I don’t have too much work to do I like to get on the tram, or the U- or S-Bahn, and just go to a stop I’ve never been to before, walk around and see what’s there. I usually prefer to walk because you can get a better idea of where things are in relation to one another and form a picture of the overall map of the city, especially because Berlin is so large in area.
What are your classes like? Tell us about one of your academic highlights so far.
The classes are much more informal than I imagined them to be, and students lead most of the discussion, as well as determine the content that is discussed. The biggest highlight so far has probably been the Plato’s Republic course with Tracy Colony. The concepts we talk about and the discussions we are having are about things that I had not even considered before, or that I never even knew could be thought about. It has been a great experience to feel like I am learning something completely unknown to me.
How do you feel about studying in Berlin?
I definitely came here partially because of the attraction of living in Berlin. I’ve never lived in Europe before and I was really interested in the different experience of living in the city. As far as the city’s relationship to my education, it was really great to go into the city during the Language and Thinking Program and look at things that pertained to the curriculum of the program. Also, a key feature of a lot of classes here is to go into the city and visit museums or see productions. I think this is an opportunity that is pretty unique to the school, and in light of Bard College Berlin’s location these offers can be consistently integrated into the curriculum.
What do you like about campus life at Bard College Berlin?
I like how, since the student body is so small, everyone’s face is pretty much familiar. Even when you’re not close friends with someone it is still appropriate to sit with them during meals and have a conversation with them. I think that is really a special thing about this school.
What are some of your passions outside the classroom and how are you pursuing them here?
At home, I make a lot of art and I sew, so some students and I are starting something like a circle to knit and do crafts together on a regular basis, just to integrate that a little bit into campus life. Since the school is so small, it can take a while to get things going, but in general I think the school is pretty supportive of new extracurricular activities and events that students have organized.
What are your plans for the future?
To be honest, I’m not exactly sure what my plans for the future are. Part of the reason I came here was that I didn’t have an overall trajectory or plan in mind for my college education. I thought that doing something that was so far out of my comfort zone could potentially be enlightening with regards to exploring different possibilities or paths of study, and therefore influence what I do after this. Right now I’m still in the process of figuring that out, but I’m interested in working in a field related to education, that is, teaching or educational policy and practices.