Description

Join us for a culturally rich and exciting four weeks in one of the most vibrant cities of the world while earning academic credit! The program runs from June 27th – July 24th, 2021 and is open to any student at ECU (with a minimum GPA of 2.0). You can even bring friends studying at other universities along!

This study trip offers a lot of flexibility – participants can either:

  1. earn up to 6 cr (= 2 semesters) of German language credit (or upper level German course credit based on prior approval) OR
  2. take FORL 2600: The Holocaust and Its Remembrance (3 cr)  for FC: Humanities credit OR
  3. take both for up to 9 credit hours

Language classes:

are 4 hours a day and offered in the mornings. You will be placed into the appropriate level, based on your previous coursework. You will earn up to 6 credits (2 semesters worth of German courses) in four weeks of language study. The immersion in German language and culture, of course, will enrich your linguistic and cultural experience exponentially. This is a great option for those of you contemplating adding a German major or minor, but with little flexibility in your primary major curriculum. German is also a great complement to other programs, such as business, communications, engineering, music, anthropology, or education, to name a few. As this article from the Economist asserts, Germany ranks at the top of nations in terms of their “soft power,” which means that knowing the language might one day allow you to communicate with German business partners or colleagues in fields as varied as art, medicine, or computer science.

In FORL 2600:

The Holocaust and Its Remembrance , we will learn about the history of the Holocaust through lectures (2-3 times a week) and visit sites such as the Reichstag, Sachsenhausen concentration camp, or the Topography of Terror exhibition in Berlin. In addition, we will engage with various sites of remembrance such as the Memorial to the Sinti and Roma victims of National Socialism, the Jewish Museum, or the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. We will also be able to explore Jewish life in Berlin before and after its destruction. Our goal is to gain a deeper, more invested understanding of the events that unfolded in the mid-twentieth century and explore its relevance for us today. We will also get a glimpse of the memory culture in Germany today: How do Germans deal with their troubled past?

Let Berlin be your classroom and explore one of the world’s most vibrant cities!

You might even like to stay for the summer and discover Europe (you’ll have to plan extra time and funding for that). Berlin has been repeatedly named the most fun city around the globe to visit, which reflects the immense diversity, arts, and culture you’ll have at your fingertips once there.