Nordamerikastudien

• (P) Understanding North America A1

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  • 32001 Grundkurs
    Understanding North America A (Sönke Kunkel, Martin Lüthe, Birte Wege)
    Zeit: Fr 10:00-12:00, Fr 14:00-16:00 (Erster Termin: 17.10.2025)
    Ort: 340 Hörsaal (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

    Kommentar

    This comprehensive course introduces students to the fundamentals of the interdisciplinary field of North American Studies. “Understanding North America” (UNA) follows a two-semester format, with the first part (UNA-A) covering the disciplines of literary studies, cultural studies, and history. The second part (UNA-B) will be offered during the summer term and expands the overall framework with the disciplinary perspectives of sociology, economics, and political science. While UNA is one of the most challenging courses at the John F. Kennedy-Institute, it will reward students with insights into multiple disciplines along with a solid foundation of knowledge and skills for further studies.

• (OM) Multidisziplinäre Studien A

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  • 32000 Vorlesung
    Loss in the land of plenty: Understanding American Crisis, Decline, and Paths to Renewal (Stefanie Müller, Lora Anne Viola)
    Zeit: Mi 16:00-18:00 (Erster Termin: 15.10.2025)
    Ort: Gr. Hörsaal (Raum B.001) (Arnimallee 22)
    

    Kommentar

    America is in the midst of turbulent changes to its social, political, economic, and cultural fabric. While certainly the result of long-ongoing processes, the current erosion of democratic norms and institutions, loss of economic stability, systemic racial injustices, political polarization, the stoking of culture wars, and the restructuring of global commitments and priorities appear to be taking on a qualitatively different character and a new magnitude, marking something like a critical juncture. The concept of “loss,” we propose, offers a framework for examining the multifaceted crises shaping and re-shaping the United States of America. Problems of loss include depletion, dispossession, destruction, disappearance, and collapse: of the environment, of social and political trust, of the boundaries of political discourse, of economic productivity, of equality, of power. Loss can be material, affective, or symbolic; it can be a mobilizing force for political action and it can be a motor of transformation. In this lecture series, guest experts from a range of disciplinary fields including literature, culture, sociology, political science, history, and law, discuss how the concept of loss helps us to understand social, economic, political, and cultural changes in the US.

• (OM) Geschichte

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  • 32401 Seminar
    Global Superpower: U.S. Foreign Realtions since 1990 (Sönke Kunkel)
    Zeit: Di 08:00-10:00 (Erster Termin: 14.10.2025)
    Ort: 340 Hörsaal (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

    Kommentar

    In 1992, political scientist Francis Fukuyama described the end of the Cold War as the “end of history,” and predicted the global triumph of democracy, free markets, and an US-led world order. Today, it is the conflict-ridden and tense developments of the 1990s that come to mind: the US wars in the Balkans and Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq or the failure of humanitarian (non-)interventions in Rwanda and Somalia. On the other hand, the 1990s were also the decade of the globalization of Nike, Air Jordan, Sim City, and hip-hop. In this seminar, we will examine how the US made the transition to a unipolar empire in the 1990s, how its foreign policy and self-image changed, and how ‘soft’ processes of cultural globalization accompanied and shaped this transition.

  • 32400 Proseminar
    Navigating the Unknown: Uncertainty in the History of North America and Beyond (Marlene Ritter)
    Zeit: Mo 12:00-14:00 (Erster Termin: 13.10.2025)
    Ort: 340 Hörsaal (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

    Kommentar

    We live in uncertain times – marked by political upheavals, rapid technological change, and ecological loss and crisis. Yet, this perception of uncertainty is not unique to the present. How have people made sense of the unknown in the past? How have they tried to predict, control, or survive uncertain futures? This seminar explores how individuals, communities, and institutions have historically responded to uncertainty, in North America and beyond. Seminar topics therefore include religious beliefs and prophecies, narratives of destiny and utopia, science and statistics, social planning, bureaucracy and record-keeping, violence and exclusion, art, sports, as well as turns to history itself. Furthermore, we will discuss how historians themselves deal with uncertainty in their work: from gaps in the archives and collective memory, to epistemological questions, biases in historical research, and contested interpretations of the past. Through these themes, early BA students are introduced to the foundational skills of studying history: how to ask critical questions, develop an argument, read primary and secondary sources, and how to write (about) history. A field trip to a local archive will offer practical insights into what it means to work as a historian – and the uncertainties that come with it.

• (OM) Kultur

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  • 32100 Proseminar
    Rhetorics of Continuity and Change: A Survey of American Cultural History (Alexander Starre)
    Zeit: Mi 12:00-14:00 (Erster Termin: 15.10.2025)
    Ort: 201 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

    Kommentar

    This course provides an extended overview of American cultural history ranging from the period of British settlement in the 17th century to contemporary issues in US society. We will read influential texts (speeches, legal documents, essays, etc.) by authors such as John Cotton, Thomas Jefferson, Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, Martin Luther King, Betty Friedan, and Ta-Nehisi Coates. Throughout our readings, we will explore public rhetoric as a key factor shaping the cultural trajectory of the United States. After a brief introduction to basic methodologies of cultural analysis, students will investigate the rhetorical, structural, and discursive features of the primary texts through close readings. We will also explore select representations from the fields of visual culture, art, and film. In addition, students need to do independent research on a selection of key terms that are essential for understanding the evolution of American public discourse and intellectual history.

• (OM) Literatur

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  • 32200 Proseminar
    Introduction to Literary Studies I (Birte Wege)
    Zeit: Mi 10:00-12:00 (Erster Termin: 15.10.2025)
    Ort: 201 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

    Kommentar

    In this seminar, students will be introduced to the basic terms and methods for analyzing and interpreting literary texts. We will read a range of works of 19th- to 21st-century American literature, focusing on prose, drama, and poetry. We will discuss how narrative functions, learn how to perform in-depth close readings of prose as well as poetry, and how to analyze drama. This seminar provides a better understanding of how literature works and offers students a vital toolbox to be used throughout their studies. You will also learn the fundamentals of academic research and writing.

• (VM) Geschichte A - Geschichte Nordamerikas bis 1865 (History A – History of North America before 1865)

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  • 32402 Vertiefungsseminar
    Visions of 'America' on Display: Nation, Empire, and Visual Culture at 19th- Century US 'Worlds Fairs' (Marlene Ritter)
    Zeit: Mi 14:00-16:00 (Erster Termin: 15.10.2025)
    Ort: 203 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

    Kommentar

    This seminar explores the political and cultural significance of industrial and so-called ‘world’s fairs’ held in the United States between 1853 and 1904. Then celebrated as showcases of progress and innovation, these exhibitions were also powerful stages for visions of ‘America’ – visions shaped by contested ideas about nationhood, race, gender, empire, and modernity. In this course, we examine these industrial and ‘world’s fairs’ as arenas for “politics by other means” (Jones 2017, p. 43). Yet, grounded in the historiography of 19th century North America, we also look at these exhibitions as manifestations of some of the major political developments at the time: the tensions between republican ideals and imperial ambitions, North and South, white supremacy and abolition, and the role of Indigenous peoples and non-European cultures in the national story. This seminar introduces advanced BA students to a broad selection of sources and readings, including key concepts developed in Visual History. Through the lens of 19th century exhibitions, students will therefore deepen their historical knowledge, hone their analytical and writing skills, and extend their toolbox as historians. Furthermore, the course includes a field trip to Museum Treptow and its exhibition on the 1896 colonial exhibition at Treptower Park.

  • 32403 Seminar
    The Women`s Movement and Intersectionality in the U.S. (1830-1920) (David Bebnowski)
    Zeit: Do 14:00-16:00 (Erster Termin: 16.10.2025)
    Ort: 201 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

    Kommentar

    Intersectionality has become a central concept of progressive politics in the U.S. and beyond. At the same time, its foundations in identity politics has made it the object of intense criticism in recent years. In this class we will trace the historical origins of intersectionality in the women’s movement between 1830-1920, by focusing on the interconnectedness of race, class, and gender in the abolitionist, the labor and the woman’s movement. The seminar is based on political pamphlets, such as the Factory Tracts by the “Lowell Mill Girls” (1844) or Sojourner Truth’s speech “I am as Strong as any Man” (1851) as primary sources. Recent historiographic scholarship on “racial” and “slavery’s capitalism” as well as theoretical reflections on gender will be used to discuss and contextualize the historic roots of intersectional claims.

• (VM) Kultur A – Ideengeschichte und Kulturgeschichte einzelner Medien (Culture A – History of Ideas and Cultural History of Individual Media)

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  • 32101 Vertiefungsseminar
    “Policing and Race in the United States: Structures, Critique, and Resistance (Anthony Obst)
    Zeit: Do 16:00-18:00 (Erster Termin: 16.10.2025)
    Ort: 201 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

    Kommentar

    Over the last decade, the George Floyd uprising and the Black Lives Matter movement have placed the relation between policing and race in the United States under profound scrutiny, raising fundamental questions about the historical roots, structural persistence, and systemic character of racialized state violence. This course explores the social, political, and economic structures that constitute what Elizabeth Hinton and DeAnza Cook describe as “the antiblack punitive tradition in America,” as well as the critique and forms of resistance engendered by this tradition. Students will engage with historical sources, theoretical analyses, and cultural productions that illuminate the relation between policing and race more broadly—including their imbrication with issues of class and gender—across US history, from slave codes to ICE raids.

  • 32102 Vertiefungsseminar
    Indigenous Activist Practices in North America (Esther Prause)
    Zeit: Di 10:00-12:00 (Erster Termin: 14.10.2025)
    Ort: 201 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

    Kommentar

    In this seminar, we will focus on a selection of work from the last seventy years by indigenous individuals, organizations, and movements within and beyond national borders. We will challenge conventional understandings of "activism" through the discussion of narratives, performances, and practices across time, communities, and media that could be understood as indigenous activist practice.
    The course will consist of a series of small case studies (grassroots protests, court cases, artistic works, international diplomacy, culinary practices, and pop-culture), complimented by readings of indigenous political theorists and scholars from associated disciplines.
    Working at the intersection of Cultural Studies and Native American Studies, we will investigate different strategies employed by indigenous activists and creators in relation to their political demands (such as sovereignty, nationhood, rematriation, and decolonization) within their historical and cultural contexts. We will pay special attention to tribal politics, alliances, and community-internal negotiations of meanings.

    
    

  • 32103 Vertiefungsseminar
    Women Writing (in) the Early Republic (1780-1810) (Nathalie Rennhack)
    Zeit: Mo 12:00-14:00 (Erster Termin: 13.10.2025)
    Ort: 201 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

    Kommentar

    This class focusses on Early American Women’s Writing from the late eighteenth to the early nineteenth century. Throughout the formative decades of the United States, American print culture constantly struggled to define itself and the country as such. While women were expected to assume a more private and domestic role in this idea(l) of the nation, many women wrote their way into the American public, regardless. In this class we will engage with different forms of such writing (novels, critical essays, periodical fragments, short stories etc.) and the way it grapples with and challenges constructions of womanhood and authoring. Our readings will include, but are not limited to, Judith Sargent Murray’s “On the Equality of the Sexes” (1790) and Sukey Vickery’s Emily Hamilton (1803).

• (VM) Literatur A – Literarische Epochen (Literature A – Literary Epochs)

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  • 32202 Vorlesung
    19th Century Life Writing (Lea Espinoza Garrido)
    Zeit: Di 16:00-18:00 (Erster Termin: 14.10.2025)
    Ort: 201 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

    Kommentar

    This seminar examines the genre of life writing in 19th-century America, including autobiographies, memoirs, diaries, letters, and other life narratives. We will consider how writers used these different forms not only to fashion (them)selves but to negotiate questions of identity, authorship, and community in the context of slavery, war, gender relations, Native displacement, religious reform, and nation-building. Alongside a range of primary sources, students will engage with key scholarship in life writing studies to explore how these seemingly personal stories both reflected and shaped larger cultural, historical, and political transformations in the 19th century and its afterlives. If you want to participate and receive credits for this seminar, please take note of the following conditions for participation: 1. Register on Blackboard for this class – this is where you will find further information as well as reading material. 2. The shopping period is limited to week one, and you must commit to the class by our second meeting.

  • 32210 Vorlesung
    The American Renaissance Reconsidered (Stefanie Müller)
    Zeit: Do 10:00-12:00 (Erster Termin: 16.10.2025)
    Ort: 319 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

    Kommentar

    Taking our cue from F.O. Matthiessen’s The American Renaissance (1941) and (ongoing) scholarly reassessments, we will look at the period between 1830 and 1870 in US-American literature as well as how it has been studied and interpreted by scholars in the field of American Literature. Our goal will be twofold: to learn more and gain a better understanding about this period of literary production as well as about our discipline and its practice of literary periodization. This is a lecture class, not a seminar. If you want to participate and receive credits for it, please take note of the following conditions for participation: 1. Register on Blackboard for this class – this is where you will find further information as well as reading material. 2. The shopping period is limited to week one. You must commit to the class by our second meeting.

  • 32203 Vertiefungsseminar
    Introduction to Native American/Indigenous Literatures (Martina Basciani)
    Zeit: Di 12:00-14:00 (Erster Termin: 14.10.2025)
    Ort: 201 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

    Kommentar

    The seminar offers an introduction to Native American and lndigenous literatures across Turtle Island (United States and Canada), beginning with the early canonization of Native literatures in the late 1960s, moving through the theorization of the so-called "Native American Renaissance" (Kenneth Lincoln, 1982), and culminating in the rise of lndigenous Resurgence. At each stage, we will reflect on the ethics of studying lndigenous topics - a longstanding question that must be approached not with guilt, but with responsibility and awareness. The course consists of four blocks, each focused on a specific historical moment and context, and centering on one author and their work: N. Scott Momaday (House Made of Dawn), Louise Erdrich (Tracks and The Last Report), Thomas King (Green Grass, Running Water), and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson (This Accident of Being Lost and A Short History of the Blockade). We will draw on a variety of multimedia resources - including excerps from novels and short stories, essays, interviews, films, and music videos - to explore recurring themes such as land claims, orality, (hi)story-telling, and resistance, as they evolve across different eras. Students are expected to attend regularly and participate actively in dass discussions. A weekly reading load of 20-40 pages (including fiction and non-fiction) will be provided through a course reader. Regular attendance, active participation, commitment to weekly readings, and engagement in the "online forum", along with a small reading response (250 words) are required for receiving participatory credit for the seminar. Full credit also entails submission of a term paper (3,500 words) by the beginning of the summer term.

• (OM) Multidisziplinäre Studien B

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  • 32000 Vorlesung
    Loss in the land of plenty: Understanding American Crisis, Decline, and Paths to Renewal (Stefanie Müller, Lora Anne Viola)
    Zeit: Mi 16:00-18:00 (Erster Termin: 15.10.2025)
    Ort: Gr. Hörsaal (Raum B.001) (Arnimallee 22)
    

    Kommentar

    America is in the midst of turbulent changes to its social, political, economic, and cultural fabric. While certainly the result of long-ongoing processes, the current erosion of democratic norms and institutions, loss of economic stability, systemic racial injustices, political polarization, the stoking of culture wars, and the restructuring of global commitments and priorities appear to be taking on a qualitatively different character and a new magnitude, marking something like a critical juncture. The concept of “loss,” we propose, offers a framework for examining the multifaceted crises shaping and re-shaping the United States of America. Problems of loss include depletion, dispossession, destruction, disappearance, and collapse: of the environment, of social and political trust, of the boundaries of political discourse, of economic productivity, of equality, of power. Loss can be material, affective, or symbolic; it can be a mobilizing force for political action and it can be a motor of transformation. In this lecture series, guest experts from a range of disciplinary fields including literature, culture, sociology, political science, history, and law, discuss how the concept of loss helps us to understand social, economic, political, and cultural changes in the US.

• (OM) Politik

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  • 32500 Proseminar
    The Transatlantic Alliance Since 1945: Theory and Practice (Aaron Allen)
    Zeit: Mi 14:00-16:00 (Erster Termin: 15.10.2025)
    Ort: 340 Hörsaal (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

    Kommentar

    This multidisciplinary course examines the structural evolution of the transatlantic alliance since World War II, with particular emphasis on security and economic policy. Adopting an interactive and practice-oriented approach, the course enables students to contextualize contemporary transatlantic issues by exploring their geographic, material, and ideational foundations. Designed with future foreign policy practitioners in mind, the curriculum integrates professional development throughout. Students will engage in simulations, seminar debates, and structured presentations aimed at developing practical skills essential for the field. The course weaves together historical case studies, international relations theory, and security studies to provide a comprehensive understanding of the complex dynamics shaping the U.S.–European partnership. Key questions guide the inquiry: How did the United States—once defined by isolationism—emerge as a global superpower and principal security guarantor for Europe? What opportunities and challenges has the alliance faced from the Cold War to the present? Students will also analyze the current state of the transatlantic relationship and assess its potential future trajectory in light of emerging global trends. A critical examination of themes such as hard and soft power, shifting threat perceptions, multilateralism, and economic liberalization equips students with the analytical tools needed to assess the transatlantic relationship in both historical and contemporary contexts.

• (OM) Soziologie

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  • 32600 Proseminar
    Property, Wealth and Inequality: Economic Theories, Concepts and Historical Developments (Ria Wilken)
    Zeit: Termine siehe LV-Details (Erster Termin: 16.10.2025)
    Ort: 319 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

    Kommentar

    This seminar examines the historical emergence and theoretical foundations of property and wealth through the combined lenses of sociology and economics. We will explore how ownership, inheritance, and taxation have been theorized and institutionalized from early human societies to contemporary capitalism, and how these processes have produced and sustained social inequalities, including gendered disparities.

  • 32604 Proseminar
    Sociology of Land in the United States and Canada (Osman Demirbag)
    Zeit: Mo 14:00-16:00 (Erster Termin: 13.10.2025)
    Ort: 201 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

    Kommentar

    Land  is the machinery of North American politics. This historical sociology seminar tracks how land is turned into lines on paper, titles on deeds, and walls on the ground, and how those acts organize wealth, power, jurisdiction, and belonging in the United States and Canada. We follow the long arc from survey grids and dispossession to urban zoning, conservation enclosures, and the financialization of housing and soil. The course is problem-driven and historically grounded. By the end of the course, students will be able to link the land question to scholarly debates.

• (OM) Wirtschaft

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  • 32700 Proseminar
    Economic Reasoning (Anja Luzega)
    Zeit: Di 12:00-14:00 (Erster Termin: 14.10.2025)
    Ort: 319 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

    Kommentar

    This course offers students an introduction to general economic concepts and principles. Starting from the basic ideas of tradeoffs, opportunity cost, and trade, students will study how the market forces of supply and demand cause prices to be what they are. Students will learn how different market structures and particular government economic policies can affect economic performance. The aggregate economy is analyzed using the national income and product accounting framework of macroeconomics. International trade and economic growth over the long run provide the two major themes of macroeconomics for course discussions. At the end of the course, students will have a basic understanding of economic principles, mechanisms and debates. Students will learn to draw economic policy inferences and to recognize the potential constraints in their implementation. They will think critically about the limits of the various models and verify if the respective model fits the situation they are explaining. Attendance at the fist session is mandatory.

• (VM) Soziologie B – Soziale Prozesse (Sociology B – Social Processes)

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  • 32602 Vertiefungsseminar
    E pluribus unum? The American Model of Capitalism from a Comparative Political Economy Perspective (Jonas von Ciriacy-Wantrup)
    Zeit: Di 14:00-16:00 (Erster Termin: 14.10.2025)
    Ort: 201 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

    Kommentar

    In a rapidly changing globalized world, how do capitalist economies evolve, adapt, grow, and compete? Why do some economies adjust more effectively than others to financial and energy crises, as well as structural transformations such as the green transition or the rise of the knowledge economy? This course examines the unique Political Economy of the United States in drawing primarily—but not exclusively—on comparative political economy (CPE) scholarship to explore how the American economy functions, how it compares to its (mainly European) peers, and why it remains so. The course consists of three interconnected main parts. In the first part we will discuss the basic logic behind the comparative analysis of capitalism and trace the ideational roots of contemporary approaches in comparative political economy, providing a foundational understanding of key debates in CPE.  The second and third part of the seminar are dedicated to the dominant theoretical frameworks for the comparative analysis of capitalism in the last decades, with a particular focus on the United States. By integrating theoretical perspectives with in-depth comparative analysis, this course equips students with the tools to critically assess the evolution of the American model of capitalism, engage critically with contemporary economic challenges, and understand how national political economies mediate and respond to the global forces shaping today’s capitalism. Students that want to take this course should be willing to do the weekly readings and have a basic understanding of concepts and theories in political science, sociology, and economics.

  • 32601 Vertiefungsseminar
    Introduction to Urban Sociology (Chi Jin, Bo Li)
    Zeit: Mo 10:00-12:00 (Erster Termin: 13.10.2025)
    Ort: 319 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

• (VM) Wirtschaft A – Wachstum, Verteilung und Konjunktur in Nordamerika (Economics A – Growth, Distribution and Economic Cycles in North America)

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  • 32701 Seminar
    Trade, Migration and Global Challenges (Freya Rubel)
    Zeit: Do 10:00-12:00 (Erster Termin: 16.10.2025)
    Ort: 201 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

    Kommentar

    The course aims to introduce students to the interplay between trade, migration, and issues such as inequality, environmental degradation, and global politics. It should equip students with the analytical tools and essential knowledge necessary to engage in contemporary debates on these issues, helping them to gain a deeper understanding of the interconnected dynamics in the globalized economy. The classes will cover both theoretical concepts and empirical studies. By the end of the course, students are expected to: Understand the key theories and concepts underlying international trade and migration and have developed an awareness of how trade and migration trends are influenced by and contribute to challenges in areas like the labour market, environmental sustainability, or social cohesion. For the final examination, students will be expected to demonstrate their ability to critically evaluate and discuss the relationship between trade or migration and at least one of the challenges discussed throughout the course.

  • 32702 Vertiefungsseminar
    The Economics of Family and Peer Effects (Yue Hu)
    Zeit: Fr 12:00-14:00 (Erster Termin: 17.10.2025)
    Ort: 201 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

    Kommentar

    This course aims to provide insights into the factors that shape an individual, focusing on the influences of both family and peers. We will explore how family dynamics—such as resource allocation, family structure, and divorce—affect a person, as well as the impact of peers, including playmates and classmates. We will examine how these influences affect outcomes in areas such as education, risky behavior, health, and other related aspects. The final grade will be based on a weighted combination of a paper presentation (30%) and a final paper at the end of the term (70%).

  • 32703 Seminar
    The Economics of Housing (Simon Voss)
    Zeit: Di 10:00-12:00 (Erster Termin: 14.10.2025)
    Ort: 340 Hörsaal (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

    Kommentar

    While housing is commonly considered a basic need that plays a central role in shaping economic opportunities, social cohesion, and individual well-being, housing affordability ranks among the most pressing policy concerns in many countries. This course offers an introduction to the economics of housing, helping students to gain a deeper understanding of the reasons for and potential solutions to this crisis. Through a combination of lectures, discussions, and student presentations, we will examine how housing markets are shaped by supply and demand, compare different models of housing systems, and evaluate the role of housing market regulation. We will also analyze broader implications for demographic trends, inequality, and social stability, while paying particular attention to adverse outcomes such as overcrowding and homelessness. The course concludes with a critical discussion of proposed policy solutions to the affordability challenge, weighing their potential benefits and drawbacks. The examination requirement will be a term paper.

• (VM) Politik A – Policies and Politics

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  • 32501 Vertiefungsseminar
    Armaments and International Relations (Lucas Hellemeier)
    Zeit: Mo 08:00-10:00 (Erster Termin: 13.10.2025)
    Ort: 340 Hörsaal (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

    Kommentar

    This course seeks to introduce students to the academic debates on the role of armaments in international relations (IR). In most IR theoretical schools, the availability of arms and a corresponding defense industrial base is a key determinant of the global distribution of power. The United States is the most important player in the global arms market reflected in reports like the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s (SIPRI) Yearbooks. After the Cold War, the United States emerged as the unipolar military power. Already during the previous era of bipolarity, it played an overarching role in shaping the global arms market. The course seeks to unearth the dynamics that shape the global distribution of arms, the availability of defense industrial capacity, and the role the United States plays in these dynamics. The first part of the course is a review of the IR canon and its different schools of thought with a focus on the role of armaments and military technology. We will identify where conclusions derived from armaments dynamics differ between the theoretical schools. In the second part, we will discuss the role of arms in crisis stability drawing on offense-defense theory, deterrence theory, and Robert Jervis’ spiral model. We will also examine what role military technology plays in conventional war and nuclear strategy. Finally, the last part of the course will focus on the political economy of armaments production and examine how contemporary phenomena like globalization, the arms trade, increased technological complexity, and – most importantly, war – affect these processes.

  • 32502 Vertiefungsseminar
    Bridging the Divide: How Income Inequality Shapes Political Equality (Christian Lammert)
    Zeit: Di 16:00-18:00 (Erster Termin: 14.10.2025)
    Ort: 340 Hörsaal (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

    Kommentar

    This seminar investigates the intersection of economic inequality and political inequality in contemporary U.S. society. By analyzing empirical data and theoretical perspectives, it traces how disparities in income and wealth translate into unequal political influence and access to democratic participation. The seminar discusses mechanisms such as campaign finance, lobbying, and unequal representation, considering the broader implications for democratic legitimacy, social mobility, and efforts to bridge gaps in political empowerment.

• (VM) Politik B – Staat und Zivilgesellschaft ( Political B – State and Civil Society)

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  • 32502 Vertiefungsseminar
    Bridging the Divide: How Income Inequality Shapes Political Equality (Christian Lammert)
    Zeit: Di 16:00-18:00 (Erster Termin: 14.10.2025)
    Ort: 340 Hörsaal (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

    Kommentar

    This seminar investigates the intersection of economic inequality and political inequality in contemporary U.S. society. By analyzing empirical data and theoretical perspectives, it traces how disparities in income and wealth translate into unequal political influence and access to democratic participation. The seminar discusses mechanisms such as campaign finance, lobbying, and unequal representation, considering the broader implications for democratic legitimacy, social mobility, and efforts to bridge gaps in political empowerment.

• (VM) Soziologie A – Soziale Strukturen (Sociology A – Social Structures)

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  • 32603 Vertiefungsseminar Abgesagt
    Abgesagt
    Zeit: -
    Ort: keine Angabe
    
  • 32601 Vertiefungsseminar
    Introduction to Urban Sociology (Chi Jin, Bo Li)
    Zeit: Mo 10:00-12:00 (Erster Termin: 13.10.2025)
    Ort: 319 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    
  • 32602 Vertiefungsseminar
    E pluribus unum? The American Model of Capitalism from a Comparative Political Economy Perspective (Jonas von Ciriacy-Wantrup)
    Zeit: Di 14:00-16:00 (Erster Termin: 14.10.2025)
    Ort: 201 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

    Kommentar

    In a rapidly changing globalized world, how do capitalist economies evolve, adapt, grow, and compete? Why do some economies adjust more effectively than others to financial and energy crises, as well as structural transformations such as the green transition or the rise of the knowledge economy? This course examines the unique Political Economy of the United States in drawing primarily—but not exclusively—on comparative political economy (CPE) scholarship to explore how the American economy functions, how it compares to its (mainly European) peers, and why it remains so. The course consists of three interconnected main parts. In the first part we will discuss the basic logic behind the comparative analysis of capitalism and trace the ideational roots of contemporary approaches in comparative political economy, providing a foundational understanding of key debates in CPE.  The second and third part of the seminar are dedicated to the dominant theoretical frameworks for the comparative analysis of capitalism in the last decades, with a particular focus on the United States. By integrating theoretical perspectives with in-depth comparative analysis, this course equips students with the tools to critically assess the evolution of the American model of capitalism, engage critically with contemporary economic challenges, and understand how national political economies mediate and respond to the global forces shaping today’s capitalism. Students that want to take this course should be willing to do the weekly readings and have a basic understanding of concepts and theories in political science, sociology, and economics.

• (P) Oral and Writing Skills A

  0574aA4.1
  • 54010 Sprachpraktische Übung
    Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1, 1. Gr. (Kimberly Specht)
    Zeit: Mo 12:00-14:00, Di 12:00-14:00 (Erster Termin: 13.10.2025)
    Ort: Mo L 23/25 Medienunterstützter Unterrichtsraum (Habelschwerdter Allee 45), Di JK 30/021 Übungsraum (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)
    

    Zusätzl. Angaben / Voraussetzungen

    Entspricht

    • dem Modul "Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1" (Bachelor Englische Philologie),
    • dem Modul "Oral and Writing Skills A" (Bachelor Nordamerikastudien / Angewandte Nordamerikastudien) und
    • der Sprachpraktischen Übung 1 des Moduls "Oral & Writing Skills I plus" (Bachelor Grundschulpädagogik)

    Kommentar

    Anmeldung vom 15.09. bis 07.10.2025, 9:00 Uhr an der ZE Sprachenzentrum > Anmeldeverfahren

  • 54011 Sprachpraktische Übung
    Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1, 2. Gr. (Kimberly Specht)
    Zeit: Mo 14:00-16:00, Di 14:00-16:00 (Erster Termin: 13.10.2025)
    Ort: JK 30/021 Übungsraum (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)
    

    Zusätzl. Angaben / Voraussetzungen

    Entspricht

    • dem Modul "Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1" (Bachelor Englische Philologie),
    • dem Modul "Oral and Writing Skills A" (Bachelor Nordamerikastudien / Angewandte Nordamerikastudien) und
    • der Sprachpraktischen Übung 1 des Moduls "Oral & Writing Skills I plus" (Bachelor Grundschulpädagogik)

    Kommentar

    Anmeldung vom 15.09. bis 07.10.2025, 9:00 Uhr an der ZE Sprachenzentrum > Anmeldeverfahren

  • 54012 Sprachpraktische Übung
    Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1, 3. Gr. (Kimberly Specht)
    Zeit: Do 10:00-12:00, Do 14:00-16:00 (Erster Termin: 16.10.2025)
    Ort: JK 30/021 Übungsraum (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)
    

    Zusätzl. Angaben / Voraussetzungen

    Entspricht

    • dem Modul "Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1" (Bachelor Englische Philologie),
    • dem Modul "Oral and Writing Skills A" (Bachelor Nordamerikastudien / Angewandte Nordamerikastudien) und
    • der Sprachpraktischen Übung 1 des Moduls "Oral & Writing Skills I plus" (Bachelor Grundschulpädagogik)

    Kommentar

    Anmeldung vom 15.09. bis 07.10.2025, 9:00 Uhr an der ZE Sprachenzentrum > Anmeldeverfahren

  • 54013 Sprachpraktische Übung
    Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1, 4. Gr. (Jennifer Rol Singer)
    Zeit: Di 14:00-16:00, Mi 14:00-16:00 (Erster Termin: 14.10.2025)
    Ort: Di JK 27/022a Übungsraum (Habelschwerdter Allee 45), Mi KL 24/121a Multifunktionsraum (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)
    

    Zusätzl. Angaben / Voraussetzungen

    Entspricht

    • dem Modul "Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1" (Bachelor Englische Philologie),
    • dem Modul "Oral and Writing Skills A" (Bachelor Nordamerikastudien / Angewandte Nordamerikastudien) und
    • der Sprachpraktischen Übung 1 des Moduls "Oral & Writing Skills I plus" (Bachelor Grundschulpädagogik)

    Kommentar

    Anmeldung vom 15.09. bis 07.10.2025, 9:00 Uhr an der ZE Sprachenzentrum > Anmeldeverfahren

  • 54014 Sprachpraktische Übung
    Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1, 5. Gr. (Jennifer Rol Singer)
    Zeit: Mi 16:00-18:00, Fr 14:00-16:00 (Erster Termin: 15.10.2025)
    Ort: Mi KL 24/121a Multifunktionsraum (Habelschwerdter Allee 45), Fr KL 24/121a Multifunktionsraum (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)
    

    Zusätzl. Angaben / Voraussetzungen

    Entspricht

    • dem Modul "Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1" (Bachelor Englische Philologie),
    • dem Modul "Oral and Writing Skills A" (Bachelor Nordamerikastudien / Angewandte Nordamerikastudien) und
    • der Sprachpraktischen Übung 1 des Moduls "Oral & Writing Skills I plus" (Bachelor Grundschulpädagogik)

    Kommentar

    Anmeldung vom 15.09. bis 07.10.2025, 9:00 Uhr an der ZE Sprachenzentrum > Anmeldeverfahren

  • 54015 Sprachpraktische Übung
    Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1, 6. Gr. (Jennifer Rol Singer)
    Zeit: Mi 12:00-14:00, Do 16:00-18:00 (Erster Termin: 15.10.2025)
    Ort: Mi KL 24/121a Multifunktionsraum (Habelschwerdter Allee 45), Do L 23/25 Medienunterstützter Unterrichtsraum (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)
    

    Zusätzl. Angaben / Voraussetzungen

    Entspricht

    • dem Modul "Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1" (Bachelor Englische Philologie),
    • dem Modul "Oral and Writing Skills A" (Bachelor Nordamerikastudien / Angewandte Nordamerikastudien) und
    • der Sprachpraktischen Übung 1 des Moduls "Oral & Writing Skills I plus" (Bachelor Grundschulpädagogik)

    Kommentar

    Anmeldung vom 15.09. bis 07.10.2025, 9:00 Uhr an der ZE Sprachenzentrum > Anmeldeverfahren

  • 54016 Sprachpraktische Übung
    Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1, 7. Gr. (Louise Catherine Steinike McCloy)
    Zeit: Mi 08:00-10:00, Fr 12:00-14:00 (Erster Termin: 15.10.2025)
    Ort: Mi L 202 (Habelschwerdter Allee 45), Fr K 25/10 Multifunktionsraum (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)
    

    Zusätzl. Angaben / Voraussetzungen

    Entspricht

    • dem Modul "Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1" (Bachelor Englische Philologie),
    • dem Modul "Oral and Writing Skills A" (Bachelor Nordamerikastudien / Angewandte Nordamerikastudien) und
    • der Sprachpraktischen Übung 1 des Moduls "Oral & Writing Skills I plus" (Bachelor Grundschulpädagogik)

    Kommentar

    Anmeldung vom 15.09. bis 07.10.2025, 9:00 Uhr an der ZE Sprachenzentrum > Anmeldeverfahren

  • 54017 Sprachpraktische Übung
    Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1, 8. Gr. (Louise Catherine Steinike McCloy)
    Zeit: Mi 10:00-12:00, Fr 08:00-10:00 (Erster Termin: 15.10.2025)
    Ort: L 202 (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)
    

    Zusätzl. Angaben / Voraussetzungen

    Entspricht

    • dem Modul "Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1" (Bachelor Englische Philologie),
    • dem Modul "Oral and Writing Skills A" (Bachelor Nordamerikastudien / Angewandte Nordamerikastudien) und
    • der Sprachpraktischen Übung 1 des Moduls "Oral & Writing Skills I plus" (Bachelor Grundschulpädagogik)

    Kommentar

    Anmeldung vom 15.09. bis 07.10.2025, 9:00 Uhr an der ZE Sprachenzentrum > Anmeldeverfahren

  • 54018 Sprachpraktische Übung
    Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1, 9. Gr. (Daniel Hedges)
    Zeit: Mi 10:00-12:00, Fr 10:00-12:00 (Erster Termin: 15.10.2025)
    Ort: Mi JK 30/021 Übungsraum (Habelschwerdter Allee 45), Fr L 201 (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)
    

    Zusätzl. Angaben / Voraussetzungen

    Entspricht

    • dem Modul "Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1" (Bachelor Englische Philologie),
    • dem Modul "Oral and Writing Skills A" (Bachelor Nordamerikastudien / Angewandte Nordamerikastudien) und
    • der Sprachpraktischen Übung 1 des Moduls "Oral & Writing Skills I plus" (Bachelor Grundschulpädagogik)

    Kommentar

    Anmeldung vom 15.09. bis 07.10.2025, 9:00 Uhr an der ZE Sprachenzentrum > Anmeldeverfahren

  • 54019 Sprachpraktische Übung
    Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1, 10. Gr. (Daniel Hedges)
    Zeit: Mi 12:00-14:00, Fr 12:00-14:00 (Erster Termin: 15.10.2025)
    Ort: Mi JK 30/021 Übungsraum (Habelschwerdter Allee 45), Fr L 201 (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)
    

    Zusätzl. Angaben / Voraussetzungen

    Entspricht

    • dem Modul "Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1" (Bachelor Englische Philologie),
    • dem Modul "Oral and Writing Skills A" (Bachelor Nordamerikastudien / Angewandte Nordamerikastudien) und
    • der Sprachpraktischen Übung 1 des Moduls "Oral & Writing Skills I plus" (Bachelor Grundschulpädagogik)

    Kommentar

    Anmeldung vom 15.09. bis 07.10.2025, 9:00 Uhr an der ZE Sprachenzentrum > Anmeldeverfahren

  • 54020 Sprachpraktische Übung
    Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1, 11. Gr. (Jansen Dean Harris)
    Zeit: Fr 10:00-14:00 (Erster Termin: 17.10.2025)
    Ort: JK 30/021 Übungsraum (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)
    

    Zusätzl. Angaben / Voraussetzungen

    Entspricht

    • dem Modul "Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1" (Bachelor Englische Philologie),
    • dem Modul "Oral and Writing Skills A" (Bachelor Nordamerikastudien / Angewandte Nordamerikastudien) und
    • der Sprachpraktischen Übung 1 des Moduls "Oral & Writing Skills I plus" (Bachelor Grundschulpädagogik)

    Kommentar

    Anmeldung vom 15.09. bis 07.10.2025, 9:00 Uhr an der ZE Sprachenzentrum > Anmeldeverfahren

• (P) Wissenschaftliches Arbeiten

  0574aB2.1
  • 32204 Colloquium
    BA Colloquium Literature/Culture (Lea Espinoza Garrido)
    Zeit: Mi 10:00-12:00 (Erster Termin: 15.10.2025)
    Ort: 203 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

    Kommentar

    This course is designed to support students preparing for or in the process of writing their bachelor’s thesis in literary and cultural studies. In the first half of the semester, we will focus on central aspects of research in these fields: finding suitable topics, engaging with critical debates, selecting appropriate theoretical and methodological frameworks, developing a thesis statement, and refining academic writing practices. The second half of the semester will center on student presentations of their projects and work-in-progress, with plenty of opportunities for feedback and discussions. Regular attendance and active participation (including short preparatory assignments) are expected. In addition, each student will present a tentative project description for participation credit. If you want to participate and receive credits for this course, please take note of the following conditions for participation: 1. Register on Blackboard for this class – this is where you will find further information as well as reading material. 2. The shopping period is limited to week one, and you must commit to the class by our second meeting.

  • 32503 Colloquium
    BA Colloquium Political Science, Sociology, History, Economics (David Bosold)
    Zeit: Do 12:00-14:00 (Erster Termin: 16.10.2025)
    Ort: 203 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    

    Kommentar

    This colloquium seeks to prepare you for the final stage of your study program, the writing of the BA thesis. Content-wise, the sessions are held in a blended format of discussions, input and student writing time. Aspects that will be addressed include the technicalities of writing a BA thesis (finding supervisors, registering the thesis, deadlines), criteria of good scientific practice, ethical aspects of research as well as basic techniques of scientific research such as the correct use of citations and referencing of sources. The class will also feature a brief introduction to Endnote and the electronic resources provided by Freie Universität’s library system. Sessions will be devoted to (a) discussing your own research ideas for the BA thesis in small groups, (b) working on and refining your research question/research design, (c) preparing a literature review on your thesis topic and (d) writing a draft introduction. At the end of the colloquium you are expected to present your project idea and research question (“pitch”) in front of your classmates and the (prospective) supervisor.

• Module ohne Lehrangebot in diesem Semester

  7 Module
  • (VM) Geschichte B - Geschichte Nordamerikas seit 1865 (History B – History of North America since 1865) 0574aB1.2
  • (VM) Kultur B – Theorien amerikanischer Kultur und Geschichte ethnischer, regionaler und geschlechtsspezifischer Kulturen (Culture B – Theories of ultures) 0574aB1.4
  • (VM) Literatur B – Literarische Gattungen (Literature B – Literary Genres) 0574aB1.6
  • Praxismodul Geisteswissenschaften 7155aA3.1
  • (P) Understanding North America B1 0574aA1.2
  • (VM) Wirtschaft B – Wirtschaftsgeschichte und Finanzmärkte (Economics B – Economic History and Financial Markets) 0574aB1.12
  • Praxismodul Sozialwissenschaften 7155aB3.1