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John F. Kennedy...  
Applied North A...  
Course

North American Studies

Applied North American Studies

7155a_k90
  • (P) Understanding North America A1

    0574aA1.1
    • 32001 Basic Course
      Understanding North America A (Sönke Kunkel, Martin Lüthe, Birte Wege)
      Schedule: Fr 10:00-12:00, Fr 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-17)
      Location: 340 Hörsaal (Lansstr. 7 / 9)

      Comments

      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) History

    0574aA2.1
  • (OM) Culture

    0574aA2.2
  • (OM) Literature

    0574aA2.3
  • (Adv) History A - History of North America before 1865

    0574aB1.1
  • (Adv) Culture A - History of Ideas and Cultural History of Individual Media

    0574aB1.3
    • 32101 Specialization Seminar
      “Policing and Race in the United States: Structures, Critique, and Resistance (Anthony Obst)
      Schedule: Do 16:00-18:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-16)
      Location: 201 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)

      Comments

      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 Specialization Seminar
      Indigenous Activist Practices in North America (Esther Prause)
      Schedule: Di 10:00-12:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-14)
      Location: 201 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    • 32103 Specialization Seminar
      Women Writing (in) the Early Republic (1780-1810) (Nathalie Rennhack)
      Schedule: Mo 12:00-14:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-13)
      Location: 201 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)

      Comments

      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).

  • (Adv) Literature A - Literary Periods

    0574aB1.5
    • 32202 Lecture
      19th Century Life Writing (Lea Espinoza Garrido)
      Schedule: Di 16:00-18:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-14)
      Location: 201 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    • 32210 Lecture
      The American Renaissance Reconsidered (Stefanie Müller)
      Schedule: Mi 08:00-10:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-15)
      Location: 340 Hörsaal (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    • 32203 Specialization Seminar
      Introduction to Native American/Indigenous Literatures (Martina Basciani)
      Schedule: Di 12:00-14:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-14)
      Location: 201 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)

      Comments

      The seminar offers an introduc1on to Na1ve American and Indigenous literatures across Turtle Island (United States and Canada), beginning with the early canoniza1on of Na1ve literatures in the late 1960s, moving through the theoriza1on of the so-called “Na1ve American Renaissance” (Kenneth Lincoln, 1982), and culmina1ng in the rise of Indigenous Resurgence. At each stage, we will reflect on the ethics of studying Indigenous topics – a longstanding ques1on 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. ScoX 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 mul1media 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 aXend regularly and par1cipate ac1vely in class discussions. A weekly reading load of 20-40 pages (including fic1on and non-fic1on) will be provided through a course reader. Regular aXendance, ac1ve par1cipa1on, commitment to weekly readings, and engagement in the “online forum”, along with a small reading response (250 words) are required for receiving par1cipatory credit for the seminar. Full credit also entails submission of a term paper (3,500 words) by the beginning of the summer term.

  • (OM) Sociology

    0574aA2.5
    • 32600 Proseminar
      TBA (Ria Wilken)
      Schedule: Di 12:00-14:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-14)
      Location: keine Angabe
  • (OM) Economy

    0574aA2.6
    • 32700 Proseminar
      Economic Reasoning (Anja Luzega)
      Schedule: Di 12:00-14:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-14)
      Location: 319 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)

      Comments

      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.

  • (Adv) Economics A - Growth, Distribution, and Economic Cycles in North America

    0574aB1.11
    • 32701 Seminar
      Trade, Migration and Global Challenges (Freya Rubel)
      Schedule: Do 10:00-12:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-16)
      Location: 201 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)

      Comments

      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 Specialization Seminar
      The Economics of Family and Peer Effects (Yue Hu)
      Schedule: Fr 12:00-14:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-17)
      Location: 201 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)

      Comments

      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%).

  • (Adv) Politics A – Policies and Politics

    0574aB1.7
  • (Adv) Sociology A - Social Structures

    0574aB1.9
    • 32603 Specialization Seminar
      TBD (Osman Demirbag)
      Schedule: Mo 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-13)
      Location: 201 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    • 32601 Specialization Seminar
      Introduction to Urban Sociology (Chi Jin; Bo Li)
      Schedule: Mo 10:00-12:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-13)
      Location: 319 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    • 32602 Specialization Seminar
      TBA (Jonas von Ciriacy-Wantrup)
      Schedule: Di 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-14)
      Location: 201 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
  • (R) Oral and Writing Skills A

    0574aA4.1
    • 54010 Language Course
      Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1, Group 1 (Kimberly Specht)
      Schedule: Mo 12:00-14:00, Di 12:00-14:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-13)
      Location: Mo L 23/25 Medienunterstützter Unterrichtsraum (Habelschwerdter Allee 45), Di JK 30/021 Übungsraum (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)

      Additional information / Pre-requisites

      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)

      Comments

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

    • 54011 Language Course
      Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1, Group 2 (Kimberly Specht)
      Schedule: Mo 14:00-16:00, Di 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-13)
      Location: JK 30/021 Übungsraum (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)

      Additional information / Pre-requisites

      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)

      Comments

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

    • 54012 Language Course
      Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1, Group 3 (Kimberly Specht)
      Schedule: Do 10:00-12:00, Do 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-16)
      Location: JK 30/021 Übungsraum (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)

      Additional information / Pre-requisites

      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)

      Comments

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

    • 54013 Language Course
      Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1, Group 4 (Jennifer Rol Singer)
      Schedule: Di 14:00-16:00, Mi 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-14)
      Location: Di JK 27/022a Übungsraum (Habelschwerdter Allee 45), Mi KL 24/121a Multifunktionsraum (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)

      Additional information / Pre-requisites

      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)

      Comments

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

    • 54014 Language Course
      Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1, Group 5 (Jennifer Rol Singer)
      Schedule: Mi 16:00-18:00, Fr 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-15)
      Location: Mi KL 24/121a Multifunktionsraum (Habelschwerdter Allee 45), Fr KL 24/121a Multifunktionsraum (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)

      Additional information / Pre-requisites

      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)

      Comments

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

    • 54015 Language Course
      Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1, Group 6 (Jennifer Rol Singer)
      Schedule: Mi 12:00-14:00, Do 16:00-18:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-15)
      Location: Mi KL 24/121a Multifunktionsraum (Habelschwerdter Allee 45), Do L 23/25 Medienunterstützter Unterrichtsraum (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)

      Additional information / Pre-requisites

      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)

      Comments

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

    • 54016 Language Course
      Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1, Group 7 (Louise Catherine Steinike McCloy)
      Schedule: Mi 08:00-10:00, Fr 12:00-14:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-15)
      Location: Mi L 202 (Habelschwerdter Allee 45), Fr K 25/10 Multifunktionsraum (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)

      Additional information / Pre-requisites

      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)

      Comments

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

    • 54017 Language Course
      Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1, Group 8 (Louise Catherine Steinike McCloy)
      Schedule: Mi 10:00-12:00, Fr 08:00-10:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-15)
      Location: L 202 (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)

      Additional information / Pre-requisites

      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)

      Comments

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

    • 54018 Language Course
      Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1, Group 9 (Daniel Hedges)
      Schedule: Mi 10:00-12:00, Fr 10:00-12:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-15)
      Location: Mi JK 30/021 Übungsraum (Habelschwerdter Allee 45), Fr L 201 (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)

      Additional information / Pre-requisites

      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)

      Comments

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

    • 54019 Language Course
      Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1, Group 10 (Daniel Hedges)
      Schedule: Mi 12:00-14:00, Fr 12:00-14:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-15)
      Location: Mi JK 30/021 Übungsraum (Habelschwerdter Allee 45), Fr L 201 (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)

      Additional information / Pre-requisites

      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)

      Comments

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

    • 54020 Language Course
      Oral Skills and Writing Skills 1, Group 11 (Jansen Dean Harris)
      Schedule: Fr 10:00-14:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-17)
      Location: JK 30/021 Übungsraum (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)

      Additional information / Pre-requisites

      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)

      Comments

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

  • (P) Scientific working methods

    0574aB2.1
    • (OM) Multidisciplinary Studies A 0574aA3.1
    • (Adv) History B - History of North America since 1865 0574aB1.2
    • (Adv) Culture B - Theories of American Culture and the History of Ethnic, Regional, and Gender-Specific Cultures 0574aB1.4
    • (Adv) Module: Literature B - Literary Genres 0574aB1.6
    • Practice Module: Humanities 7155aA3.1
    • (P) Understanding North America B1 0574aA1.2
    • (OM) Multidisciplinary Studies B 0574aA3.2
    • (OM) Politics 0574aA2.4
    • (Adv) Sociology B - Social Processes 0574aB1.10
    • (Adv) Economics B - Economic History and Financial Markets 0574aB1.12
    • (Adv) Politics B - State and Civil Society 0574aB1.8
    • Practice Module: Social Sciences 7155aB3.1