Berlin Program. for Advanced German & European Studies. Program Profile

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Hillary Carson
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1 Berlin Program for Advanced German & European Studies Program Profile

2 GOALS The Berlin Program for Advanced German and European Studies, initiated by and established at the Freie Universität Berlin in 1986, promotes a new generation of young North American scholars with a specialized knowledge of modern and contemporary Germany and Europe. The Program supports scholars in all social science and humanities disciplines, including historians working on German and European history since the mid-18 th century. Fellowships are awarded for doctoral dissertation research as well as postdoctoral research which leads to the completion of a monograph. Each year, approximately twelve fellows are selected. The Program s original mission was two-fold: To contribute to the training of a new generation of young North American scholars specializing in Germany and Europe and to deepen the understanding of German and European political, economic, social and cultural developments in North America. ACADEMIC PROFILE The Berlin Program is a residential program which offers a stimulating academic environment at one of Germany s leading research universities. Unlike other fellowship programs, the Berlin Program seeks to provide a vibrant fellowship community. The central core is our biweekly research colloquium where fellows present their research projects. Through our multidisciplinary advisory committee of professors from all universities in Berlin and Potsdam, the Berlin Program has strong ties to many academic institutions. This committee provides a unique network of expertise and facilitates contacts with researchers and institutions. In addition, the program seeks to serve as a forum for transatlantic dialogue by bringing together North American fellows and German scholars and intellectuals. Our theory and methodology workshops seek to advance our ability to communicate across disciplinary borders. The program s long-running Berlin Walks engage participants in an environment that seems to be in a perpetual state of change. Throughout the academic year, the Program serves as a base to build cooperation and support between fellows.

3 RESEARCH COLLOQUIUM Our biweekly colloquium serves as a central meeting point for all fellows to share, discuss and support each other s work. Fellows present their own research project and receive feedback while their research is in progress here in Berlin. Distinguished scholars guide the colloquium each semester. Participation in the colloquium allows fellows to gain knowledge of current research done in other academic fields. The interdisciplinary nature of our colloquium provides an opportunity to interact with an academic audience which is not necessarily specialized in one s own field. THEORY AND METHODOLOGY WORKSHOPS Unlike most academic settings, in which opportunities for truly interdisciplinary dialogue are rare, the Berlin Program deliberately seeks to provide a context which brings together the humanities and social sciences. Many of the selected projects challenge traditional disciplinary borders, and oftentimes, our ability to communicate. In order to promote and cultivate the cross-disciplinary dialogue in our colloquium, we organize theory and methodology workshops. Recent themes have been: What Does Normal/ Normalization Mean? (November 2012), Structure and Agency (October 2011), 20 Years of Reunification (November 2010) and The Berlin Wall Seen through Interdisciplinary Perspectives (November 2009). DISTINGUISHED GUESTS The program colloquium seeks to provide a dynamic intellectual environment in which fellows can interact with distinguished individuals involved in academic, cultural, and public affairs. Among our guests have been: Joachim Gauck (first Bundesbeauftragter für die Unterlagen der Staatssicherheit der ehemaligen DDR), Carsten D. Voigt (Coordinator for German-American Cooperation in the Foreign Office), Robert Leicht (Editor in Chief, Die Zeit), Klaus von Beyme (Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg) and Charlotte Frank (Schultes Architekten; architects of the Bundeskanzleramt) as well as authors Christa Wolf, Emine Sevgi Özdamar and Marion Brasch.

4 BERLIN WALKS The name of our program refers to the place of its home: Berlin. Berlin s urban structure has been likened to a palimpsest. A veritable treasure trove for architectural historians and urban planners, Berlin lends itself to a variety of explorations. A thematic walk once a year provides an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of this complex environment where politics, history, culture and art meet. ORIENTATION AND SERVICES Berlin Program fellows are enrolled at the Freie Universität Berlin, enjoy access to faculty, libraries and all other services. Fellows are provided with computer work spaces, communication infrastructure and the assistance of an academic coordinator. The program offers both general and academic orientation meetings which are designed to facilitate a smooth transition to academic life in Berlin. AWARDS, ELIGIBILITY AND SELECTION The program accepts applications from U.S. and Canadian nationals, permanent or long-term residents. Applicants for a dissertation fellowship must be full-time graduate students who have completed all coursework required for the Ph.D. and must have achieved ABD status. Also eligible are U.S. and Canadian Ph.D.s who have received their doctorates within the past two calendar years. Awards provide between ten and twelve months of research support and a generous travel allowance for intra-european research. The selection of fellows is a transatlantic process. A North America-wide promotion is followed by a selection of winning applications by an interdisciplinary committee of distinguished scholars from both sides of the Atlantic.

5 INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE The Berlin Program is based at, funded and administered by the Freie Universität Berlin, one of the nation s leading research universities and one of the winners in three categories of the Excellence Initiative, a national competition for excellence in higher education. With its wide spectrum of subjects and its extensive system of more than 40 libraries, the FU Berlin offers an outstanding environment for research and study. In addition to the regular curriculum, dozens of lectures and conferences form the rich academic fabric on the campus in the Southwest of Berlin. The program s publicity and selection process is organized in cooperation with our North American partner, the German Studies Association (GSA), a multi- and interdisciplinary professional association of scholars in German, Austrian, and Swiss history, literature, art, cultural studies, political science, and economics. Since its foundation in 1976, the GSA has sought to generate new knowledge on key social, cultural, and political issues and to offer a forum for scholarly exchange through its annual conferences and publications ( STRENGTHS AND IMPACT Since the program s establishment at the Freie Universität Berlin in 1986 it has supported more than 280 scholars. An alumni survey conducted in 2011 measuring academic trajectories and the impact of the fellowship showed that most respondents (79%) now teach and complete research at universities and colleges in the US, Canada and beyond. The overwhelming majority of respondents rated the opportunity provided by the fellowship to be highly beneficial for their professional life. Publications are a key measure of academic success. 82% of alumni surveyed reported that the Berlin Program Fellowship supported one or more of their publications. The 196 publications entered consist of 39 monographs, 74 articles in refereed journals, 64 articles in edited volumes and 19 other publications. The productive connections with German academic institutions both with Berlin universities and research institutes such as the WZB, the ZZF, the DIW, and Max Planck institutes reported by 68% of the respondents often resulted in cooperation or joint publications.

6 ALUMNI ACTIVITIES Connections with the Berlin Program do not stop after the fellowship period in Berlin. Our cooperation with the German Studies Association (GSA) offers Berlin Program fellows and alumni a chance to present their work at the annual GSA conference to an expert audience in North America. Each year, one or more Berlin Program panels and roundtables at the GSA serve as a site for critical engagement. The panels and roundtables are thematically open; contributions from all disciplines are welcome. Panels and roundtables in recent years have been: A New Era of German Bevölkerungspolitik? (2012), Architectures of Berlin (2011), The Visual Arts in Cold War Germany and Beyond (2010), Being and Becoming a Minority in Germany (2009), Making the GDR: Constructing a Socialist Society in the East After 1945 (2008), The Berlin Wall: Ethnographic, Historical, and Literary Analyses (2007). In June 2011, the Berlin Program celebrated its 25 th anniversary with a conference titled The Good Germans? New Transatlantic Perspectives. The conference traced recent scholarship addressing the German model in politics, society and culture within a European context. In our efforts to provide an opportunity for Berlin Program alumni to reconnect with the Freie Universität Berlin and other academic institutions in the region, our first Berlin Program Summer Workshop was held on June 25 26, 2012, and engaged with another timely topic: German Studies between the Global and the Local. Our second Summer Workshop in June 2013 discussed how Germany Looks East. Open to Berlin Program fellows and alumni as well as scholars working in German and European studies, the interdisciplinary setting of the workshops and their broad inquiry combine academic presentations and discussion with an investigative cultural event. Berlin Program for Advanced German and European Studies Freie Universität Berlin Garystr. 45, Berlin, Germany Tel.: Fax: bprogram@zedat.fu-berlin.de Website: front page photography: alles-schlumpf, used by permission

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