Berlin Unscripted: City, Nightlife, and Subcultures

3 credits · Undergraduate

Berlin's cultural life is shaped by ongoing processes of rupture, reinvention, and contestation. This course examines nightlife, subcultures, street art, protest, and urban change as practices embedded within legal, economic, and political structures. Topics are analyzed alongside governance frameworks, neighborhood transformation, and institutional power. Berlin is approached as a city in flux, where historical layers remain visible and shape contemporary urban life. Field-based engagement - including visits to neighborhoods, cultural institutions, and contested public spaces - forms a central component of the course. It is particularly suited for students interested in urban studies, sociology, anthropology, and cultural analysis, and develops the ability to interpret urban environments through disciplined observation and structured inquiry.