Urban history is a form of historical inquiry that enriches our understanding of cities and urban landscapes, often using an interdisciplinary approach. This course is an introduction to specific points of interest in the political, social and cultural developments in Berlin between the 1920s and 1990s, showing how they illuminate German twentieth-century history. City sites, monuments and buildings are linked to collective memory, contested space, authentic sites, grassroots movements of memorialization and politicized debates.
We learn about the fascinating stories behind twentieth-century political events, buildings, monuments and memorial entrepreneurs in Berlin, but we also learn the basic principles and approaches of urban history. We make urban history come alive through site visits and city walks, and have a close-up look at an ongoing historical preservation project that brings this city’s urban history directly into the present moment.