Academic Study Abroad Program
Destination

Berlin, Wittenberg, Leipzig, and Weimar, in Germany
Program Title

World City Berlin and the Quest for German Identity
Program Description (One or two paragraph description that would be used to attract participants)

The German experience combines profound achievements of artistic beauty and
democratic promise with humankind’s lowest and most venal crimes. That is the puzzle of
Germany. In this on-the-ground excavation of German identity, students travel the troubled
road to democracy of Europe’s richest and most influential country.

At the Berlin Wall students relive the tense military confrontation of the Cold War. At
Wittenberg, outside Berlin, students witness the origins of Protestant Christianity. In
Leipzig, participants witness the beauty of Bach’s music and witness the hopefulness of
anti-communist protestors. In Weimar, travelers contrast the democratic promise of
Goethe’s stories with the hateful genocide of the Buchenwald death camp. From the
energetic pulse of Berlin to the old world elegance of smaller cities, travelers enjoy the
thrills of a great adventure and gain lasting insights into the German saga.
Proposed Travel Dates: June 6-20, 2014 (approx.) - 2 weeks
Course Number: POL 298 – 3 credits
Course Title: Special Topics: German Politics
Proposed Dates of Online Component: Spring semester 2014
Faculty: Dylan Bennett, Assistant Professor of Political Science, UW Washington County.
Instructor Background

The instructor Dylan Bennett is an assistant professor of political science with a lot of
experience living and travelling in Germany. He speaks German fluently. He has visited
extensively in a wide variety of German cities including: Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Leipzig,
Freiburg, and Weimar. He travelled in eastern Germany in the summer of 1991 and is
deeply fascinated by German history, politics, and culture.
Daily Field Trip Itinerary
1. Travel to Berlin, Germany.
2. Berlin — focus on Germany democracy (Reichstag).
3. Berlin — focus on Nazi regime (Gestapo Museum, and the Kathe-Kollwitz Museum).
4. Berlin — focus on the communist era (Stasi Museum and Stasi Prison).
5. Berlin — focus on Cold War (Berlin Wall Memorial Park).
6. Berlin — focus on Cold War (Tempelhof Airport Park)
7. Berlin — Free Day.
8. Wittenberg — focus on the Protestant Reformation (All Saint’s Church).
9. Leipzig—focus on anti-communist protest.
10. Leipzig -- focus on music of Bach.
11. Leipzig — Free Day.
12. Weimar — focus on writings of Goethe (Goethe Museum).
13. Weimar — focus on genocide (Buchenwald).
14. Berlin-Kreuzberg — focus on multicultural Germany
15. Return to Milwaukee, Wisconsin
World City Berlin and the Quest for German Identity
Draft Syllabus
Dylan Bennett
UW Washington County
Course Description
The German experience combines profound achievements of artistic beauty and
democratic promise with humankind’s lowest and most venal crimes. That is the
puzzle of Germany. In this on-the-ground excavation of German identity, students
travel the troubled road to democracy of Europe’s richest and most influential
country.
At the Berlin Wall students relive the tense military confrontation of the Cold War.
At Wittenberg, outside Berlin, students witness the origins of Protestant
Christianity. In Leipzig, participants witness the beauty of Bach’s music and
witness the hopefulness of anti-communist protestors. In Weimar, travelers
contrast the democratic promise of Goethe’s stories with the hateful genocide of
the Buchenwald death camp. From the energetic pulse of Berlin to the old world
elegance of smaller cities, travelers enjoy the thrills of a great adventure and gain
lasting insights into the German saga.
Required Readings:
 Orlow, Dietrich. 2009. A History of Modern Germany: 1871 to Present. Prentice
Hall. E-Book.
 Numerous supplemental readings available as PDFs on E-Reserve.
Evaluation
 Online reading quizzes on D2L taken prior to travel
 Participation and citizenship during travel
 Handwritten journal in a 5 X 8.25 Moleskine notebook kept before, during, and
after travel.
 Two short essays
 One research paper
Course Content
1. Berlin and the Riddle of Germany
o Alter, Peter. 2000. “The German Question and Europe.” In The German Question
and Europe: A History. London: Arnold. 2-13.
o Frankland, Gene E. 2009. “Germany.” In Europe: Global Studies. Boston: McGraw
Hill. 129-142.
2. The Invention of Germany
o Orlow, Dietrich. 1995. “The Road to Unity: 1815-1871.” In A History of Modern
Germany: 1871 to Present. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall. 1-33.
3. Democracy in Germany
o Orlow, Dietrich. 1995. “Fools’ Gold: The Weimar Republic 1924-1930.” In A History
of Modern Germany: 1871 to Present. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall. 150-169.
o Readings on Proportional Representation, Social Democracy, and the Constitution
of the Federal Republic of Germany.
o Field Trip in Berlin: The Reichstag.
4. The Nazi Regime
o Large, David. 2001. “Hitler’s Berlin.” In Berlin. New York: Basic Books. 255-317.
o Field Trip(s) in Berlin: The Gestapo Museum, and the Kathe-Kollwitz
Museum.
5. The Communist Regime of the German Democratic Republic
o Bruce, Gary. 2010. “The Stasi in Everyday Life.” In The Firm: the Inside Story of the
Stasi. Oxford University Press. 142-161.
o 1987. Berlin: Capital of the German Democratic Republic. 1-88. PDF file of a book
produced by the communist government a year before the wall was opened. This
file shows the state’s versions of an ideal communist city.
o Bruce, Gary. 2003. “Dictatorship and Resistance in the New State: The
Development of the Instruments of the SED Dictatorship. 119-157.” In Resistance
with the People: Repression and Resistance in Eastern Germany 1945-1955. Lanham:
Rowman & Littlefield.
o Field Trip(s) in Berlin: The Stasi Museum, Stasi Prison, or DDR Museum.
6. Berlin in the Cold War
o Large, David. 2001. “The Divided City.” In Berlin. New York: Basic Books. 445-515.
o Dallek, Robert and Terry Golway. 2006. “Ich Bin Ein Berliner: Speech at the Berlin
Wall June 26, 1963.” In Let Every Nation Know: John F. Kennedy in His Own Words.
Naperville: Sourcebooks MediaFusion. 213-219.
o Field Trips in Berlin: Berlin Wall Park, and Tempelhof Airport Park.
7. Protestant Reformation and the Making of Modern Europe.
o Readings on the Protestant Reformation, the Thirty Years War, and the Treaty of
Westphalia.
o Field Trip in Wittenberg to All Saints’ Church
8. Fall of Communism
o Major, Patrick. 2010. “East Germany’s Dual Crisis: Politics and Economics on the
Eve of the Wall.” In Behind the Berlin Wall: East Germany and the Frontiers of Power.
Oxford University Press. 23-55.
o Dale, Gareth. 2006. “The Revolution of 1989.” In Popular Protest in East Germany,
1945-1989. London: Routledge. 137-186.
o Sheehan. James. 2009. “The Transformation of Europe and the End of the Cold
War.” In The Fall of the Berlin Wall: The Revolutionary Legacy of 1989. Oxford
University Press. 36-64.
o Field Trip to Nikolai Kirche in Leipzig.
9. Music of Johann Sebastian Bach
o Readings on the biography of Bach and the historical context of his life.
o Selections from Bach.
o Field trip to Bach Museum in Leipzig.
10. Stories of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller
o Selections from Goethe and Schiller.
o History of Weimar classicism.
o Field trip to Goethe Museum in Weimar.
11. The Jewish Holocaust
o Niewyk, Donald. 2009. “Holocaust: The Genocide of the Jews.” In The Genocide
Studies Reader. Eds Samuel Totten and Paul R. Bartrop. New York: Routledge. 157179.
o Selections from Hochstadt, Steve. 2004. Sources of the Holocaust. New York:
Palgrave Macmillan.
o Field Trip to Buchenwald concentration camp in Weimar.
12. Multicultural Berlin
o Rajagopalan, Kavitha. 2008. “Recreating the Lost Village.” In Muslims in the
Metropolis: The Stories of Three Immigrant Families in the West.” New Brunswick:
Rutgers University Press.
o Field Trip to Berlin-Kreuzberg.