Lehrveranstaltungen zur Deutsch-Amerikanischen Bildungsgeschichte: Wintersemester 2017/18

The Life and Work of John Locke: An Enlightened Philosophy of Education

Professor Dr. Jürgen Overhoff

John Locke (1632-1704) – philosopher, physician and political theorist – was one of the most influential thinkers of the Age of Enlightenment. His impact on eighteenth-century educational thought can hardly be overestimated. All his original and highly innovative treatises on pedagogy and the art of teaching were soon after publication translated into the major European languages. Modern educational studies owe a tremendous debt to his pioneering writings on playful learning, the desire for knowledge, and the conduct of a fulfilled life of study. The seminar – held in English – offers a close reading and interpretation of the most important passages of Locke’s “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)” and “Some Thoughts Concerning Education” (1693).

Explaining the Unexplainable: Using Film to Teach Difficult History

Nicholas Johnson, MA

This seminar will explore how dramatic films can be used to teach audiences about difficult histories, focusing on films about American slavery, the Holocaust, and the GDR/DDR. Although documentary films are often praised for their educational value, dramatic films can also be used as teaching tools. A variety of films ranging from Hollywood productions to European art films will be examined. This course centers on the screenplay as the site of film's educational potential and will explore how historical screenplays are researched, written, and filmed. The ways that cinematography, editing, direction, and sound can add to a film's educational potential will also be explored. Featured films include "12 Years a Slave," "Conspiracy," "Son of Saul," and "Das Leben der Anderen."

The German Question in Education: The Second Generation of Refugee Historians in America, 1945—the Present

Nicholas Johnson, MA

This seminar explores the careers of largely Jewish German-American historians who first arrived in America as refugees during the 1930s and 1940s. Due to their exile experiences and dual upbringing in the German and American educational systems, this “second generation” of exile historians brought unique vantage points to their research, writing, and teaching. These historians include George Mosse, Peter Gay, Fritz Stern, and Walter Laqueur. Most of them taught Modern European, especially German, history, but their interests ranged widely and they helped create subfields ranging from the history of terrorism to the history of masculinity and homosexuality. Their influence on American—and later—German education will be explored through their memoirs, interviews, teaching styles, and most important scholarship.