Environmental Social Movements

Overview

What you will learn

The Environmental Social Movements course at Freie Universität Berlin gives a wide overview critical global issues.

As every year sees record global temperature spikes and climate modelling predictions turn from bad to worse, climate change has emerged as a primary new arena of political conflict in Germany and beyond. Today’s climate activists are young, well-educated, and understand the immense dangers posed by anthropogenic climate change. Through lobbying efforts, educational campaigns, and direct action, they confront governments that have proven unable to limit CO2 emissions and usher in the green energy transition. While the public largely supports the goals of the climate activists, their spectacular, and often disruptive methods have garnered widespread criticism in the German media and beyond.

German social movements offer a unique vista on the successes and failures of environmentalism, given the country’s rich history in environmental activism, coupled with its role as European economic powerhouse, based on its car industry. Taking a broadly historical perspective in its first part, the course begins by establishing the background against which current German environmental movements can be understood. We will examine the early nature conservation movement and interrogate the relationship between environmentalism, democracy, and economic development. Discussing the climate scepticism of current authoritarian regimes, we will ask if environmentalism is necessarily democratic. Moving into the post-war period, we will examine the role of image-making for climate activism, focusing on the galvanizing power of the first image of the Blue Planet, and studying its effects on the early German Green Party.

From lobbying efforts to direct action, the course examines the different approaches adopted by these organizations, contrasting the strategy of the “long march through the institutions” (Rudi Dutschke – student activist and prominent figure in the 1968 student protests) with that of disruption and civil disobedience.

Learning Objectives:

• Students will gain a thorough understanding of German environmentalism in its historical context and current significance.
• Students will acquire knowledge of the main environmental social movements and compare different activist tactics and strategies.
• Students will interrogate the links between environmentalism, democracy, and economic development.
• Students will gain essential skills in critical text and media analysis, pertaining to the representation of environmental issues.

Housing

Wheelchair-accessible housing is available upon request. Please see our website for a full description of the furnished single-occupancy studio apartment and note that the registration deadline for this housing option is one month before the regular registration deadline!

About FUBiS

The Freie Universität Berlin International Summer and Winter University (FUBiS) is an intensive, academic program through which students can earn credits that may be counted towards their degrees at their home institutions. FUBiS sessions run for three to six weeks and take place both in summer and winter.

Courses

Students can choose between subject courses (mostly taught in English) and German language and culture courses. The 50+ subject courses are offered within the fields of Architecture, Art History, Politics, Law, History, Media Studies, Economics, Sustainability, Literature, Philosophy, Film, and Music. German language and culture courses are available for up to five different levels of proficiency.

Field Trips

Field trips are an integral part of all our courses. In addition, FUBiS offers excursions such as to the Berlin Reichstag building (seat of the German Parliament) and a guided tour through the underworlds of Berlin, or a day trip to Potsdam.