Weekly Reflection 1:
Finally, I made it to Berlin! After 2-month preparation class and the dreary final week, Roujia and I arrived at Tegel airport. My first impression about Berlin was not good due to the cloudy and cold weather. I was wearing shorts and shirt that day since I was expecting the weather to be like Seattle’s. Even though I was disappointed about the weather, I have to say that the public transportation in Berlin is really impressive. It didn’t take us much time to figure out how to get to the hostel. However, we did meet some trouble on the way. Both of us were carrying those huge luggages with us, so it was really annoying when we noticed that there was no elevator in the underground train station. Luckily, we met 2 nice Berliners who offered to help us carry the suitcases. I heard all kinds of stories about Berliners before I came. Mostly, people described them as strict and a little bit serious sometimes. It is indeed true that they won’t randomly smile to a stranger like Americans do. But they are nice in a way to offer you help whenever you need it. Another thing that I didn’t expect at all is the weather. Turns out that the weather will be cloudy and rainy for the next week also.
The first two days were a little bit tiring since I was struggling from the jet lag. On the first day, we went to visit the Humboldt University where we will take classes for the rest of the month. The school is located in a shopping area, with everything easily accessible. It is also surrounded by many historical buildings like the law school, which is right across the main building. That area is a combination of modern and history, that tells stories about this city. I like the green area of the school where students can socialize with each other during lunch. The atmosphere is more relaxing than that in UW. In UW, students are always rushing to different classes and don’t have much time to enjoy the day with friends. On the contrary, Humboldt students deal with pressure with great easiness. Just a cigarette and a bottle of beer can save them from schoolwork.
The visit to a local high school was quite an experience. I am not sure how the education is like in American high schools, but it is quite different from Chinese high schools. One thing that really impressed me about their education system is their personalized education, which sets different standards for different students. We were invited to participate in a class for 7th and 8th grades. There was one girl who was handicapped, so she is not good at doing math homework. In this case, the teacher allowed her to rehearse for her band performance instead of forcing her to do the math homework. But the teacher told us that she would never go to university because she couldn’t get a high school diploma, which is required for entering university. I think this is something that German education should improve on: trying to provide equal education opportunities for all students.
Another thing that I like about Germany so far is their expression of freedom. Street art is one form of this expression. Berlin has the best and the most street art I have ever seen. It is painted anywhere possible, on the buildings, bridges, even on some abandoned boats. This expression of art and freedom is actually the best way to represent a city since it can tell so much about a place through its abstract art form with deep meanings. I would like to describe Berlin as a city of freedom. For the rest of this month, I want to explore more about this place, and find more forms of expression.
Weekly Reflection 2:
The tour to bunker was our first visit to a historical place in Germany. I’ve learned so much about German history before, especially the World War two; but all the histories are written in textbooks with no real emotions expressed in it. This time, while we were walking around the bunker; I could actually feel the sense of depression and desperation in that small and constrained place. Especially in the women’s bathroom, I could actually imagine myself in their position. I began to understand the deeper impact the war brought to those women, who lost everything in the war. The tour guide told us that the women’s restroom was the only place that they could have a little privacy, which caused many women to commit suicide there. Another impressive story was that there were exceedingly more people in the dunker during the World War two, which caused lack of oxygen in the small room. Sometimes, even though people suffered from suffocation, they couldn’t get out of the bunker because the war was still going on outside. The cool thing about this experience was that I could actually sitting in the exactly the same place where they used to sit, and imagined myself in their position. This made me to understand their history better and in another perspective. Before coming to Berlin, I always viewed Germany as the cruel and dominant country during the world war two. Even though I understood that most Germans were victims of the war, I never perceived this country from the perspective of the victims. Now, I think I can define German identity from a more comprehensive perspective.
The visit to concentration camp also made me to rethink about German identity. Keeping the concentration camp as a memorial is a huge courage as to face the mistake in the past. German government is not afraid to admit that they made a mistake that caused millions of death. This sincerity and honesty consist part of Germany identity. And it is also because of this sincerity that makes other people to accept this history with a calm and easy heart. However, this kind of courage is impossible in other countries. For example, there are several sensitive topics in China that people are not supposed to talk about. Not to mention having a memorial to memorize the wrong past. It is also true in America where there are many memorials in the D.C. to remember the great people and events that change the country, but there is seldom anything to memorize the slavery. So, this frankness is something that many other countries should learn about.
Before coming to Germany, I already knew that Europe doesn’t like immigrants as America does. But I never expected that Germany would actually have a set of strict rules to restrict immigrants from different aspects. The lectures by people who are involved with refugees and immigrants make me realize that they are facing many challenges during their stay in Germany, which makes their life much more difficult than in their home country. In the youth museum, I got to know the story about this Arabic girl who changed her whole family’s life by bravely approaching to the president and asked for the permission to stay in Germany. This brings me to look at the positive side of the situation. There will always be chances if immigrants are willing to fight for their rights.
The visit to concentration camp also made me to rethink about German identity. Keeping the concentration camp as a memorial is a huge courage as to face the mistake in the past. German government is not afraid to admit that they made a mistake that caused millions of death. This sincerity and honesty consist part of Germany identity. And it is also because of this sincerity that makes other people to accept this history with a calm and easy heart. However, this kind of courage is impossible in other countries. For example, there are several sensitive topics in China that people are not supposed to talk about. Not to mention having a memorial to memorize the wrong past. It is also true in America where there are many memorials in the D.C. to remember the great people and events that change the country, but there is seldom anything to memorize the slavery. So, this frankness is something that many other countries should learn about.
Before coming to Germany, I already knew that Europe doesn’t like immigrants as America does. But I never expected that Germany would actually have a set of strict rules to restrict immigrants from different aspects. The lectures by people who are involved with refugees and immigrants make me realize that they are facing many challenges during their stay in Germany, which makes their life much more difficult than in their home country. In the youth museum, I got to know the story about this Arabic girl who changed her whole family’s life by bravely approaching to the president and asked for the permission to stay in Germany. This brings me to look at the positive side of the situation. There will always be chances if immigrants are willing to fight for their rights.
Weekly Reflection 3:
Reflection about the article “Can Matthew Crawford Deliver Us From Distraction?”
In discussion of education, Crawford brought up a new idea of “joint attention.” From his understanding of education, knowledge is not only learned individually, but collectively as well. As an individual in a society, it is important to have one’s own ideas and knowledge; but it is also inevitable and necessary to be influenced by the outside information. People can hardly improve just based on their own ideas. The world is advancing, and everything is changing constantly. It is important to keep up the pace of the society so that you are not the one left out in the group. As for the notion that “everything located outside your head is regarded as potential sources of unfreedom.” It’s hard to deny that this form of threat does exist, but it is more important to find out a certain balance so that your inner world and outer world could coexist at the same time. I think this should be the best form of education. Crawford also mentioned the point that higher education provided sophistication. From my own understanding, it is more of a specification rather than sophistication. Higher education aims to prepare you for the future career, and helps you to be the expertise in the specific field that you are working on. In this case, the more specific and detailed knowledge distinguishes you from others.
We also discussed the question about “what is truth” in class. I don’t think truth is a definite term since some things are objective and are based on people’s opinions. In this case, there is no universal rule deciding what is truth and what is not. I used to think that history is subjective since what has happened is the truth, and it is something that couldn’t be changed randomly by people. But after the discussion with Kendra, I realized that history is something that happened a long time ago, and is not necessarily witnessed by everyone. If most people couldn’t experience the history, how could we be certain that what we ‘ve learned about the past is the “truth”. Even though the old generations could possibly experienced part of the history, but how could we be sure that their perspectives are not judgmental. In relation to my research that consists of statistics and interviews, it is important to decide what is more “true” from the perspective of my research. People always tell the “truth” from their own perspective, which could be biased the most time. However even though statistics are more convincing to most people, it is also not definitely “true”. We should also consider facts like what is the purpose of the survey and who collect the data for the survey.
Last Tuesday, we had a guest lecture by professor Viola about the topic “Education and Migration in Germany”. It is quite interesting that my research is about immigration, but I have never thoroughly understood what is the definition about migration background. So, when the professor introduced this concept to us; it helped me to understand this issue better. Relating this lecture to my research, I remembered that the professor mentioned Germany does need immigration for the economy, but mainly immigrants who are skilled labors that are needed in the job market. In this case, the job opportunities are largely related to the education background, which is quite similar to the situation in the United States. In the U.S, it ‘s easier for immigrants who study in specific fields like engineering and computer science to get the citizenship than others due to the high demand of these labors. So, the situation varies differently for immigrants. For people with higher education background, there is no large bias in getting a job in Germany.
Weekly reflection 4:
Even though the program has ended for 2 weeks, the memories in Germany are still fresh. We spent the last week in Jena, a small town near Berlin. The town is famous for the Jena University, and we were very lucky to meet this group of graduate students in the university.At the time we arrived, they were preparing for the final presentation, which was about Native Americans. To be honest, I didn’t know anything about Native Americanswhen studying in the U.S. So, it is really interesting to learn about this topic from German students, and how the culture of Native Americans were perceived in Germany.When we were introduced about the German author KarlMay, I was really surprised by his obsession with Native Americans. Has never travelled to the places he described in the articles, his work was totally created through his imagination and some documentary sources about the place. Based on the few movie clips we saw during class, his Native American characters were mainly portrayed as heroic characters who are trying to pursue freedom and equality. This spirit is comparable to that of Martin Luther King who was also fighting forfreedom and equality. One thing that interested me the most during discussion was the question what does it mean to the Native Americans that Germans take their culture as their own and more importantly, perceive their culture with stereotypes. I think that from one perspective; even though there are certain distortions of their culture, it is also a form of approval that their culture get so popular in Germany. However, it is also a disrespect of their culture, especially when it involves religion.
Weekly reflection #5
Final Reflection #5:
It’s more than one month since I left Berlin, the lovely city. Unlike two months ago, when I had no idea about what to expect about the city. Now, I am fully aware of the diversity and historical past about the place. I have to say that it is an amazing experience to explore a totally foreign country with a group of people with diverse cultural backgrounds. We were not only exploring Berlin, but also exploring our unique interaction with the place and ourselves. I remembered that on the first few days when we got there, we were asked to give feedback about our opinions of the city. It was really interesting that every body talked about the difference between Berlin and their own cultural experience in the past.
I love walking around the city without any rush and purpose. The city could surprise you by presenting its hidden side. There was one afternoon on a free weekend. Roujia and I finished all the homework and decided to go to Humboldt University and see whether we could find some people for interview. I am still thankful that we got mistaken with the station and got off earlier, so that we had the chance to walk around the museum island on that beautiful afternoon. We sat on the street and listened to this street guitarist playing classical music. There was no intention to leave after listening 5 songs. We also experienced this quiet internal state by climbing up the wall and overlooking the river.
Berlin has so much to offer than I ever expected. On our way to the last group dinner, we walked passed this lovely neighborhood. I remembered talking with Yi Shi that how surprising this city is and how regretful we were that we didn’t explore more places during the past few weeks. But it made me more certain that I would definitely come back some time.
In discussion of education, Crawford brought up a new idea of “joint attention.” From his understanding of education, knowledge is not only learned individually, but collectively as well. As an individual in a society, it is important to have one’s own ideas and knowledge; but it is also inevitable and necessary to be influenced by the outside information. People can hardly improve just based on their own ideas. The world is advancing, and everything is changing constantly. It is important to keep up the pace of the society so that you are not the one left out in the group. As for the notion that “everything located outside your head is regarded as potential sources of unfreedom.” It’s hard to deny that this form of threat does exist, but it is more important to find out a certain balance so that your inner world and outer world could coexist at the same time. I think this should be the best form of education. Crawford also mentioned the point that higher education provided sophistication. From my own understanding, it is more of a specification rather than sophistication. Higher education aims to prepare you for the future career, and helps you to be the expertise in the specific field that you are working on. In this case, the more specific and detailed knowledge distinguishes you from others.
We also discussed the question about “what is truth” in class. I don’t think truth is a definite term since some things are objective and are based on people’s opinions. In this case, there is no universal rule deciding what is truth and what is not. I used to think that history is subjective since what has happened is the truth, and it is something that couldn’t be changed randomly by people. But after the discussion with Kendra, I realized that history is something that happened a long time ago, and is not necessarily witnessed by everyone. If most people couldn’t experience the history, how could we be certain that what we ‘ve learned about the past is the “truth”. Even though the old generations could possibly experienced part of the history, but how could we be sure that their perspectives are not judgmental. In relation to my research that consists of statistics and interviews, it is important to decide what is more “true” from the perspective of my research. People always tell the “truth” from their own perspective, which could be biased the most time. However even though statistics are more convincing to most people, it is also not definitely “true”. We should also consider facts like what is the purpose of the survey and who collect the data for the survey.
Last Tuesday, we had a guest lecture by professor Viola about the topic “Education and Migration in Germany”. It is quite interesting that my research is about immigration, but I have never thoroughly understood what is the definition about migration background. So, when the professor introduced this concept to us; it helped me to understand this issue better. Relating this lecture to my research, I remembered that the professor mentioned Germany does need immigration for the economy, but mainly immigrants who are skilled labors that are needed in the job market. In this case, the job opportunities are largely related to the education background, which is quite similar to the situation in the United States. In the U.S, it ‘s easier for immigrants who study in specific fields like engineering and computer science to get the citizenship than others due to the high demand of these labors. So, the situation varies differently for immigrants. For people with higher education background, there is no large bias in getting a job in Germany.
Weekly reflection 4:
Even though the program has ended for 2 weeks, the memories in Germany are still fresh. We spent the last week in Jena, a small town near Berlin. The town is famous for the Jena University, and we were very lucky to meet this group of graduate students in the university.At the time we arrived, they were preparing for the final presentation, which was about Native Americans. To be honest, I didn’t know anything about Native Americanswhen studying in the U.S. So, it is really interesting to learn about this topic from German students, and how the culture of Native Americans were perceived in Germany.When we were introduced about the German author KarlMay, I was really surprised by his obsession with Native Americans. Has never travelled to the places he described in the articles, his work was totally created through his imagination and some documentary sources about the place. Based on the few movie clips we saw during class, his Native American characters were mainly portrayed as heroic characters who are trying to pursue freedom and equality. This spirit is comparable to that of Martin Luther King who was also fighting forfreedom and equality. One thing that interested me the most during discussion was the question what does it mean to the Native Americans that Germans take their culture as their own and more importantly, perceive their culture with stereotypes. I think that from one perspective; even though there are certain distortions of their culture, it is also a form of approval that their culture get so popular in Germany. However, it is also a disrespect of their culture, especially when it involves religion.
Weekly reflection #5
Final Reflection #5:
It’s more than one month since I left Berlin, the lovely city. Unlike two months ago, when I had no idea about what to expect about the city. Now, I am fully aware of the diversity and historical past about the place. I have to say that it is an amazing experience to explore a totally foreign country with a group of people with diverse cultural backgrounds. We were not only exploring Berlin, but also exploring our unique interaction with the place and ourselves. I remembered that on the first few days when we got there, we were asked to give feedback about our opinions of the city. It was really interesting that every body talked about the difference between Berlin and their own cultural experience in the past.
I love walking around the city without any rush and purpose. The city could surprise you by presenting its hidden side. There was one afternoon on a free weekend. Roujia and I finished all the homework and decided to go to Humboldt University and see whether we could find some people for interview. I am still thankful that we got mistaken with the station and got off earlier, so that we had the chance to walk around the museum island on that beautiful afternoon. We sat on the street and listened to this street guitarist playing classical music. There was no intention to leave after listening 5 songs. We also experienced this quiet internal state by climbing up the wall and overlooking the river.
Berlin has so much to offer than I ever expected. On our way to the last group dinner, we walked passed this lovely neighborhood. I remembered talking with Yi Shi that how surprising this city is and how regretful we were that we didn’t explore more places during the past few weeks. But it made me more certain that I would definitely come back some time.
Reflection 1:
Every place has its own architecture that represents its culture and history. More than simple concrete, architectures tell the story of the city; no matter the history is being remembered or trying to be forgotten by people. In Berlin, a special city filled with triumph and failure, what kind of stories could be told by the architecture?
The first part of “ The Ghosts of Berlin” mainly talks about the most famous architecture in Berlin- The Berlin Wall. There is no other architecture that could be more representative than this wall, which is built in one day and is only 11 feet tall. The Berlin Wall to Berlin is like the Great Wall to China, and the Pyramid to Egypt. Apparently, the Berlin Wall is far less magnificent compared with the other two architectures. However, it is the connotations that we add to the Wall’s meaning that matters, rather than its appearance.
There is one sentence in the book that I am really interested in: “Some Germans fear that the weight of past misdeeds has made their fellow Germans fear that the weight of past misdeeds has made their fellow Germans uncertain what it means to be German and afraid to act in the name of Germany.” This description makes me wonder what’s the real impact of the Germany history on their current identify formation. If they are really burdened by the past misdeeds, what does the Berlin Wall mean to them?
By reading the first chapter of “Introducing Globalization”, I learned the evolution of this popular term “Globalization”, and how it affects our life from economic, political and cultural perspective. In relation to our topic, globalization definitely has its impact on Germany identity. However, since globalization is more related to technology, I am wondering does globalization influence the old generation and the young generation equally? And how much difference does that make in forming Germany identity under the influence of globalization?
The first part of “ The Ghosts of Berlin” mainly talks about the most famous architecture in Berlin- The Berlin Wall. There is no other architecture that could be more representative than this wall, which is built in one day and is only 11 feet tall. The Berlin Wall to Berlin is like the Great Wall to China, and the Pyramid to Egypt. Apparently, the Berlin Wall is far less magnificent compared with the other two architectures. However, it is the connotations that we add to the Wall’s meaning that matters, rather than its appearance.
There is one sentence in the book that I am really interested in: “Some Germans fear that the weight of past misdeeds has made their fellow Germans fear that the weight of past misdeeds has made their fellow Germans uncertain what it means to be German and afraid to act in the name of Germany.” This description makes me wonder what’s the real impact of the Germany history on their current identify formation. If they are really burdened by the past misdeeds, what does the Berlin Wall mean to them?
By reading the first chapter of “Introducing Globalization”, I learned the evolution of this popular term “Globalization”, and how it affects our life from economic, political and cultural perspective. In relation to our topic, globalization definitely has its impact on Germany identity. However, since globalization is more related to technology, I am wondering does globalization influence the old generation and the young generation equally? And how much difference does that make in forming Germany identity under the influence of globalization?
Reflection 2: April 17th, 2015
Berlin as a city of wall: As the most popular attraction in Berlin, the Berlin Wall is more than a simple structure built out of concrete. It represents the country’s identity, as well as its history. The wall separated Germany into East Germany and West Germany, with two systems coexisting at the same time. From a political perspective, the Berlin Wall represents the conflict between capitalism and socialism. Since the Cold War is a state of tension mainly between the United States and the Soviet Union, and their allies. The Berlin Wall also marked the beginning and ending of the Cold War. Even though the West Germany and East Germany all have different definitions of the wall, they all think it as the place of death. During its existence, 78 people died as a result of unsuccessful escape. And the crosses and markers on the wall are made to remember those people. So, the Wall is important since it witnessed the political transformation of the country.
Berlin as a global city: From my understanding, the whole world is connected in one way or another. No matter it is a developed country or a poor village; they are influenced by other places in terms of trade, culture and language. Berlin, as a much more developed city than many other cities in the world, can definitely be defined as a global city. During the process of having millions of tourists from all over the world, Berlin is influenced by the outside culture. That many people in Germany can speak English is actually a sign of growing globalization. Developed as it is, Berlin still needs the outside sources to support its own growth so that it can focus on its specialized area. For example, it needs products made in China since the labors are much cheaper. So, only with the help of globalization, can it focus on its specialized area like the automobile industry.
Berlin as a city of the European Union: By looking at the EU website, I can tell the Germany is one of the leading forces in the EU. As one of the first few countries that decide to cooperate economically in 1951, Germany is the precursor in the whole European Union. One fact that surprises me the most is its economic development. Its unemployment rates for both men and women are the lowest in the EU. The unemployment rate for women is 4.4%, and the unemployment rate for men is 5.1%. A low unemployment rate has its significance in many aspects, like indicating the economic development, social stability etc. Also, I am interested in the fact that the unemployment rate for women is lower than that for men, which makes me thinking whether it indicates that women have higher social status than men do?
Berlin as a city of immigrants: In Castles and Miller’s article, they investigate some possible reasons that explain the migration patterns in some countries. In terms of the migration system theory, they believe that the migratory movement arises from the previous link between the two counties. For example, the Turkish people migrate to Germany because of the direct labor recruitment (26). If the neo-classic economic perspective stands, this could also indicate Berlin’s economic superiority as a city of immigrants. Also, the problem of racism is raised in the article. As the authors said, “Racism towards certain groups is to be found in virtually all immigration countries.” (35). There is no exception for Germany as well. Even though Germany is reluctant to accept the label of “racism”, but this is indeed part of the country’s identity.
Berlin as a global city: From my understanding, the whole world is connected in one way or another. No matter it is a developed country or a poor village; they are influenced by other places in terms of trade, culture and language. Berlin, as a much more developed city than many other cities in the world, can definitely be defined as a global city. During the process of having millions of tourists from all over the world, Berlin is influenced by the outside culture. That many people in Germany can speak English is actually a sign of growing globalization. Developed as it is, Berlin still needs the outside sources to support its own growth so that it can focus on its specialized area. For example, it needs products made in China since the labors are much cheaper. So, only with the help of globalization, can it focus on its specialized area like the automobile industry.
Berlin as a city of the European Union: By looking at the EU website, I can tell the Germany is one of the leading forces in the EU. As one of the first few countries that decide to cooperate economically in 1951, Germany is the precursor in the whole European Union. One fact that surprises me the most is its economic development. Its unemployment rates for both men and women are the lowest in the EU. The unemployment rate for women is 4.4%, and the unemployment rate for men is 5.1%. A low unemployment rate has its significance in many aspects, like indicating the economic development, social stability etc. Also, I am interested in the fact that the unemployment rate for women is lower than that for men, which makes me thinking whether it indicates that women have higher social status than men do?
Berlin as a city of immigrants: In Castles and Miller’s article, they investigate some possible reasons that explain the migration patterns in some countries. In terms of the migration system theory, they believe that the migratory movement arises from the previous link between the two counties. For example, the Turkish people migrate to Germany because of the direct labor recruitment (26). If the neo-classic economic perspective stands, this could also indicate Berlin’s economic superiority as a city of immigrants. Also, the problem of racism is raised in the article. As the authors said, “Racism towards certain groups is to be found in virtually all immigration countries.” (35). There is no exception for Germany as well. Even though Germany is reluctant to accept the label of “racism”, but this is indeed part of the country’s identity.
Reflection3: April 24th, 2015
Norton starts the paper by telling a story about how an English learner from Czechoslovakia got discriminated by someone younger than her. In the story, the English speakers tend to “dehumanize” Martini and try to ask her to do everything in the restaurant. Obviously, the native English speakers put themselves on a superior position when socializing with people who have “worse” language ability than they do. Their perspective towards immigrants’ identity is entirely based on their language ability rather the real personalities of the individuals. However, the image that the language learners exhibit before others determines how the native speakers view them, and this image is largely determined by how they define themselves. In this story, I think Martini also subconsciously put herself at an inferior position, and that’s why all the young girls treat her as if they are much more superior than her.
Also, as the author points out that sometimes language learners do take on different roles in the society. Some roles make it easier for them to integrate in the society, while others might be more difficult. For example, as a language leaner myself, it is much easier to communicate with American students when I take on the role as a student rather than a simple language learner. I think many people either consciously or unconsciously build their identity based on their language ability. This relationship between identity and language is not efficient enough for them to integrate in the society and earn respect from the native language speakers.
Another interesting thing is that the meaning of language changes as the social context changes. The example of how the African English language learners tend to interpret the monkey story in the context of racism is largely based on their background and the difference in their identities as a teacher and student. Sure enough, if they find another group of students from a different culture, they will interpret the story differently. Since the cultural backgrounds and difference in power are things that we couldn’t change about, the only thing we can change is our own perspective of our own identity, thus shifting the other’s perspective as well.
Also, as the author points out that sometimes language learners do take on different roles in the society. Some roles make it easier for them to integrate in the society, while others might be more difficult. For example, as a language leaner myself, it is much easier to communicate with American students when I take on the role as a student rather than a simple language learner. I think many people either consciously or unconsciously build their identity based on their language ability. This relationship between identity and language is not efficient enough for them to integrate in the society and earn respect from the native language speakers.
Another interesting thing is that the meaning of language changes as the social context changes. The example of how the African English language learners tend to interpret the monkey story in the context of racism is largely based on their background and the difference in their identities as a teacher and student. Sure enough, if they find another group of students from a different culture, they will interpret the story differently. Since the cultural backgrounds and difference in power are things that we couldn’t change about, the only thing we can change is our own perspective of our own identity, thus shifting the other’s perspective as well.
Reflection 4: May 1st, 2015
Migration and Identity Formation:
Every country’s identity is formed under the influence of different factors. One factor that inevitably influences every country’s identity is its history. From the book “Ghosts of Berlin”, we can tell that architecture not only speaks of history, but also forms the current German’s identity by transferring the messages through architecture. The Berlin Wall once established the border between East Germany and West Germany. The division between systems once prevented the cultural communication between two areas. Even though the border was torn down under pressure, the differentiation still exists today as influence of people’s identity.
Another important factor that influences German’s identity is immigrants. Since both Germany and America are important destinations for migration, immigrants compose a large part of their culture. Unlike China, or any other country, which mostly is consisted of single culture, Germany is constantly battling with itself. The country is not sure how much effect it is supposed to allow immigrants to influence it. On one hand, Germany holds the idea that only people with pure Germany blood is considered “Germans”; on the other hand, they don’t want others consider them as racism. However, based on the reading. Germans consider themselves as the majority, thus setting different kinds of rules and forcing the Muslims or Turkish people to follow. So, the interaction between the majority and minority is interesting. Inevitably, the existence of immigrants largely influences the local Germans’ identities since their reaction against immigrants reflect their identity. The immigrants ‘identities are changed during the process as well. When following those rules set by majorities, they are unconsciously changing their identities.
I want to focus my research on the different unemployment rate for the majorities and minorities in Germany, and how this difference influences their identity formation. Also, I would like to compare the research result with that in America.
Every country’s identity is formed under the influence of different factors. One factor that inevitably influences every country’s identity is its history. From the book “Ghosts of Berlin”, we can tell that architecture not only speaks of history, but also forms the current German’s identity by transferring the messages through architecture. The Berlin Wall once established the border between East Germany and West Germany. The division between systems once prevented the cultural communication between two areas. Even though the border was torn down under pressure, the differentiation still exists today as influence of people’s identity.
Another important factor that influences German’s identity is immigrants. Since both Germany and America are important destinations for migration, immigrants compose a large part of their culture. Unlike China, or any other country, which mostly is consisted of single culture, Germany is constantly battling with itself. The country is not sure how much effect it is supposed to allow immigrants to influence it. On one hand, Germany holds the idea that only people with pure Germany blood is considered “Germans”; on the other hand, they don’t want others consider them as racism. However, based on the reading. Germans consider themselves as the majority, thus setting different kinds of rules and forcing the Muslims or Turkish people to follow. So, the interaction between the majority and minority is interesting. Inevitably, the existence of immigrants largely influences the local Germans’ identities since their reaction against immigrants reflect their identity. The immigrants ‘identities are changed during the process as well. When following those rules set by majorities, they are unconsciously changing their identities.
I want to focus my research on the different unemployment rate for the majorities and minorities in Germany, and how this difference influences their identity formation. Also, I would like to compare the research result with that in America.
Reflection 5: May 8th, 2015
Gentrification is an urban renewal process that replaces the original environment with urban community or wealthier residents. Just as the situation described in the article “Cultures clash as gentrification engulfs Capital Hill”, Capital Hill is going through a set of transformation, which is an uneasy process. The clash between cultures and the dilemma brought by rich residents all lead to many pressure for the original residents. The neighborhood used to be an artistic place, but now is replaced with nightlife and upscale apartment buildings. To mix these two cultures together, both groups of people need to change their life style to reach a harmonious status.
The gentrification that I witnessed occurs in the countryside, where my grandparents live. There used to be a suburb area with many farms. However, the government is trying to urbanize the whole area by building upscale apartments and fancy restaurants. All the residents there have lived in houses for their whole life, and many of them feel very uncomfortable moving out of the spacious houses into the apartments. Also, many residents like to plant their own vegetables or fruits during their leisure time. However, this whole transformation means that they have to give up their hobbies and try to adopt an urban lifestyle.
After the class on Saturday, Ruojia and I went to the Ave and tried to find some people to interview. At first, we asked a senior whether he had some time for a short interview, but it turned out that he was heading to some other places, so he rejected us politely. Later on, we asked some other people on the Ave but they were all kind of busy. We felt a little frustrated after being rejected by 3 or 4 people. But then, we thought that it might be better if we could go to a café where people have more free time. So, we went to Starbucks and found a senior there. We started by introducing ourselves briefly and asked whether he was available for a short interview. He agreed to accept the interview and asked us to sit with him. He said that Germany and America have different situations in terms of racial problems. From his point of view, all racial problems in the U.S were originated from slavery. Even though slavery ended a long time ago, it still affects today’s society; especially influences the relationship between authority and minority. However, in Germany, the racial problems were mainly caused by Turkish immigrants. Then, we found an Asian-looking girl to interview. She said she is from Hawaiian. She thinks that homeless people in the U.S should also be a part of the minority, and the government never paid enough attention to them. The homeless issue involves racial problems since many homeless people are also black.
I find this interview process really rewarding. I am quite surprised at how different people can bring up different opinions in terms of the same issue. After this interview, I realized that people’s perceptions of racial problems are not only affected by the mainstream, but also largely influenced by their backgrounds.
The gentrification that I witnessed occurs in the countryside, where my grandparents live. There used to be a suburb area with many farms. However, the government is trying to urbanize the whole area by building upscale apartments and fancy restaurants. All the residents there have lived in houses for their whole life, and many of them feel very uncomfortable moving out of the spacious houses into the apartments. Also, many residents like to plant their own vegetables or fruits during their leisure time. However, this whole transformation means that they have to give up their hobbies and try to adopt an urban lifestyle.
After the class on Saturday, Ruojia and I went to the Ave and tried to find some people to interview. At first, we asked a senior whether he had some time for a short interview, but it turned out that he was heading to some other places, so he rejected us politely. Later on, we asked some other people on the Ave but they were all kind of busy. We felt a little frustrated after being rejected by 3 or 4 people. But then, we thought that it might be better if we could go to a café where people have more free time. So, we went to Starbucks and found a senior there. We started by introducing ourselves briefly and asked whether he was available for a short interview. He agreed to accept the interview and asked us to sit with him. He said that Germany and America have different situations in terms of racial problems. From his point of view, all racial problems in the U.S were originated from slavery. Even though slavery ended a long time ago, it still affects today’s society; especially influences the relationship between authority and minority. However, in Germany, the racial problems were mainly caused by Turkish immigrants. Then, we found an Asian-looking girl to interview. She said she is from Hawaiian. She thinks that homeless people in the U.S should also be a part of the minority, and the government never paid enough attention to them. The homeless issue involves racial problems since many homeless people are also black.
I find this interview process really rewarding. I am quite surprised at how different people can bring up different opinions in terms of the same issue. After this interview, I realized that people’s perceptions of racial problems are not only affected by the mainstream, but also largely influenced by their backgrounds.
Reflection 6: May 22th, 2015
“…It is not merely the possession of objects that determines well-being but the capacity for self-creation by a society or individual that is created through their appropriation.” By creating art on walls, barriers, and roofs, artists try to make use of any space visible to let their voice heard. During the process of expressing themselves, social problems are usually shown on the street art. From my point of view, street art is the first impression of a place. When a foreigner travels to a new country; before he gets to know anything about the country’s culture, politics and economy, graffiti is the first media that introduces him about the place. For example, there is one kind of graffiti that is most popular in China. It usually expresses the idea that girls are equally important as boys, which shows that gender inequality is an important social issue in China right now. However, the street art could show totally different contents in another country. So, graffiti is a very interesting form of art that varies greatly from one society to another. People always say that art is universal. I don’t think it’s the case in terms of graffiti. Graffiti is unique in the way that it is not only created to be appreciated by viewers, but also to arouse the inner feelings of others so that people in the minority groups can stand together and fight for their rights.
Just like the author said in the article “Graffiti has been used mainly by young men from lower classes to gain public esteem through quantity, willingness to take risks, and dispersion of their pieces.” Graffiti is a nonviolent method for young people to express their opinions. Compared with the Baltimore turmoil recently, graffiti is actually a wiser method of attracting people’s attention and let their voice heard by others, especially when people are in a minority group.
Preliminary Research:
I haven’t decided on my final research question yet, but my main focus is on young Turkish immigrants’ involvement in German labor market. I found an article called “From School to Work: Public Policy and Underclass Formation among Young Turks in Germany during 1980s.” which is a really helpful resource for my research. The article mentions that German government is responsible of job training for school leavers. However, the job training opportunities are not equally provided for every one. Participation of Turks in the job-training program is lower than that of German youths. And the unemployment rate of Turks is higher. So, I might study about the impact of unequal job training opportunities on Turkish youth’s employment opportunities and their future living standard.
Just like the author said in the article “Graffiti has been used mainly by young men from lower classes to gain public esteem through quantity, willingness to take risks, and dispersion of their pieces.” Graffiti is a nonviolent method for young people to express their opinions. Compared with the Baltimore turmoil recently, graffiti is actually a wiser method of attracting people’s attention and let their voice heard by others, especially when people are in a minority group.
Preliminary Research:
I haven’t decided on my final research question yet, but my main focus is on young Turkish immigrants’ involvement in German labor market. I found an article called “From School to Work: Public Policy and Underclass Formation among Young Turks in Germany during 1980s.” which is a really helpful resource for my research. The article mentions that German government is responsible of job training for school leavers. However, the job training opportunities are not equally provided for every one. Participation of Turks in the job-training program is lower than that of German youths. And the unemployment rate of Turks is higher. So, I might study about the impact of unequal job training opportunities on Turkish youth’s employment opportunities and their future living standard.
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The tour to bunker was our first visit to a historical place in Germany. I’ve learned so much about German history before, especially the World War two; but all the histories are written in textbooks with no real emotions expressed in it. This time, while we were walking around the bunker; I could actually feel the sense of depression and desperation in that small and constrained place. Especially in the women’s bathroom, I could actually imagine myself in their position. I began to understand the deeper impact the war brought to those women, who lost everything in the war. The tour guide told us that the women’s restroom was the only place that they could have a little privacy, which caused many women to commit suicide there. Another impressive story was that there were exceedingly more people in the dunker during the World War two, which caused lack of oxygen in the small room. Sometimes, even though people suffered from suffocation, they couldn’t get out of the bunker because the war was still going on outside. The cool thing about this experience was that I could actually sitting in the exactly the same place where they used to sit, and imagined myself in their position. This made me to understand their history better and in another perspective. Before coming to Berlin, I always viewed Germany as the cruel and dominant country during the world war two. Even though I understood that most Germans were victims of the war, I never perceived this country from the perspective of the victims. Now, I think I can define German identity from a more comprehensive perspective.
The visit to concentration camp also made me to rethink about German identity. Keeping the concentration camp as a memorial is a huge courage as to face the mistake in the past. German government is not afraid to admit that they made a mistake that caused millions of death. This sincerity and honesty consist part of Germany identity. And it is also because of this sincerity that makes other people to accept this history with a calm and easy heart. However, this kind of courage is impossible in other countries. For example, there are several sensitive topics in China that people are not supposed to talk about. Not to mention having a memorial to memorize the wrong past. It is also true in America where there are many memorials in the D.C. to remember the great people and events that change the country, but there is seldom anything to memorize the slavery. So, this frankness is something that many other countries should learn about.
Before coming to Germany, I already knew that Europe doesn’t like immigrants as America does. But I never expected that Germany would actually have a set of strict rules to restrict immigrants from different aspects. The lectures by people who are involved with refugees and immigrants make me realize that they are facing many challenges during their stay in Germany, which makes their life much more difficult than in their home country. In the youth museum, I got to know the story about this Arabic girl who changed her whole family’s life by bravely approaching to the president and asked for the permission to stay in Germany. This brings me to look at the positive side of the situation. There will always be chances if immigrants are willing to fight for their rights.
The visit to concentration camp also made me to rethink about German identity. Keeping the concentration camp as a memorial is a huge courage as to face the mistake in the past. German government is not afraid to admit that they made a mistake that caused millions of death. This sincerity and honesty consist part of Germany identity. And it is also because of this sincerity that makes other people to accept this history with a calm and easy heart. However, this kind of courage is impossible in other countries. For example, there are several sensitive topics in China that people are not supposed to talk about. Not to mention having a memorial to memorize the wrong past. It is also true in America where there are many memorials in the D.C. to remember the great people and events that change the country, but there is seldom anything to memorize the slavery. So, this frankness is something that many other countries should learn about.
Before coming to Germany, I already knew that Europe doesn’t like immigrants as America does. But I never expected that Germany would actually have a set of strict rules to restrict immigrants from different aspects. The lectures by people who are involved with refugees and immigrants make me realize that they are facing many challenges during their stay in Germany, which makes their life much more difficult than in their home country. In the youth museum, I got to know the story about this Arabic girl who changed her whole family’s life by bravely approaching to the president and asked for the permission to stay in Germany. This brings me to look at the positive side of the situation. There will always be chances if immigrants are willing to fight for their rights.