Has Trump gone global? In a word: yes. America isn't the only country in the West experiencing political upheaval. Recent events suggests something amiss in the West. With the election of Donald Trump in the US, and Brexit in Great Britain, politics in the West has taken on a reactionary mood, and these are only the places in which it's achieved a measure of success. Reactionary politics, a style of politics in which the historically dominant cultural group seeks a return to its past glory, seems to have also taken root in Austria, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, to name but a few other locales in which it's taken root. This seminar will examine why such politics are sweeping the West, but not before we learn about the history of such movements in the US and Europe. We then discuss competing theoretical explanations for these kinds of movements: populism, nationalism, facism, reactionary conservatism. What, in other words, explains the rise of Trump, as well as competitive right-wing movements in Europe?
The course takes place in Berlin, the capitol of Germany. Not only is Berlin the social and political Capitol of Germany, it also served as the heart of the Third Reich, perhaps the most well-known right-wing movement in the past century. At present, the Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) is the chief political threat on the German right.
Humboldt University, in Berlin, will serve as home base. UW has a long-standing arrangement with Humboldt. This program will plug into the American Studies program (at Humboldt), and will be furnished with classroom space, and access to the internet.
The application deadline is Wednesday, January 31. For a full description and more information please click here.