American Academy in Berlin

We're #hiring a new Controller:in in Berlin Metropolitan Area. Apply today or share this post with your network.

Is the US on the road to a new civil war? This question has arisen in recent years in a manner unseen since at least the 1960s. Given the political conditions of extreme polarization, a dearth of public civility, hard-line partisanship as well as a dramatic decline of trust in major institutions, is the US on the brink of a constitutional, social, and political breakup? The best way to examine this question is to look deeply at the times when the American republic did rupture, in the 1850s and then again in the 1930s and 1960s. In this lecture, Yale historian David Blight examines this history as a possible means of understanding where we are today. 👉 Register to attend: https://buff.ly/YTmfbfr

"Palestine has historically functioned as a mirror and a magnifier. It mirrors the sentiments, the perceptions, the longings ... of people throughout the world, but it magnifies them because of the passion that Palestine has aroused." At his Academy talk, spring fellow and Harvard University professor of Jewish history Derek Penslar examined German media coverage and public-opinion surveys about the founding of Israel and the 1948 Palestine war that reflect postwar silence about the Holocaust, suppressed guilt, and lingering antisemitism. 📺 Watch here: https://buff.ly/LmML14H 📸 Annette Hornischer

Join our livestream next week for a talk by retired US Army Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster, who will examine the growing links between today's major conflicts—from Russia's war on Ukraine to Iran's proxy battles in the Middle East—and the broader contest for global influence with China. Drawing on his experience as a military leader and national security advisor, he'll explore why the US and its allies have struggled to deter or effectively respond to aggression in recent years and will discuss strategies for preventing interconnected wars—such as in Ukraine and the Middle East—from expanding further. 📺 Tune in: https://buff.ly/AhjKYdx HR McMaster Hoover Institution, Stanford University

"Politicians almost everywhere are not offering a clear idea of a desirable future that can be reached by collective action," said spring fellow and NYU law professor Stephen Holmes at Monday night's panel discussion on the crisis of futurity within contemporary democratic politics. He was in conversation with ➡️ Maja Göpel, Scholar, Speaker, Author, and Advisor ➡️ Ivan Krastev, Chairman, Centre for Liberal Strategies, and Permanent Fellow, IWM - Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen ➡️ Karolina Wigura, Associate Researcher, Russian and East European Studies, University of Oxford, Senior Fellow Liberal Democracy, Zentrum Liberale Moderne, Associate Professor, University of Warsaw, and Member of the Board, Kultura Liberalna Foundation Moderation by Academy president Daniel Benjamin. The panel was preceded by our annual Richard C. Holbrooke workshop, named after the Academy's founder, with experts from academia, diplomacy, and policymaking. 📸 Annette Hornischer 📺 Watch here: https://buff.ly/3z7yNIK Thomas Fricke Alexander Gabuev Dr. Holger Schmieding Ekaterina Schulmann

We're #hiring a new Supervisor:in Service in Berlin Metropolitan Area. Apply today or share this post with your network.

The American Academy in Berlin is pleased to announce the Berlin Prize recipients for the 2026-27 academic year: Andrea Bernstein, William Burke-White, Aaron Cohen, Sara Cwynar, Dagmar Herzog, Alice C. Hill, ethan Kapstein, Katie Kitamura, Ya-Wen Lei, Stephanie Leitch, Carmen Machado, Allison Stanger, James van Dyke, Ayad Akhtar, Rachel Bronson, Victor Dzau, Emily Flake, Peter A. Hall, Michelle Lou, Corey Robin, Barnett Rubin, Rebecca Traister, and Sean Wilentz. The Berlin Prize is awarded annually to US-based scholars, writers, composers, and artists who represent the highest standards of excellence in their fields, from the humanities and social sciences to journalism, public policy, fiction, the visual arts, and music composition. It provides recipients the time and resources to advance important scholarly and artistic projects, free from the constraints of other professional obligations. 🔗 Visit the link to find the recipients' bios and to learn more about the fellowship: https://buff.ly/ZRgga6K

"We are now at a tenuous and dangerous moment for immunization in America," said Anne Schuchat, spring fellow and Former Principal Deputy Director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at her Academy talk. Bringing a long view to public health, she discussed its progress, setbacks, and today's anti-science backlash, with an unprecedented rise in anti-science sentiment in the US during and after the COVID 19 pandemic. "Potentially more dangerous than viral contagion is the threat of disinformation and misinformation," Schuchat says. Considering the ineveitability of a future pandemic, she emphasizes that society's best protection will be "learning from our mistakes and misunderstandings and building on our tremendous progress." 📺 Watch here: https://buff.ly/BycwjDH 📸 Annette Hornischer

"Above all, I would say that my goal is to think through art not just about it when planning an exhibition," said Naomi Beckwith, Deputy Director and Jennifer and David Stockman Chief Curator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, and Artistic Director, documenta 16. In conversation with Academy senior arts advisor Nana Bahlmann, Beckwith reflected on the influences shaping her practice and on the experiences of Black women in Germany, situating them within broader African diasporic perspectives and drawing on voices such as May Ayim. Grounded in her view of art history and curating as practices that foreground the lived realities of Black culture and their vitality in global contemporary art, she shared insights into her curatorial approach and preparation for documenta 16: "The goal is to be true to the artists' goals, to walk with them. And not put my ego and all my thoughts in the foreground, but to stay a little bit behind the artists," Beckwith said. 📺 Watch here: https://buff.ly/Ug0aviB 📸 Annette Hornischer documenta und Museum Fridericianum gGmbH

"Anytime someone asks a writer for advice, there is already a problem. I don't know anything. I make questions and I make stories but it's people who might happen upon my work who are going to have the answers. Not me," said Percival Everett at our joint event with Literaturhaus München. Together with Michael Ebert, editor in chief of Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin, they discussed Everett's career path from his early influences to his later works, his upbringing and approach to writing as well as how time on a ranch shaped his perspective. 📺 Watch their candid conversation: https://buff.ly/jRnEILf Words of welcome by Tanja Graf, director of Literaturhaus München, and Nana Bahlmann, the Academy's senior arts advisor. 📸 Literaturhaus München