(Post-)Graduate Support at its Best!

November 28, 2018

The turn of the year 1918/1919 marked a significant turning point in German history: the November Revolution had paved the way for German democracy and the closely related political equality of men and women. On 19 January 1919, for the first time, women were allowed to vote and stand for election in Germany. Remembering the 100th birthday of parliamentary democracy and the 100th anniversary of the introduction of women’s suffrage, we want to visit an exhibition of the Historisches Museum which is focused on the years 1918/1919. On a guided tour (in English), we will learn about the perspective of women of the early twentieth century and their demands, expectations and visions. The chief focus will be on the personal relationships between the protagonists, the histories of the women’s associations, and the international network of the First German Women’s Movement.

October 25, 2018

The Roman fort “Saalburg” is part of the UNESCO World Heritage of the “Limes”, the erstwhile frontier between the Roman Empire and German tribal territories. Situated in the Taunus mountain range it was a central point of vigilance guarding the frontier for more than 150 years, and is the only Roman fort along the Limes that was completely rebuild.

Our visit will offer us exciting insights into the culture and lifestyles of 2000 years ago. We will explore also the outside of the fort, where the civilian settlement was located. There we will find the remains of a bathhouse and guesthouse, of cellars and wells of private homes, and also a part of the Limes.

Foto: Pixabay CC0 Creative Commons

September 14-16, 2018

One of the most outstanding events of our GRADE-Excursions is a three-day trip to Berlin. Between 14 and 16 September, we will visit some of the numerous important historical and cultural places of the city. We will gain a deeper insight into German-German history as well as into Berlin's multicultural life. There will be time to visit some landmarks of the city like the Reichstag building, Brandenburg Gate and Museum Island, but we’ll also make sure to just enjoy a nice evening in one of the city’s parks.

Photo: A. Savin (CC-BY SA 3.0 - Wikimedia Commons)

July 30, 2018

As part of our tour of cultural and historical sites, we’d like to invite you to a cruise on the river Main. The tour will start at “Eiserner Steg” in the city center and will lead us past the picturesque banks of the river Main and the stunning sight of the ECB. After a detour through the Frankfurt Osthafen, the ship will make a turn in front of the historic Gerbermühle and we’ll sail back towards Frankfurt along the Museumsufer to the Westhafen/Schleuse Griesheim. As we relax with a coffee and cake or cold beer, we’ll get to enjoy a fantastic view of the skyline. The trip will be commentated in German and English and its duration will be approx. 100 min.

Foto: Fafner CC-BY SA 3.0

June 16, 2018

Dear GRADE PhD students and GRADE postdocs,
We warmly invite you and are looking forward to enjoy with us an international picnic in Frankfurt! It will be a relaxing evening, where everybody brings his/her favorite dish or specialty from his/her home country, and we sit together, taste different food, have nice conversations and enjoy the evening. We want to use the opportunity to meet different people, so we organize the event with DAAD Freundeskreis and invite people from the neighborhood. Please give us short information what you bring with you – we do not want to a buffet of desserts only;) Also please remember to bring your own cup/plates and whatever you need – so that we can get comfortable at the meadow.

Photo: pixabay.de

May 25, 2018

In the lovely month of May, we’ll go to Höchst, where the river Nidda flows into the Main. Höchst is the oldest suburb of Frankfurt. At the heart of the city lies St Justin’s, a Carolingian church that is among the oldest in Germany and the oldest preserved building in Frankfurt. During a guided tour, we’ll learn all about its remarkable design, its art treasures and visit its famous garden in full bloom. The historic city center contains Frankfurt’s largest collection of timbered houses (Fachwerkhäuser), an old castle and the Schlossplatz with its traditional pubs. Here we will have a nice get-together at the end of the tour. The tour will be in English and the duration of the excursion will be approx. 3.5 h.                             

Photo: Eva K. (CC BY-SA 2.5)

April 28, 2018

The Glauberg is a very special place and was already settled by humans as early as the late Stone Age. The finds from three Celtic burials from the 5^th century BC and the statue of a Celtic ruler are unique and recognized throughout the world as an archaeological sensation. The museum we will visit is part of the World of the Celts at the Glauberg. This also includes a research center and a large archaeological park. In the park we will find the reconstruction of a burial mound, a mysterious system of banks and ditches, and fortifications from early Celtic times. Further monuments from other historical periods can be seen on the Glauberg plateau as well as a magnificent natural landscape.

Photo: Ptolusque, Burggebaeude Ruine, CC BY-SA 3.0

March 21, 2018

Since its foundation as a supporting program of a technology fair, the Festival of Light Luminale has developed into an Biennal for lighting art and urban design. Science, Art and city politics debate through interventions and works of art about topical questions of urban development. From the wide-range of installations Luminale offers this year, we will visit some places that usually aren’t in the focus of daily life. Our walk will take about 2,5 hours and ends with a nice Get-together in one of the exhibition places. As we will be walking a lot and it's going to be quite cool at night, please select appropriate clothes.

Photo: Frankfurter Börse Luminale 2008 by Volkes Stimme

February 28, 2018

Beer is one of the oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic drinks in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. In medieval times it was often called "liquid bread" in relation to his role as an important supplement to an often precarious nutrition. Today beer is still important to eating and drinking habits in Germany, which is one of the top consumers of the world with 104 liter per capita. Apart from the big-name producers, there are plenty of small breweries for the local market keeping an important tradition alive. Our Event of February is taking place in such a brewery in the Frankfurt district Fechenheim. In a guided tour held by the master brewer himself, we will see the whole process of traditional brewery. Afterwards we will have a nice get-together in the ale-house of the brewery.          

January 26, 2018

Social tensions, polit­ical strug­gles, social upheavals, as well as artistic revo­lu­tions and inno­va­tions char­ac­terize the Weimar Republic. In "Splendor and Misery in the Weimar Republic" the Schirn is presenting German art from 1918 to 1933. Direct, ironic, angry, accusatory, and often even prophetic works demon­strate the struggle for democ­racy and paint a picture of a society in the midst of crisis and tran­si­tion. Many artists were moved by the prob­lems of the age to mirror reality and everyday life in their search for a new realism or “natu­ralism.” They captured the stories of their contem­po­raries with an indi­vidual signa­ture: the processing of World War I with depic­tions of maimed soldiers and “war prof­i­teers,” public figures, the big city with its enter­tain­ment industry and increasing pros­ti­tu­tion, polit­ical unrest and economic chasms, as well as the role model of the New Woman, the debates about punisha­bility of homo­sex­u­ality and abor­tion, the social changes resulting from indus­tri­al­iza­tion, and the growing enthu­siasm for sports.