Painting a Portrait: The Cultural Life of a Young Berliner

Painting a Portrait: The Cultural Life of a Young Berliner
Anne Marie Avey
Lauren Badell
Kareem Cervantes
Nisha Nariya
Phil Rodenbough
Jackie Schwartzstein
Aya Yanagida

1) Abstract
The purpose of this research project, in short, is to explore the cultural lives of typical young Berliners. In particular, each group member has chosen a different aspect of youth lifestyles to explore, so this project will encompass seven different facets of youth culture. The seven different sub-topics are each complex, but can be basically thought of as homosexuality, drug abuse, film, assimilation, rock music, arts education, and fashion.
Each sub-project is unique, and as such, each sub-project will utilize different methods for exploring the topics. Questions will often be answered by case studies, but the project will also include other methods such as interviews and observation.
We are doing this research project because, as youth in America, we are interested in discovering what it is like in other countries and cultures (specifically that of Berlin) and interested in seeing how we may have been different had we been raised in Berlin rather than in America. It is a project of cultural relativism, intended to broaden our horizons.
Ultimately, we hope to construct a compilation of the many aspects of life as a young Berliner, painting a portrait that is both accurate and interesting.

2) Background
A) Context
This project, overall, is relevant to the group members because we are all participants in American youth culture. As such, we are interested in comparing our own culture to different youth cultures. Are we the same? Are we different? How do our cultures interact? What evidence of American youth culture is present in German youth culture? These are some of the questions we hope to answer, through seven different lenses.
In addition, each individual member of the group has chosen an individual topic that is of special interest to him or her, as detailed in the research question section of this paper. There is can be seen that because of the freedom to choose individual sub-topics, this project is personally interesting to each group member.
This project will certainly advance group members’ knowledge of German youth culture. We have each chosen research questions to which we have no current answers. Perhaps someone who has participated extensively in both American and German youth culture would already have answers to the questions we are posing, but German youth culture is relatively unfamiliar to us. If we successfully answer our research questions, we will become more multi-culturally aware, more internationally savvy, and we will be one step closer to becoming truly global citizens.
By choosing such sub-topics that are so youth-centric, we will hopefully end up with a project that is interesting to other young people who are interested in relevant aspects of German culture from an American perspective. We will be presenting our research in a public setting, so in that way, we will increase others’ knowledge of German youth culture as well.
It should lastly be noted that because all the members of this group have significant knowledge of American youth culture, bias may be introduced in our research. We are aware of the biases that may accompany our American background, and will be sure to consider this in as we proceed in our research.

B) Problems
The biggest problem facing this group is the language barrier. As a whole, our group speaks very little German. This might make it difficult to do research that involves communicating with German people.
We are under the impression, however, that most Germans know English. If this proves true, it will be very fortunate, greatly increasing our ability to communicate and do research. Individual problems for sub-projects are detailed later.

3) Individual Research Questions
Note that this section includes, to various degrees, individual answers to part 4 (research methods), part 5 (cultural sensitivity), and part 6 (schedule for Berlin).

A) Avey – Homosexuality in Berlin
I think researching homosexuality in Berlin is relevant because it’s important to know how gays and lesbians are treated in a different country. This is because we can hopefully learn from Berlin’s mistakes, yet gain from their positive attributes to the gay community. The more we know, the more we can change in our own society. This topic has a personal interest to me because I am in a field where homosexuality is a norm and I have become very close with gays and lesbians. I find it interesting how they find the strength to come out in a country that generally has a negative connotation to the term “gay.” I want to know if this is the same in other places, such as Berlin. And if not, why? Why is it easier to come out in Germany than the U.S.A.? The land of the free? The melting pot of the world? Is it because the mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, is gay himself? All these things I am curious to find out, but my main question would be this: What are the advantages to being gay and living in Berlin?
Now, I am prepared that there might not be any advantages, so I definitely have a backup question, but for now this one seems to be my focus. Why Berlin? You could be anywhere in Europe, but why are homosexuals coming to live here in Berlin? What is so special about it?
One of the problems I am having with researching my topic is that I need to talk with people! I know I will be able to do that when I get to Berlin, but this really is a person based study. I plan on maybe trying to interview the mayor. I know that might be hard to do, but I am fascinated that he is gay and I’m wondering why he thinks Berlin has such a great community, especially for the gays. What steps are they taking to ensure non-descrimination, are they trying to get equal rights passed, and so on.
Another person I would be interested in talking to would be a counselor from Humboldt, to get their take on how accepting the community is based on the cases from the students. Plus, I would be willing to find a group organization (preferably within Humboldt) that I could chat with as a group. And finally, doing a case study. Finding someone that wouldn’t mind me following them around for a week or so and see what they go through as a gay Berliner.
I think these methods are useful because it gets me to talk to them one on one and I would be able to make a connection with that person. I am pretty easy to get along with and enjoy listening to others. Hopefully, I will make some great friends out of this as well. The limitations I see is maybe they wouldn’t tell me the truth about everything because it is so personal, and instead they would lie. But I am hopeful to make people comfortable so they are able to talk and discuss with me their personal life stories. My biases are me being an American, knowing the history of gay culture in America, knowing the general negative standpoint in American about gay culture, and that I am straight. But I love my gays! So I want to do this topic justice!
One of the places I plan on visiting is Kreuzberg. It seems to be the place where the gays hang out. Plus, some great clubs that have been mentioned especially for the gay community are SchwuZ and SO36. I am excited to go there and do some investigating! I think I will be needing a video camera for sure. I want to record when I go out and I also want to record my interviews. I am a verbal person and I think most of my research will be dealing off-book.

B) Badell – Breaking down the wall: An exploration of drug and alcohol addiction and recovery in Berlin
How do young people in Berlin cope with addiction and alcoholism? What are the challenges that young people in sobriety face? Are the services provided comparable to those in the United States (specifically Seattle?) Are drug and alcohol use more acceptable, considering Germany’s proximity to places such as Amsterdam and the laxity of legal restrictions on drug use there, as well as the younger legal drinking age?
I plan to attend meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous while in Berlin in order to meet young people in recovery. After talking to the young people and conducting interviews, I hope to be able to speak also with people in active addiction. This can potentially happen on the street, or through observation in dance clubs or other social gatherings. Based on case studies of these people, I want to discover why they started using drugs and whether or not their drug and alcohol abuse resulted from the more liberal environment, peer pressure, family influences, etc. In exploring how drug addicted/alcoholic youth are experiencing recovery in Berlin, I will ultimately compare it to my own experiences of young people in addiction and recovery in the states.
An experiential methodology is the most appropriate for conducting my research; being a participant observer will ultimately generate the most compelling and informative research. Through conducting interviews with the young people that I meet in the program, I plan to compare the information that I gather about their experience in recovery to my own. As my research is based on a comparative approach, interviews in Berlin will coincide with information I have collected from friends in recovery in the United States, as well as with my own experience. The more interviews that I collect, the more adequately prepared I will be to determine a case study to conclude my final research project. Again, in line with the comparative approach, I am ultimately searching for a person to act as a mirror to my experience in the United States. The ultimate goal is not that this case study has had the exact same experience as the general majority of sober youth in the United States, but that there is a common thread that knits youth and recovery together, regardless of location.
The challenges that may present themselves while I am in Berlin are most predictably speaking with people in active addiction and I do not know if I will have the opportunity to do so. Even if I do end up meeting active alcoholics and drug addicts, an essential aspect of the disease is a lack of honesty and openness and I do not know if they will be willing to talk to me about their addiction; they may not even recognize that the addiction exists. In traveling to different places around the world and going to meetings, as well as being active in my personal recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction, I have found that people following a similar trajectory tend to open themselves in ways that are pretty profound. The challenge then lies in finding these people in meetings in Berlin; English-speaking meetings tend to be dominated by travelers or foreigners in residence in the country.
The following questions will be included in some form in the interviews that I conduct: How old are you? At what age did you have your first drink? Was it with your family or friends? When was the first time that you remember getting drunk? Why (peer pressure, just because, family issues, etc.)? What drugs have you used and what ages? Do you feel like you have a problem with drugs and/or alcohol? If so, at what age did you realize that you had a problem with drugs and/or alcohol? What factors (social, personal, etc.) do you feel contributed to your addiction? What services, if any, have you used to cope with your alcoholism/drug addiction? Do you feel like there is enough support for young people in Berlin?
Finding young people who will be willing to serve as research subjects in recovery will be based on my ability to create friendships within the meetings; as I share my experience and listen to others’, I plan to integrate myself into the community, especially during the first week, so that people are more willing to talk to me than they would a total stranger. As I become more integrated into the community and progress with my interviews, I plan to use the ‘snowballing’ effect, whereby I will ask the people who I am interviewing whether or not they have friends who are still in active addiction who would be willing to talk to me. If not, I plan on contacting a friend of mine who lives in Hamburg to see if she knows anyone who would be willing to talk to me. In finding a case study who is on the active side of his or her addiction, I am planning on finding service work to do through the program where I might be able to help in a homeless shelter or speak in a drug rehabilitation center. I do not know if these opportunities are available in the breadth that they are in Seattle, but I will have to wait until I attend several meetings to determine whether or not this approach will be viable. In the case these approaches do not yield the desired outcome, I will go to bars and nightclubs and simply observe the level of alcohol intake, whether or not drugs are an integral part of the evening, and the level of intoxication that occurs within a given population.
Protecting the people I am researching is a major priority; not only is anonymity one of the keystones of the program of Alcoholics Anonymous, the nature of alcoholism and drug addiction is so sensitive that I doubt that I would find people living in active addiction who would be willing to expose themselves. Therefore, in recruiting my interview subjects, I will engage with them immediately by first stating that whatever they say will remain completely anonymous. I will draft a document that reiterates this fact and will sign it, explicitly stating that the only reason that I would break their anonymity is if they gave me direct permission to do so. Unfortunately, unless this permission is granted, I will not be able to audio-visually record any of my research and will have to either take physical or mental notes. My hope is that through the common bond of addiction and recovery that my peers will allow recording of some nature, but will accept and respect their decision either way.
I plan to attend a meeting a day in the first week of the program in order to make contacts orient myself in the program in Berlin. As the week goes on and I continue to meet people who are willing to be interviewed, I will pass out consent forms and make appointments for interviews.
During the second week, I will determine which meetings have a majority of young people and stay in those meetings, but if none of them have the demographic population that I am looking for, I will try Narcotics Anonymous.
Over the weekend following the second week, I plan on doing whatever service work that I have found to do in order to meet alcoholics/ drug addicts in active addiction or just starting the recovery process.
By the third week, I hope to have found at least two people to focus on in my case studies, one from the recovery perspective and the other from the addiction perspective. I will continue to spend this week going to meetings and doing service work, but will ultimately spend more time with specific people as opposed to conducting more dispersed interviews.
During the fourth week I will continue to attend meetings, but will be focusing more on writing my findings from the previous three weeks into a cohesive final report, as well as working with the larger group on our compositions.

C) Cervantes – German Hollywood Dreams: What does it take to make it in Berlin as an actor?
I want to know what a young Berliner with dreams of becoming a Hollywood star, has to go through in order to step foot into the acting business, primarily in Film. What “look” is the right look for today’s Berlin Film Industry. I want to know what is considered the “it” factor that agents search for in young talent.
My research will start off really basic, for the summer, and for my first week in Berlin, I will be watching German film, hopefully finding things either filmed in Berlin or movies about Berlin in some way. I’ll make notes on the actors’ appearances, abilities, physical qualities and type. Having done that, I will then begin searching for upcoming talent through international talent agencies such as Quickbook and Affinity Talent, to try and find people interested in becoming my case studies. I would follow them around with a camera, do interviews, and see what it is like for them day to day with auditions, work, life, etc. I would of course follow of the privacy and information protocol with contracts and waivers and what not. My targeted age range for my specific research would be the one that I fall under as an actor, 18-25.
At the same time, some of my research will be done through self exploration. I will give a whack at auditions for agencies in Berlin. Perhaps attend a few open calls, and see if I can’t land any work myself. My major focus of course, will be on the talent agencies themselves. What are they looking for? How do they know what casting directors want? What work is available during the time that we will be spending in Berlin? And most importantly, how similar is the life of a Berlin actor to that of an American actor? Or, how different? Is the film/acting industry the same everywhere, or is it easier/harder for some?
I want to try and answer all of these questions and maybe a few more during my stay there. Being an actor myself, I want to know that there are opportunities outside of the American Film Industry and that success doesn’t have to be accompanied with mass celebrity.
My timeline is as follows:
Week 1: Viewing film in local cinemas, finding talent online, visiting agencies.
Week 2: Begin case study work, go on auditions by myself and with case studies
Week 3: Interviews with case studies and agency/casting directors
Week 4: Compile and edit mini documentary.

D) Nariya - What does Indian assimilation with German culture look like?
Being of South-East Asian descent and growing up in America, I feel that my life is a fusion of east and west. However, it has always been an interest of mine to see how other youth of similar descent have assimilated their lives with different cultures. What does Indian assimilation with German culture look like? I am especially interested to see the youth cultural assimilation of Indian culture with German culture to see if German culture is flexible enough to allow assimilation, or if it is dominating that in order to be part of German culture, all ethnic culture has to be compromised. By seeing the assimilation of Indian youth in Germany it will show insight into a way of life of a group of people that typically are not researched upon because they are not a dominate minority group. My research should give insight into what youth cultural assimilation resembles in Berlin, Germany. I then hope to compare the assimilation trends I see in Berlin with Indian-American cultural assimilation looks like.
Since I am of Indian descent and have had to assimilate my life, I have a bias of what assimilation should resemble. Thus, it is going to be important for me not to jump to conclusions or make assumptions. To help me counter my personal bias I am going to employ various research methods that will help me answer my research question.
Ideally, to research the cultural assimilation of youth in Berlin a case study will be used. However, if I am unable to obtain a case study or if it proves to have limitations I will use methods of library research, opinions/interviews, and observation to facilitate in gathering substantial information that will furnish answers for my research question.
A case study would be ideal to study cultural assimilation because by following an Indian youth around it will show me exactly what life of a young Berliner is like. It will also give me insight into how much of their life is lived through German culture and how much is lived through Indian culture. Though this is a method that will allow me to view first hand the cultural assimilation it does have its limitations. Finding someone to participate in the case study may prove difficult. Furthermore, there may be a language barrier, which may impede my comprehension of the assimilation. In addition a case study gives insight to the life of one person or possibly a few. Generalizing assimilation from the experience of a few people may give a skewed outlook on what Indian youth assimilation in Berlin resembles. This is especially true if I end up following a youth around who has not assimilated both cultures and has completely accepted one culture and rejected the other. Thus, if the data collected seems skewed I will combine this method with other research methods.
The method of library research will not be used to directly to answer my research question, it will more be of use to guide me in the right direction, to find answers. I will probably spend time researching online articles. These articles will show me the influence of Indians in Berlin and suggest possible places for me to visit to view the Indian effect in Berlin and to meet people of Indian descent. By researching possible places to go before I get to Berlin and reading about their influence, it will give me a good basis to conduct field research when I get there. I cannot use library research as a main form of research for my project because it would not show what assimilation looks like in Berlin, for that interactions with people need to occur and places need to be visited.
Another method that I will use in addition to case study if there proves to be limitations, is through opinions and conducting interviews. I plan to have a list of interview questions. I would like to formally sit with youth of Indian descent and talk through the questions with them. I feel it will allow them to elaborate more and answer any follow of questions that I may have once I receive their answers. However, in addition to the communication barrier it may be difficult to get time to converse with the youth, so then I will provide them with the list of questions to answer, like a survey. I plan to then go through the data I collect from the interviews/surveys and pinpoint any trends that show what assimilation resembles in Berlin. This method will allow me to interact with a number of youth, so the results I get should not be biased to the experiences of a few. Of course, the people I chose for these interviews will probably provide for a bias. If I am at an Indian cultural event handing out these surveys then of course my responses may show more assimilation than if I were to hand out these surveys elsewhere. Thus to control for this bias I am going to try to interview the youth at several different locations and try to get as many interviews as possible. The questions I have developed for this are:
1. What is your name? (Do they go by a German name or an Indian name?)
2. Are you a first or second generation? Were you born here?
3. Do you visit India?
4. Do you speak your ethnic language, what ethnic language do you speak?
5. Do you take part in any German cultural activities here?
6. Do you take part in any Indian cultural activities here?
7. Do you feel you are in touch with you Indian heritage, why or why not?
8. Do you think you have assimilated? What does it look like in your life?
9. On a scale of 1-10, how close to you Indian culture do you feel you are? Why did you give yourself that score?
10. On a scale of 1-10, how close to German culture do you feel you are? Why did you give yourself that score?
11. Would you refer to yourself as more German or Indian?
12. Do you hang out with more Indian youth or German youth in general?
In addition to conducting these interviews in Berlin I will conduct them here in the States as well so that I may do a comparison on what assimilation in Berlin looks like compared to the United States.
The last method I plan to employ is observation. I plan on going to random places of Indian culture (e.g. Temple, movies, restaurants) and random places of German culture (Museums, parks, night clubs) and seeing how Indian youth behave in the different environments. In addition to observing their behavior I also plan on observing how many Indian youths on average are present in the different environments and whom they associate themselves with (do they have more German friends or do the Indian youth congregate in groups?) By seeing if the behavior is different and where Indian youth spend a lot of time congregating it will give insight into how much assimilation has occurred and what it resembles.
The type of research method used will effect my recruiting of the subjects and measures taken to guarantee confidentiality and anonymity. I hope to be able to gain access to an individual or a few individuals who will be willing to be a case studied for this research project. I plan on going to places where Indian youth congregate (e.g. Restaurants, movies, temple, school) and finding a few who would allow me to do this, thus gaining their consent. I will formalize their consent by having them sign a piece of paper that states the research question I am trying to answer and that they have voluntarily accepted to be part of the study. I would of course change their names when writing about their assimilation to protect their anonymity.
When conducting interview questions I plan on getting as many personal interviews as possible and if that does not work then I plan on handing out the interview questions to get answered. I will conduct these interviews with youth I find at various establishments within the city, the best places would be when Indian youth are standing in line for movie tickets or waiting for the bus. It is important not to intrude the youth when they are taking part in a religious service or at dinner. It will also be important to take into consideration what types of interruptions are considered rude by German culture and to avoid from taking part in these. When I approach them to be interviewed I plan on stating what the responses will be used for so that they have full disclosure, their consent to take part in the interview will be oral. Also, they will not need to provide me with a name to provide for confidentiality and anonymity.
In addition to case studies and interviews, I may use observation. When observing the youth it will be in a public setting and for only short periods of time. I will also vary the youth I am watching. This will protect for their individual privacies and anonymity. If I choose to photograph the youth, I will ask for their consent before any pictures are taken. The last method I will employ is library research. I will provide for citations for the websites and books I used to facilitate my findings, this will account for ethical issues. This is how I am going to deal with cultural sensitivity, ethical issues, and protect for confidentiality and anonymity when conducting research in Berlin.
I have constructed the following draft of a schedule for myself.
Week 1
1. Explore Berlin and look for the Bollywood cinema and other places Indian youth congregate. In addition to finding locations, observe and record observations
2. Find out how to gain contact with Sri Ganesha Hindu Temple Committee or attend Hindu temple
3. Track down possible youth to be used for case studying and set up schedule
4. Conduct at least 5 interviews/surveys
5. At the end of the week go through the data collected looking for trends. Also, analyze problems with methods if any, and how to solve these problems.
Week 2
1. Follow case study
2. If no case study or need more information, observe youth at 2-3 different locations
3. If no case study or need more information, conduct at least 10 interviews/surveys
4. Analyze data and start drafting research paper
Week 3
1. Follow case study
2. If no case study or need more information, observe youth
3. If no case study or need more information, conduct between 5-10 interviews, at a different location than previously used for research
4. Finish analyzing data and work on paper. Get together with group to work on composition, if have not started before.
Week 4
1. If need more research to answer question, conduct more research
2. Finalize paper
3. Finalize / Perform composition
I have constructed the following list of places to explore to find Indian youth: Sri Ganesha Hindu Temple Committee, Hindu Temples, Bollywood cinemas, Indian Restaurants (India Haus - Feurigstrasse 38, or Ashoka - Grolmanstrasse 51), popular German hangouts (Bergstubl - Veteranenstrasse 25, or Central -Rosenthaler Strasse 39).

E) Rodenbough – The Language of Rock
My research question is centered on the cultural phenomenon that some German rock musicians choose to sing in German, while others choose to sing in English. This issue was brought to my attention during my interview with Geoffrey Cox, a UW graduate student in Germanic Studies. My question is: how do musicians make this choice, and what does that choice illustrate about German youth culture and rock music? My hypothesis is ultimately that most musicians choose to sing in English. I further hypothesize that the ultimate reason for doing so is not simply to reach a wider audience, but because rock music is fundamentally rooted in the English language.
First I need a way to go about finding answers to my question. I plan on spending many nights at Wild at Heart in Berlin, a club that looks like it puts on good underground rock shows. This venue hosts German Rock bands, as well as bands from the rest of Europe and the US. I will need to make sure to be there on the nights that German bands are performing. It won’t hurt to interview bands from places outside of Germany, as this might add another dimension to my project, but German rock is definitely the focus.
I believe that underground musicians, universally, want to talk with fans. Therefore, when the musicians are mingling with the fans either before or after a show, I can praise them on their music and ask them why they sing in English or German. This might take a bit of prodding, but I think I’ll be able to get a useful answer in most cases. That will basically be my research, and how I will answer my question.
An alternative way of seeking answers to my question is to turn to Berlin radio stations. This will surely change the focus from underground music to more mainstream music, which although might paint a more accurate picture of German mainstream culture, will be less interesting. This will be reserved as a back-up plan if the club plan doesn’t work. I can either listen to the radio and draw conclusions from that, or I can contact radio DJ’s (either by email or in person) and ask them what they think about the language issue.
Once I have a number of answers, I can start thinking about what these answers mean. For example, if everyone sings in English and says that they do so because that’s how rock music is supposed to sound, that would be evidence supporting the hypothesis that rock music is a genuinely American cultural artifact. If the musicians say that they choose to sing in English to reach a larger audience, that would be evidence supporting a different conclusion. I would thus be led to the conclusion that rock music doesn’t necessarily have a fundamental language, and that German musicians don’t necessarily identify themselves by the language in which they sing. If the musicians say that they sing in German because they’re German, this would be evidence toward the emergence of more prominent sense of German nationalism. Clearly, there are many possible outcomes to this research project, depending on the various answers. It is my personal prediction that I will find rock to be a genuinely American cultural artifact, trumping any sense of German nationalism.
This hypothesis relates to the larger group project quite well. If shown to be correct, it will illustrate that Americans and Germans are in the same, in the sense that they like their rock music in English. It will also illustrate the stunted sense of German nationalism that has haunted Germany in recent years.
I don’t think I’ll have to be too careful about cultural sensitivity. Apparently everyone speaks English anyway, so going up and talking to people in clubs won’t be a problem. I’m asking pretty non-invasive questions, anyway.
My research schedule is centered on the bands that will be playing at Wild at Heart. The venue schedule is posted online, although dates are sure to change, and more dates are sure to be added, as August and September approach. Therefore I shouldn’t get too caught up in a detailed schedule yet. I can also explore other venues as well, although this one looks really fun.
This topic is personally relevant to me because I play the bass in an amateur, original rock band. So I have a vested interest in rock music.

F) Schwartzstein - How are underprivileged youth in the vibrantly artistic city of Berlin being given their opportunity to become educated in the arts?
Many middle to upper-class families in this country find it important to introduce their children to the arts at some point in their early childhood. A large portion of those children even continue to play an instrument well into their early teens, when they suddenly become defiant enough that their parent’s cannot force them to practice anymore. The teenagers that continue to practice their art are encouraged by the stories of their parents, who wish that they only continued their art of dancing or playing the piano throughout their high school and college years. Adults who were exposed to the arts seem to value their early arts education; and yet, here in America, the funding for arts education is slipping out of the grasp of many public schools, especially those in already impoverished areas. It seems unfair that only the wealthy are capable of enriching their lives, and the lives of others, with participation in the arts, and many institutions have sprung up over the last few decades to attend to this need. These institutions have seen a measure of success in helping children get in touch with a more artistic side of themselves, not only as a fun, free, activity, but also as a way of recovering from a traumatic home life. Having taught children in the arts, and even worked with such underprivileged youth, I was interested to discover and experience this aspect of the life of a young Berliner.
I was uncertain if there would be a parallel problem in the extremely artistic community of Berlin, especially because of the differences in German schooling methods from those that I grew up with, but I was quickly able to find the website of an institution called Fusion Street in Berlin. Situated just outside of Kreuzberg, Fusion Street serves just the purpose and population that I was searching for. Established in Berlin in 1996, the FUSION project began with incorporating young people of German, Turkish and Arabic origin, from Kreuzberg, Neukölln and Marzahn, into the Karneval der Kulturen, or the Carnival of Cultures. A few years later it went on to incorporate youth of Berlin into the well known LOVE PARADE. Around this time the group also branched into the “Manege” children and youth center. The goal of this youth center in particular is to make children aware of and responsible for their own activities, through the arts. In response to this wonderful find, I determined that my project would be centered around the youth arts project in Berlin, though a case study of Manege (as well as the founder, Fusion Street) and hopefully even through a few of the participant’s points of views, if they are within reach during our time in Berlin.
Through a series of interviews with the project directors of Manege, and a general survey for the participants of background and feelings towards the program, I aspire to develop a sense of how necessary and effective this group is towards the welfare of Berlin. I would like to do this through a case study of one of the directors of the programs there, as well as through the point of view of one of the young adults who regularly enjoys the benefits of Manege. In this way I will be contrasting the purpose of the program with the perceived outcome by the participants. Case studies would most effectively achieve this because I would get the chance to get to know someone who participates in artistic youth culture in Berlin, and even become close enough that I could ask slightly more personal questions, for example about family life. This leads me to the point that, as in any case study, I must be careful not to offend the people that I am interviewing, and keep in mind that my background and theirs will be quite different in some ways, though I may find interesting connections to American youth in places where I least expect them. I hope to find that artistic youth centers have brought together the young people of Berlin from different religious, cultural, and monetary backgrounds, reinforcing their confidence and self-awareness. This will, ideally, answer my question of how underprivileged youth in the vibrantly artistic city of Berlin are being given their opportunity to become educated in the arts with a resounding feeling of efficacy and value for youth arts education.
Potential interview questions:
1. How did you become involved in the Fusion Project?
2. How long have you been working with Fusion/Menege?
3. Would you encourage your own children to come here and participate?
4. What kinds of people can you meet when you come here (ages, ethnicities, temperaments)?
5. What kinds of opportunities do you find here?
6. What projects are coming up next?
7. How does participation affect the youth involved?
8. Are there many centers like this in Berlin? Who do they cater to?
9. Do children need to be educated in the arts/cultural community?
10. How have you benefited from working here?

G) Yanagida – Berlin Fashion
As Berlin start to regain its status of the leading fashion center in Europe, the street fashion scene encompasses various style that incorporates the trend and the unique identity of Berliners. Youth plays a role in creating the Berlin fashion by actively bringing in the global trends but the style should still retain Berlin style in some extent. This energy and creation of Berlin style can be sent to the global community as the fashion leading city. The goal of this research is to explore the style of Berlin fashion of youth and how that style is created within the within the local community and how that is related to the global community.
Research Question
How does the global fashion trends of summer 2008 are treated and incorporated in the Berlin youth fashion scene? In order to articulate the influences in fashion, I need to take a close look at what other fashion are offered in the world, and what are the biggest influences. Two possible outside influences on the Berlin fashion are high-end fashion from the Runway and the American fashion from Hollywood celebrities. Also the different subgroups in the community often create unique style and manifest their own culture in fashion. I want to take a look at the intra-city influences among different groups
The research is primary done through the observation of the city. I will first take a look at the general trends of the city and work my way down to the fashion of different subgroups. The data collection will be done through the photograph. I am taking a photograph of general population and also asking for an individual snapshot with their approval. Also I will conduct a quick interview at the boutiques in Berlin, mainly asking for what are the trends for this summer, what are some trendy clothes they offer, and who are the target population for their style. I figured that they are more approachable, but I am also also hoping to have an interview to the individuals as well.
In order to efficiently use time at the site, I must conduct a background research of summer trend at another influential fashion centers prior to the arrival at Berlin. I select three different cities, Hollywood (Los Angeles), Tokyo and Paris, to compare the street style in Berlin. First I will take a look at the runway collection of spring / summer 2008 of different cities, which gives me the idea of what high end fashion are offering for this summer, and how they might have influenced the commercial fashion. Then I will take a look at the teen fashion magazines of United Sates and Japan to see what they are offering to the readers. Finally the similar observational study will be conducted at Japan (Shibuya and Harajuku) and Paris (Marais, Les Halles) before arrival at Berlin.
There are some limitations of the observational studies, such as biased choice of. Also since the location affects the population present at the site, it is critical to choose a location that local Berlin youth are present and not the tourists. Also because there are infinitely many styles that are present, I must recognize that I am choosing a style which may create some bias.

4) Research Methods
Because each sub-project is unique, each sub-project will have different research methods. As such, the different methods are detailed, to various degrees, in part 3 (individual research questions) of this proposal.
As an overview, this project will use a wide variety of research methods. Some sub-projects include extensive shadowing of German youth. Others include giving people surveys, asking casual questions, general observation, and more.

5) Cultural Sensitivity
Again, each sub-project involves different levels of invasiveness. Of course all group members need to be aware of cultural sensitivity, but group members who are asking extremely personal questions need to be particularly aware of this issue.
Some ideas include assuring confidentiality during any interviews, using only first names for the final project, and only using identifiable personal information when permission is given to do so.

6) Daily Research Schedule for Berlin
This will also vary for each sub-project, as detailed earlier. We must all adhere to a general schedule, however, so that we all finish at the same time. In general, our schedule looks like this:

Week 1:
- Developed an idea of our projects as they fit into our situation and surroundings
- Learn to navigate Berlin
- Make contacts with the people we will be interviewing

Week 2:
- Get everyone’s plans and needs arranged (who is needed to travel, perform interviews, film, record, set up, etc.)
- Set up a schedule and begin interviews and research
- Assess progress at end of week, change direction if needed.

Week 3:
- Perform interviews and research
- Finish interviews and research by the end of the week
- Begin discussion of composition, conclusions, and group paper

Week 4:
- Composition and tying up lose ends of projects
- Working together on group paper and conclusions

7) References

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"Narcotics Anonymous Berlin." 11 June 2008 .

"Outreachwork in Europe: Social Integration." Junge. 11 June 2008
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Permien, Dr. Hanna. “Street Careers in Germany Between Families, Youth Welfare Services, and Prison.” In Referat auf der Internationalen Konferenz: „Problems of Vagrant Children“ in Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China vom 21.-25. 10. 2003.

Poiger, Uta G. Jazz, Rock, and Rebels: Cold War Politics and American Culture in a Divided Germany. University of California Press, 2000.

Rimmer, David. Time Out Berlin. 7th ed. Berkeley, California: Time Out Group Ltd, 2006.

"The Inder." The Inder. 12 June 2008 .

"Two Temples for Berlin's Hindus." The Times of India. 25 Feb. 2008. 02 June 2008 .

Weinhauer, Klaus. “Drug Consumption in London and Western Berlin During the 1960s and 1970s: Local and Transnational Perspectives”. In The Social History of Alcohol and Drugs 20 (Spring 2006): 187-224. 1 June 2008


Wild at Heart, Berlin. .

"Young Germany: YG India Special: Germany Grooves to Bollywood’s Beat." Young Germany. 2008. Young Germany Mobile. 02 June 2008 .