Bryan Hanner at UW

            Nations were created as a necessity to survive as a sovereign state, often prioritizing the elites who wanted to protect their property over the lower classes. A nation of any governmental type is helped by a united body of citizens to support its efforts, so historically successful nations have had strong national identities. Looking at the development of United Kingdom since the 19 th century and the formation of a national conscious from the American colonies, nations grow up along with their identities with each contributing to the other. For instance, the winning of the world wars created a strong sense of patriotism, and the patriotism helped to fuel the Western effort in the Cold War. This initial foundation was in part due to the “national print-languages” as the “Imagined Communities” reading argues, but it also came from other factors such as the development of technology in general. As people began to have access to faster transportation and communication, th

           With the important help and preparation of our instructors as well as Berlin’s diversity, this study abroad program has been a rich, perspective-changing experience. Because of our class activities and community partners, even in the first week we have started engaging conversations with people of many backgrounds from the forward-thinking German professors seeking change to the African men coming to Berlin to get an education and live. The start is especially important with our short program, and we are making the most of our time. The academic conversations about memorialization and activism that started with Kristina’s lecture and continued with our talk with Sharon made me think deeper about my role in fighting racism. The context of these conversations was familiar since Humboldt feels like UW in many ways. In contrast, the discussions with primary-school students and refugees are much different than the places I normally learn and reflect. These opportunities al