Trip to Germany
September 9-17, 2005
How unusual for me to travel
overseas twice in two years! Like most people, I take little pleasure in
the travel process -- the complicated arrangements, the interminable flights,
the debilitating jet-lag. However, this was another case where my trip
was sponsored by the hosts, who graciously allowed me some extra time to play
tourist in one of the world's great cities. An offer I couldn't refuse!
The following pages contain a photo album of my trip, along with some commentary and observations. Most frustrating about this kind of working visit is that there's never enough time to really get to know a place. On the other hand, I believe that it's a very productive way to see and do some interesting things, and it does provide enough of a "taste" to help judge whether a return visit should be planned some day. This was my fourth visit to Germany, but my first in over 15 years, and my first to the Eastern part of the country. It will become obvious later in the photos, but here I'll just say that Berlin is great, and I do hope to return some day. Also, consistent with my previous experiences in Germany, the people are exceptionally warm, friendly, helpful and tolerant of those like myself who do not speak the language.
So, the story is that I was invited to teach a workshop on building and evaluating theories in the social sciences. I was brought over by a very nice, super-bright and motivated group of graduate students and faculty from Philipps-Universität Marburg and from Universität Bielefeld. I had to be impressed with them even before I came because, while they're all studying exciting topics related to group conflict and prejudice, their interest in this particular facet of my work suggested that they also recognize the importance of using good techniques of theory-building and theory-analysis. This is not a popular topic in the social sciences, despite its fundamental importance.
I flew into and out of Berlin, but the meeting was held in Dahme, a tiny old town a 90-minute train ride from Berlin. It is a town where the strange ripple effects of the 1989 German East-West unification are clearly evident.