Lektorat Englisch

For SoSem. 2026: THIS IS THE COURSE FOR PG2 (Thurs.) REMINDER: You must register for the course on viaCampus first. Students that have a place on viaCampus will be given  the Moodle enrolment password in the first lesson. We will study the language of Human Rights case law and learn to read judgement summaries, extracts from Conventions  and other legal sources. This course will allow students to develop practical and academic English language skills in the context of European and international human rights law. It will be of particular interest to law students (e.g. Deutsches Rechtsstudium) and students on the BA Recht und Politik  Unlike normal B2.2 courses, it does not directly prepare you for the UNIcert II exam. Therefore, students wanting to take the UNIcert II exam are advised to take a second B2.2 course for more direct examination preparation.  The course will, if passed, count as a Zusatzqualifikation for German law students.

From stone tools to space rockets and supercomputers, technology has changed how humans live throughout history. We often describe these changes positively as "progress" and "improvement", but do new inventions and industries always make the world better? This course explores technology from a critical perspective, considering how its evolution has been bound up with social and political controversies. Technological innovations have brought many practical benefits and made (some) people very rich, but do they make us happier, wiser or more free? Given technology's impact on health, community and the environment, is it time to put the breaks on and look for simpler ways of living? We will consider these questions while examining text, audio and video, and you will make arguments and debate with each other about the positive and negative aspects of technological "progress".