This has been one hell of a year.
Early last fall, I was preparing to pursue a promotion to Full Professor, which the Dean of Faculty recommended last month and the Board of Trustees approved this past Friday. Throughout the fall and early this spring, I was working to submit the first draft of my manuscript, “Make Rappers Rap Again: Interrogating the Mumble Rap ‘Crisis’” (under contract with Oxford University Press), by late February, which I did. I received the final reader report last month, and I’ve been revising ever since to meet my July 1 deadline. Throughout the fall, I was supporting my son AJ through his first semester at Morgan State University and helping my daughter Chase with college applications. Shortly after she chose Hampton University, we started gearing up for her 18th birthday and high school graduation. I was elected President of the National Women’s Studies Association in October, and have been busy all year working with the (also new) Interim Executive Director and Governing Council to stabilize the Association and “galvanize a recommitment to the multivocal and multidirectional intellectual traditions central to the field in thoughtful, transparent, and trustworthy ways.” My husband changed careers. My department conducted a search for a new colleague, which I chaired. My colleague Dr. Rushaan Kumar was pursuing tenure, which he (obviously!) earned. I taught a full liberal arts load (two courses in the fall and three in the spring) and advised senior capstone projects. The world has been (and remains!) on fire, and that’s putting it mildly. I’ve been collaboratively supporting students protesting Israel’s “colonial-supported genocidal war on Palestinians.” I advised the Black Student Union. My field and our kin disciplines, such as Black Studies, have been under attack. The U.S. is gearing up for an election. The list, as always, goes on.
This has been one hell of a year, and Berlin was different.
This year was the 10th anniversary of this course, “Hidden Spaces, Hidden Narratives: Intersectionality Studies in Berlin.” Because I taught it one fall (I usually only teach it in summer), and I didn’t teach it for two years because of COVID-19, it’s also the 10th time. That is so special, and I was so excited. One way I decided to honor the anniversary and one of the legendary Black radical intellectuals who inspired the course, Audre Lorde, was to (finally!) give my own two-day walking tour, In Audre’s Footsteps. See the index below to check out the student photojournals covering part one and part two. Later, I learned the tour would be even more special because the new Audre-Lorde-Straße signs had (finally!) installed.
As always, I was excited to visit the city I’ve come to consider a second home and to see friends I’m typically only able to see while I’m here. The latter has become even more important to me since Ika Hügel-Marshall passed away a couple years ago. I always look forward to eating at my favorite spots like Angry Chicken, Ayan, and Darfur. I love being able to leave my flat to go to Villa di Wow and get pizza then getting back in 10 quick minutes. I failed to get nackensteak, pretzel hot dogs, and pistazie; I only got my favorite grapefruit limette from COMEBUY once; and I didn’t manage to get lychee from Mr. Box. But I did get plenty of multivitamin and rubin vitamin. Since I’ve mostly lived in the same flat since 2018, I love getting coffee and baked goods (especially pecan, walnut, and apple bags) from the corner store where they always remember me. I even love going to the laundromat, because it’s right around the corner and has a balcony on the second floor where I listen to music or stream shows, smoke, and do my nails (at least my toes!) while washing clothes. I love going to flea markets and museums not required for the course, especially after doing that a lot with Chase when she was here last year and with both my kids when they were here the summer before. I love not having to drive—anywhere, ever.
I was happy to have class sessions for the first time in the kino at Regenbogenfabrik e.V., which was founded in 1981, the same year I was born. The kino is so comfortable and spacious and right across the street from my flat. I still can’t believe I never thought to check out their space until last year. Alas, sometimes things work out in their own, mysterious ways. I was happy to see Judy, my former student (’20), member of the 2017 #FemGeniusesinBerlin, and my second responsible adult (SRA) for the course in 2022 and 2023. Even though she wasn’t my SRA this year, she’s been in Germany on a Fulbright since last fall. I was happy to see and spend a lot of time with Jazlyn, my former student (’17), Judy’s First-Year Experience mentor (which they reminded me about), member of the 2015 #FemGeniusesinBerlin, co-editor of In Audre’s Footsteps, and my SRA this year.
Berlin was different.
Neither of my kids came, and one or both has been since I was able to resume teaching the course after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in 2022. My husband Tony was with me the first time I visited in November 2013 and again when I taught the course in November 2017. He has got to do summer in Berlin at some point. Two of my nieces, BreOnna and Nyla, also joined us for a while in 2022. In other words, I haven’t been here “alone” in five years. Because of that and because Tony and I will be empty nesters in under two months, I miss my family even more than I usually do. At the same time, them not being there allowed me to spend a lot of time revising my manuscript, and it allowed us to save money (haha!).
On top of that, my friend Mona hasn’t lived in Berlin for some years. She came to visit when I was here to launch In Audre’s Footsteps in November 2021. She also visited when I was here in 2022, but things were hectic, and we didn’t get to spend as much time as we’d hoped. We didn’t get to see each other at all last year, because our schedules weren’t aligned. So, I jumped at the chance to go to Hamburg for the first time to visit her. Even though it was way too short, we had a great weekend, and that’s putting it mildly. On top of that, I recently learned Anthony Baggette passed away this past November at the tender age of 71. Anthony was the founder of Kreuzberg Basketball Beats (ISS Berlin e.V.), “a community centered basketball project for kids and youth in the heart of Berlin Kreuzberg.” He’s also the reason I met my friend Céline when I did. When I reached out to him in preparation for my first visit in 2013, he responded, “I got someone you should definitely meet. I’ll hang with your husband while you hang with her. She good people.” Kismet. On top of that, I recently learned Biplab Basu passed away this past March at the tender age of 73. Biplab was a historian, author, Civil Rights activist, and co-founder of ReachOut e.V., a counseling center for victims of right-wing, racist, and anti-Semitic violence and threats, as well as victims of racial profiling and racist police violence. Biplab met with me and my students several times to speak about his groundbreaking work. He even invited me to give a presentation to the Kampagne für Opfer rassistischer Polizeigewalt (Campaign for Victims of Racist Police Violence) during summer 2016. Rest in power, Anthony and Biplab. Thank you for the tremendous, unforgettable gifts you’ve given to me and so many others.
My class was also smaller than usual. I had 8 students this year compared to 19 last year and 13 in 2022. That’s on me, because I didn’t advertise as heavily as usual due to the year being so busy and sometimes very challenging. I probably also got a li’l arrogant, if I’m keepin’ it all the way real. Haha. The joke’s on me this time. To be honest, though, I didn’t mind having a small group, because they were enthusiastic, engaged, curious, eager to learn, and fun—my favorite kind of students for any course let alone one abroad. They were a joy, and I will not complain. Plus? Rumor has it they co-envisioned and created the best damn graffiti project since we started doing that with Berlin Massive e.V. in 2015. Let us know what you think in the comments, if you feel so inclined.
I’d like to think I’ll be back next year, because my annual trip to Berlin has become such a huge part of who I am and what I do. But the truth is, I’m not sure. By the time proposals for summer courses are due around October, I won’t have much experience being an empty nester, but I’ll have some. I’m not sure what it’ll be like to live in a house where I’m not routinely seeing at least one of my babies and hearing their voices. I’m not sure I’ll want to spend three (much more precious!) weeks without them next year. Then again, maybe one or both will join me. Maybe they won’t, preferring to stay home or to have a study abroad experience all their own. Who knows? All I know for sure is…
This has been one hell of a year, and Berlin was different.
Dr. Heidi R. Lewis 