WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Jan. 19, 2010 -- Between Monday, Jan. 25 and Friday, Feb. 26, Williams College will host a number of events commemorating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Though Berlin has grown to encompass a vital urban life in an undivided city, the memories of the Wall remain. The commemoration will encompass a photography exhibit, movie screenings, and a student forum.

On Monday, Jan. 25, the highlighted feature of the commemoration events, the "Icons of a Border" exhibit, will open. At 7 p.m. in the North Academic Building, professors Will Dudley, Helga Druxes, Cheryl Shanks, and Olga Shevchenko will provide commentaries on 20 years of change during the opening reception. "Icons of a Border" will remain on display on the ground floor of the North Academic Building from Jan. 25 to Feb. 26.

"Icons of a Border" is a photography exhibit resulting from the work of a class at the University of Paderborn in Germany whose mission was to compile "visible and invisible remnants of the Wall with cameras and acoustic recording devices." Despite the progress of the city, the students involved in the November 2006 project found forgotten wall remnants, deserted watchtowers, visible borders, and also evidence of mental traces of the wall present in the behavior of Berlin residents. "Icons of a Border" is a touring exhibit sponsored by the Goethe-Institute of Chicago.

On Tuesday, Feb. 9, the film "November Days: Live TV Coverage" will be shown at 7 p.m. in the North Academic Building, room 241. The 1990 film is a 30-minute documentary combining archived footage of the fall of the Berlin Wall with personal reflections. Featuring Tom Brokaw (NBC), Brian Hanrahan (BBC), Phillipe Rochot (Antenne 2), and Vyacheslav Mostovi (NTV), the film incorporates commentary from four well-known media correspondents -- one from each of the major Allied powers of World War II.

On Tuesday, Feb. 16, the film "The Architects" ("Die Architekten") will be shown at 7 p.m. in Paresky Auditorium. "The Architects" presents the story of an architect who accepts a project in East Berlin, using the job as a way to reunite old friends. It provides a commentary on the relationship of the German Democratic Republic's politics -- both socially and architecturally, and the desire for social regeneration.

On Tuesday, Feb. 23, the final event of the commemoration will be a student forum titled "Observations on the Wall bordering Mexico and the U.S." The forum will take place at 2:45 p.m. in Weston 10, and will feature students who have participated in Borderlinks trips to Tucson, Arizona and Nogales, Mexico. Borderlinks is an experiential education program that focuses on issues of immigration, community formation, development, and social justice. Students participating in the program visit U.S. social services, courts, and border patrol, as well as Mexican border factories, community centers, and family homes. The Williams students involved will present a photo and essay exhibit in February.

The commemoration events are sponsored by the Center for Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Cultures. The films are courtesy of the Goethe-Institute in Boston. 

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Event: Laura Corona