This course examines from sociological, philosophical and historical perspectives the phenomenon of boredom in the Berlin Republic of the early twenty-first century. Focusing on contemporary German literature by writers Julia Schoch, Wilhelm Genazino, Terezia Mora and Iris Hanika, and on recent films of the Berlin School, the following themes recur across the seminars: boredom as a symptom of global capitalism and consumerism; connected to this, the boredom of daily life in unified Germany; boredom as an existential crisis of meaning; boredom as the experience of time as empty and as the monotony of space; boredom and gender; boredom and work / unemployment; boredom and leisure; boredom as resistance and creativity. The main objective is to examine the ways in which the contemporary discourse of boredom in cultural texts of the Berlin Republic forms a subversive body of writing that challenges and critiques the living and working conditions of late modernity. You will also identify the overarching features of the language and aesthetics of boredom as the course progresses.