61传媒sophomore Nichola (far left) shares how spring break in Germany revived her love for research and writing
By Nichola Monroe ’27
Research opportunities at 61传媒are not limited to the sciences, and building friendships is not restricted to outside the classroom. This spring semester, me and seven other students took part in a seminar-style class on the Bauhaus, a 1920s German architecture and design school.
The kicker: my professor, Associate Professor of German Kevin Vennemann, booked our tickets for a spring break expedition to Germany to visit architectural sites and conduct archival research at the three Bauhaus locations in Weimar, Dessau, and Berlin.
鈥淚 was especially drawn to this class because I knew it would be small, and I typically take one of Vennemann鈥檚 classes each semester,鈥� says Clara Louden 鈥�25, a double major in anthropology and German. 鈥淭he Bauhaus was a really interesting way to engage with the concept of liberal arts. I had no idea that there was such a prominent art school so focused on discovery and collaboration back in the 20s. It definitely makes me think differently about the value of learning.鈥�
Studying Bauhaus archives
鈥淚 will take every single class that Professor Vennemann offers for German. I鈥檓 not kidding,鈥� adds Willa Baker 鈥�27, a chemistry major and German minor. 鈥淗e makes his material very accessible and he鈥檚 always willing to help his students. You can go to him for any question you have and he will take his time to give incredibly distinct and helpful feedback.鈥�
Thanks to the intimate nature of the class and Vennemann鈥檚 dedication to his students, my peers and I have had the freedom to lead discussions and decide where we want to take the class on a given day.
鈥淎 lot of my lesson planning is improvised during our class meetings, which is not what I usually do,鈥� Vennemann explains. 鈥淚nevitably, I learn a lot about the things that students find interesting. There is always something new.鈥�
While all of the students in the Bauhaus class are interested in German, the group dynamic is stronger thanks to a wide range of backgrounds. 鈥淏ecause our class has students from so many different majors, we bring in such a variety of backgrounds and knowledge, which helps us create a well-rounded curriculum on our own,鈥� says Willa. 鈥淏ut if Vennemann wants us to reach a certain point or place in the discussion, he will make sure that we do. There is always support for our learning.鈥澨�听
Why Bauhaus?听听
The Bauhaus was a design school that operated in Germany from 1919 to 1933 until its forced closure due to political circumstances. The school aimed to reunify art and craft through applied learning in a collection of in-house workshops, including carpentry, weaving, and architecture. Bauhaus students and teachers pushed the bounds of modernity, such that the name has become ubiquitous with modern home design.听
鈥淭oday, everything is Bauhaus,鈥� Vennemann says. 鈥淧art of the intent of the course was not just learning the history of the Bauhaus, but also to examine how it came to be the Bauhaus that we engage with today.鈥�
Besides the Bauhaus鈥檚 impact on modern home design, it is a particularly accessible research topic thanks to its protected status in Germany.
鈥淭he Bauhaus lends itself to a trip like this because we can visit specific architectural sites in three different destinations,鈥� Vennemann explains. 鈥淚t also has a research component because the Bauhaus has archives we can visit to engage with its legacy in a hands-on manner.鈥�
Forging Bonds in Germany听
On Friday before the start of Scripps鈥� 2025 spring break, our crew of eight boarded a flight in Los Angeles and headed across the Atlantic to Berlin, Germany. Those 11 hours sat between two of my classmates, all of us full of nerves, set the tone for the trip: we were in this adventure together for the long haul.
Cooking in Germany
We took many, many trains crisscrossing East Germany, and bonded over jet lag, grocery store lunches, and all things Bauhaus.
鈥淪eeing the Bauhaus building in person was life changing,鈥� Baker says, 鈥渁nd going to the neighborhood the Bauhaus built in the 1920s was what made me choose my research topic. There is something completely different about seeing a place in person after having studied countless photos.鈥�
鈥淎s an anthropology major, I do best with embodied experiences,鈥� says Louden. 鈥淓specially for my project about children鈥檚 toys, which is so object-focused, getting to play with the toys gives you a sense for the creativity involved and what it means to play.鈥�
By the end of the trip, the consensus was that we are glad to know each other better. 鈥淢y favorite part of the class has been becoming friends鈥攇enuine friends鈥攚ith the people in the class,鈥� Louden says.
It鈥檚 experiences such as these, made possible in tight-knit communities at small colleges like Scripps, that foster the learning so many seek from a liberal arts education.
My favorite memory from the trip was our first night staying in the former student accommodations at the Bauhaus. Each floor had a shared kitchen, so we all piled in and made a simple pasta meal, listening to Lord Huron. We ravenously dug into the meal sitting on the iconic balconies of the Prellerhaus, a five-story building that once was home to Bauhaus students.听
More importantly, this trip re-inspired academic motivation in me. When spring rolls around and summer is near, schoolwork can feel tedious. However, visiting the Bauhaus archives and observing how me and my classmates lit up upon seeing our researched artifacts in person rekindled my joy in research and writing. Undertaking a research project and uncovering new materials is exciting鈥攑roof I saw in Louden鈥檚 face while unwrapping children鈥檚 toys.
The friends I have made and research skills I鈥檝e gained in only half a semester have left their mark, and will surely follow me through the rest of my time at Scripps.听