Document Type

Article

Department

Environmental Analysis (Pomona)

Publication Date

Spring 2016

Keywords

Rethinking : Learning from Nature, Bertold Brecht, Dietrich Brandis, Abbot Kinney, Los Angeles

Abstract

Los Angeles might be more than 5700 miles from Berlin as a crow (or Luftansa) flies, but German culture—and most notably its varied perceptions of nature—have strongly influenced how those living in the Southland experience their environs.

Oft in the negative, to judge from the enduring legacy of Bertold Brecht’s sharp commentary about the City of Angeles in which he sheltered during the ravages of World War II. “They have nature here,” he jotted down in his diary in August 1941, and as “everything is so artificial, they even have an exaggerated feeling for nature, which becomes alienated.”

Comments

This is one of four essays written by Claremont Colleges faculty reflecting on the Spring 2016 Pomona College exhibit: "Umdenken/Rethinking--Learning from Nature."

Rights Information

© 2016 Char Miller

Terms of Use & License Information

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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