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The Institute of European Studies (IES) is home to the leading
concentration of researchers and teachers on Europe in the Western
United States. Along with Harvard and Columbia, it is among the
top three such organizations in the entire country. While IES
was only recently created in the latter part of Academic Year
1999, it has had strong institutional roots. The Institute represents
the unification of staff, resources, and programs of UC Berkeley's
Center for German and European Studies (CGES) which serves all
nine UC campuses and UC Berkeley's Center for Western European
Studies (CWES) which housed the France-Berkeley Fund, French Cultural
Studies Program, Finnish Studies Program, Italian Studies Program,
Portuguese Studies Program, and Spanish Studies Program.
The existing
breadth and depth of Western European studies on
the Berkeley campus are considerable. For example, enrollment
data for the Academic Year 1998-99 show that over 1,000 non-language
classes were found to have significant West European content.
These courses were offered in 38 departments and 7 professional
schools. Well over 246 Berkeley faculty (this number excludes
language faculty) have substantial Western European expertise
and teach courses with significant Western European content. During
the same academic year, there were over 683 courses taught in
almost every conceivable Western European language, including
the less commonly taught languages, such as Celtic and Finnish.
Moreover, IES, in conjunction with
International and Area Studies (IAS), has formal institutional
ties with more than 34 Western European universities and research
institutes in 10 countries. The Berkeley library facilities also have
a significant European collection, and the former Centers played an
active role in the acquisition of parts of this internationally
recognized research library.
The missions of the two centers are now integrated and institutionalized
under the umbrella of a larger Institute. IES is home to:
- Six national and regional area programs
- Collaborative Research Convenor Groups (see below)
- An assortment of ad hoc activities, including the biennial
Peder Sather Conference, the Visiting Professorship in European
Union Policies, Laws & Institutions, formal sponsorship for visiting
scholars, faculty-initiated colloquia, and the nationally respected
and highly acclaimed Journal of German Politics and Society.
The Institute's charge is threefold:
- Most importantly, to stimulate, initiate, facilitate, and finance
research and education in European studies at Berkeley and throughout
the state
- To disseminate research findings to the broader community of
scholars, citizens, and younger students
- To provide a community for students and faculty whose work
shares a European focus. Each component of this mission enhances
and strengthens the others.
The newly-configured Institute has already become the focal point
for students and faculty at Berkeley interested in European Studies,
the European Union, and the individual countries and regions
that
make up Western Europe. Indeed, through past extensive research
activities and a history of rigorous training of a generation
of graduate students, the combined programs of IES have effectively
promoted a long-term commitment to European Studies at Berkeley,
throughout the state, and across the nation.
IES is committed
to the development of a community that embraces
learners inside and outside the academy. IES seeks to preserve
and create opportunities for meaningful public outreach and service
by inviting the surrounding community to participate in events
on our campus. Furthermore, the Institute strives to provide
a
variety of enrichment opportunities for Berkeley students-undergraduate,
graduate and professional-through funding of student research,
lectures, colloquia, conferences, and workshops. |
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