... and attending the International Historical meetings
in Sydney, Australia in July.
This year we are looking forward to a diverse and exciting array of lectures,
conferences, and workshops on topics ranging from the culture, literature, art
and history of European nations to the latest developments in the process of
European economic and political integration to opportunities and threats facing
the European Union. This year IES will again sponsor several student groups of
Europeanists and support a thriving graduate student community. There is something
for everyone in the community who is interested in Europe, and we hope to meet
and get to know you at one of the many events we will sponsor throughout the
year.
On September 27, we will hold our first informal Tea Time
of the semester, which is an opportunity for friends and
colleagues to gather for warm conversation and a good cup
of tea. We are also holding our annual Fall Festival on
October 27 – please come to greet old friends and
to meet our visiting scholars and new members of our campus "Europeanist" community.
See for yourself why we are fondly referred to in the campus
community as Europe Central. Below I highlight
some of the events and programs you can look forward to
in the coming year. But first, let me briefly introduce
IES.
Introducing IES
For newcomers to the Berkeley, IES is home to one of the leading
concentration of researchers and teachers on Europe and the European Union
in the United States. We represent the unification of staff, resources,
and programs of the UC Center for German and European Studies – which
serves all nine UC campuses, UC Berkeley’s National Resource Center
for Western European Studies (NRCWES), the Center for British Studies, the
France-Berkeley Fund, French Studies, Italian Studies, Finnish Studies, Spanish
Studies, and Portuguese Studies. By bringing together these Centers and Programs
in the Institute of European Studies, we are witnessing the creation of an
exciting synergy that promotes a long-term commitment to European Studies
at Berkeley, and provides visibility and focus for research, education, training,
and information on Europe at Cal – indeed, throughout the state of
California, the nation, and the world.
Together our programs promise a rich and diverse menu
of public lectures, colloquia and conferences each academic
year. IES also continues to build bridges to other top
academic and research institutions in the U.S. and Europe,
to European governments, and to the Commission of the
European Communities. The Institute has ongoing relationships
with the Austrian Marshall Fund, German Academic Exchange
Service (DAAD), the American Institute of Contemporary
German Studies in Washington, D.C. (AICGS), the French
National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), the
Institute of International Affairs at the University
of Rome, the Université Libre
de Bruxelles, Viadrina University in Frankfurt/Oder,
and many other prominent European institutions. This
year we are initiating what promises to be a most fruitful
and stimulating collaboration with the American Council
on Germany (ACG).
As you can see in more detail in our featured articles here, this year’s
program is more exciting and diverse than ever. IES inaugurates several new
lecture series that will undoubtedly enrich the university’s academic
program in European and EU studies. Thanks to the generous support of the
Irish government, the Irish Consulate of San Francisco in association with
the Western Institute of Irish Studies, and the Center for British Studies,
IES will introduce the new Irish Studies International Speakers Series. Together
with the Institute of International Studies, we are also launching a lecture
series entitled Facing
Global Hot Spots: America, Europe, and the Dangers They Confront, which
will bring in experts from both Europe and the U.S. to examine the opportunities
for cooperation and potential for division over such varied hot button issues
as terrorism, energy, biotech breakthroughs, and battles for hearts and minds.
Please don’t miss our first event in this series on September 15, an
address by Sir David King, Chief Science Advisor to the British Government,
on “Climate Change: The International Perspective.”
And, in collaboration with the American Council
on Germany (ACG), IES has organized a Transatlantic Speaker Series entitled Facing
Common Challenges: Germany, Europe, and the United States. Speakers
will focus on the impacts of Europe and especially Germany’s changing
role in international politics, economic integration, and multinational
business strategy. To kick off this series, IES and ACG will host JörgHimmelreich,
a transatlantic fellow at the German Marshall Fund in Washington, D.C.,
who will speak on “Germany after the Election: A New German Foreign
Policy?”
Additionally, we will welcome several scholars to Berkeley who will address
our community on various European themes. In the Fall, Christian Deubner, Chargé de
mission, Centre d’Etudes Prospectives et d’Informations Internationales,
will speak on “France and the EU: Where to go after the NON?,” Jörg
Echternkamp on “Turn of the Tide? WWII and the Writing of Military
History in West Germany 1945-2005;” Jane Ohlmeyer, Trinity College,
Dublin, will lecture on “‘Old British and Irish Histories’:
Where Do We Go From Here?;” Piero Boitani, University of Rome, will
speak on “Dante,
Milton, and the Poetry of Christian Europe,” and many more.
We will also host a smorgasbord of conferences in the coming year. We kicked
off with the second annual Berkeley-Vienna Conference, The
US and European Economies in Comparative Perspective, on September 12-13,
2005. Later in September, the Center for British Studies will organize the
first Mellon Consortia Conference on British Studies that will focus on debates
about economic modernization. In December, the Spanish Studies Program is
planning the “Don
Quijote in History” colloquium celebrating the 400th anniversary of
the publication of the first part of Don Quixote. In Spring 2006, IES will
stage a two-day international conference on transatlantic relations since
1945 entitled Mars vs.Venus: America, Europe and the
Future of the West.
Our country programs are also planning an exciting and busy year. In addition
to many lectures and conferences, the Portuguese Studies Program will organize
a poetry workshop with Portuguese poet Natalia Correia, and launch a new
summer program in cultural studies in Portugal at the University of Porto and
Universidad Lusofona; the Italian Studies Program will offer a seminar in 20th
Century Literature and Culture entitled “Contemporary Italian Political
Thought,” with Visiting Professor Alessia Ricciardi; and the French
Studies Program will launch a lecture series on geopolitics, which will
explore French and European perspectives on Middle East, India, and Pakistan,
and social issues within the EU. The France-Berkeley Fund will see a departure
of its director, History Professor Tyler Stovall, who will become director
of Berkeley Programs for Study Abroad. Professor Stovall is succeeded by
Professor Susanna
Barrows, also from the History Department.
Having joined our programs under the umbrella of the Institute of European
Studies, we hope that we have established a firm financial base for the
study of Europe at Berkeley – and throughout the University of California – through
the funding guaranteed to the Center for German and European Studies from
the Offices of the President, the Chancellor, and the Graduate Dean’s
Office at Berkeley. These are difficult economic times but we believe that
these monies – along
with the monies raised through our successful application for a renewal
of our Title VI grant and by the various country programs – will make
it possible to carry on a vigorous program. We also hope that the current
grants and monies will pave the way for the raising of funds in the future
when economic conditions may be more propitious. In the meantime, we wish
all the students, faculty and friends of European Studies at Berkeley a
very happy and prosperous new academic year.
