Director's Welcome
Gerald D. Feldman
Welcome to a new academic year at the Institute
of European Studies at Berkeley. I have just returned from
a year spent as an
Alexander
von Humboldt Foundation Prize Fellow at the
Social
Science Research Center Berlin (Wissenschaftszentrum
Berlin für Sozialforschung). My major project there was researching
and writing a history of the Austrian banks in the National Socialist
period, but being in Berlin during the last academic year was also
very exciting because it provided a first-hand opportunity to observe
the German elections and the tensions that erupted over the Iraq
war and other issues. It reminded me of how important a mission
we have in promoting a better understanding of Europe and its complicated
relationship to the United States. While I was away,
Professor
Barry Eichengreen served as Acting Director, and I would like to
express my gratitude to him for taking on the job and for doing
it so well.
Introducing IES
For those new to the Berkeley campus, IES is home to the leading
concentration of researchers and teachers on Europe in the Western
United States. And we are proud to say that along with Harvard
and Columbia, it is among the top three such organizations in the
entire country. While IES is still a young organization (created
in 2000), it has strong institutional roots. It represents 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 (CWES), the
Center for British
Studies, the
France-Berkeley
Fund,
French Cultural Studies,
Italian
Studies,
Finnish Studies,
Spanish Studies, and the
Portuguese
Studies Program.
By bringing together these Centers and Programs in the Institute
of European Studies, we are witnessing the creation of a new and
exciting synergy that provides visibility and focus for research,
education, training, and information on Europe at Berkeley -- and
indeed, throughout the state of California, the nation, and the
world. Together our programs promise a rich and diverse menu of
lectures, workshops and conferences for the coming academic year.
There will also be a variety
of cooperative
ventures with other campus centers and universities, reflecting
Berkeley's growing linkages with European Universities and
the interdependence of Europe with the rest of the world.
In this, our first newsletter of the academic year, you will find
that IES offers a diverse and rich menu of lectures, conferences,
and workshops on topics ranging from the culture, literature, and
history of European nations to the latest developments in the process
of European integration. IES sponsors a student group of Europeanists
and has a thriving graduate student community. There is something
for everyone in the campus community who is interested in Europe,
and we hope to meet you at our events. We are holding our annual
Fall
Festival on October 30; please come to greet old friends and
meet our
visiting scholars and
new members of our campus "Europeanist" community. The
France-Berkeley Fund is commemorating its
10th
Anniversary on September 12. And the Center for British studies will be holding
its
inaugural reception on September 15th.
In addition to these
events
and several
individual lectures,
we will hold and co-sponsor a lecture series
entitled "
Beyond the Gulf", an
examination of current US-European relations. We would also like
to welcome
Zachary Shore, a long-term visiting scholar
who is helping to organize this series.
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.
Gerald D. Feldman, Director
