Spring 2018  | Feb 19 - Feb 23 | e-Weekly Archive

Wednesday, Feb 21 | 11:00 am
507 E. Green St., Rm. 411
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For this installment, we will discuss some of the issues facing city developers, city leaders, and the residents of European cities.  How are European cities employing strategies for resiliency in the face of climate change? What are the considerations in governance of education and housing to promote social justice?  How is technology being employed to create Smart cities with better transportation networks and energy grids? And how have European cities built networks within the European Union to share best practices and fund urban redevelopment? 

Moderator
Jae-Jae Spoon,
Department of Political Science,
University of Pittsburgh

Panelists
Katrina Kelly,
Center for Energy, 
University of Pittsburgh 

Alistair Cole,
Sciences Po Lyon

The Conversations on Europe Videoconference series is sponsored by European Studies Center and European Union Center of Excellence at the University of Pittsburgh, along with the European Union Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Jean Monnet Center of Excellence at Florida International University.

Friday, Feb 23, 12:00 pm
Foreign Languages Building Rm. 1080 (Lucy Ellis Lounge)
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Speaker: Verena Hoefig, Assistant Professor, Germanic Languages & Literature, University of Illinois

Synopsis: Is there such a thing as a poetics of the welfare state? This talk will focus on the welfare states of Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Finland, and Norway, and the ways in which Nordic welfare policies are picked up and negotiated in popular works of art from the 1950s until today. Building on close analysis of influential works of literature and visual art from Scandinavia, the United Kingdom and the United States, this presentation addresses historical factors and characteristics of the socio-cultural imaginary surrounding the rise and, some argue, subsequent dismantling of the Nordic welfare states.

Aside from offering a fascinating perspective on the Nordic countries and illustrating some of their most pressing social issues, this exploration of literature, film, design, and politics also reveals some of the core differences between Nordic and Anglo-American approaches to individual freedom and equality.

Verena Höefig is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She holds a PhD in Scandinavian Studies from UC Berkeley. Specializing on Northern Europe, Verena's research focuses on the intersection of literature, material culture, and social history in Scandinavia from the Viking Age until today. Her first book "Icelandic Origins - A History of Iceland's First Viking Settler" examines representations of the figure of the first Icelander in the context of (national) identity, nationalism, and memory formation. Besides coursework in Medieval Studies (Old Norse-Icelandic language, mythology, Icelandic sagas and poetry), Verena also teaches classes on modern subjects pertaining to Scandinavia, including Swedish language and literature.

Organized by the European Union Center

Monday, Mar 5 | 5:30 - 7 pm 
Temple Buell Hall
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“The Dream of Authenticity and the Atmosphere of the Built Heritage: Postcards from Barcelona” 

Keynote speaker: Carmen Rodríguez Pedret, PhD, Associate Professor at the Department of Theory and History of Architecture and Communication Techniques - Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Barcelona at Universidad Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona

Lectureship supported by the Lorado Taft on Art Fund, College of Fine and Applied Arts - Department of  Architecture, Illinois International Programs, and the European Union Center

Tuesday, Mar 6 | 8 am - 5:15pm 
Levis Faculty Center, Room 300 
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The contemporary dialogue on authenticity in art and architecture in the context of preservation of historic and aging built environments is fraught with meaning and contentious dialogue. Through this first of its kind symposium, we will advance and promote a transatlantic understanding of the contemporary challenges and opportunities facing the built environment, and identify best practices that advance adaptive reuse and preservation efforts in creating visions of authenticity. Questions? Event contact: AnnaMarie Bliss, PhD Candidate.

Sponsored by the European Union Center, School of Architecture, Illinois International Programs

Tuesday, Mar 6 | 9-11 am
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Questions about the MA in EU Studies Program? Ask them from the convenience of your home computer at the EU Center's Facebook page. Our experienced academic advisors will be standing by. 

Wednesday, Mar 14 | 11:00 am
507 E. Green St., Rm. 411
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Conversations On Europe connects top experts from around the United States and Europe to discuss contemporary issues facing Europe and the Transatlantic relationship. Using both personal and institutional video conference technology, panelists take questions and interact with audiences at the University of Pittsburgh and at remote sites in the US and Europe.

This video conference will discuss the May 1968 general strike and civil unrest in France and its legacy. (Wikimedia image credit: George Garrigues.)

The Conversations on Europe Videoconference series is sponsored by European Studies Center and European Union Center of Excellence at the University of Pittsburgh, along with the European Union Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Jean Monnet Center of Excellence at Florida International University.

Friday, Mar 9 | 6 pm
Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 North State Street, Chicago
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The Consul General of The Republic of Bulgaria in Chicago Dr. Ivan Anchev and the Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago invite you and a guest to Opening Night of the 21st Annual Chicago European Union Film Festival. The event will include a screening of the opening film, Directions (Posoki), at 6 pm, followed by a reception at 8 pm. RSVP here or by calling 312-846-2600. Please RSVP by Friday, March 2. Learn more about the film festival.

Directions (Posoki): Director Stephan Komandarev (Oscar short-listed THE WORLD IS BIG AND SALVATION LURKS AROUND THE CORNER) brings poignancy and a zesty sense of humor to an episodic drama set in the streets of Sofia, and unfolding in a series of taxi rides that reveal stories both black-humorous and tragic.  Disillusion, betrayal and despair play out in a panorama of emotion balanced by the film’s profound humanism. Watch the trailer.

This Chicago film festival runs from March 9-April 5, exclusively featuring films from nations of the European Union. Films will screen throughout the week. See the Siskel Film Center website for details.

Sponsored by European Union Center, Gene Siskel Film Center (Art Institute of Chicago)

Thursday, Feb 22, 4:00 pm
International Studies Building Rm. 101

Speaker: Eren Tasar, Assistant Professor, History, UNC-Chapel Hill

Synopsis: Long associated with its aggressive promotion of atheism, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union adopted a nuanced, flexible, and often contradictory approach toward Islam in the USSR’s largest Muslim region, Central Asia. In his lecture, Eren Tasar will demonstrate how the Soviet state unwittingly set in motion a process of institutionalization during World War II that culminated in a permanent space for Islam in a society ruled by atheists. Central Asia was the sole Muslim region of the former Russian empire to lack a centralized Islamic organization, or muftiate. When the Soviet leader Stalin created such a body for the region as part of his religious reforms during World War II, he acknowledged that the Muslim faith could enjoy some legal protection under Communist rule. From a skeletal and disorganized body run by one family of Islamic scholars out of a modest house in Tashkent’s old city, this muftiate acquired great political importance in the eyes of Soviet policymakers, and equally significant symbolic significance for many Muslims. Islam did not merely “survive” the decades from World War II until the Soviet collapse in 1991, but actively shaped the political and social context of Soviet Central Asia. Muslim figures, institutions, and practices evolved in response to the social and political reality of Communist rule. Through an analysis that spans all aspects of Islam under Soviet rule—from debates about religion inside the Communist Party, to the muftiate’s efforts to acquire control over mosques across Central Asia, changes in Islamic practices and dogma, and overseas propaganda targeting the Islamic World—Prof. Tasar will offer a radical new reading of Islam’s resilience and evolution under atheist rule.

Sponsored by the Russian East European and Eurasian Center, the Center for Global Studies, and the Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.

Friday, Mar 9 | Noon to 1:30 pm
College of Law Auditorium

Amnon Reichman is Associate Professor of Law at the University of Haifa and Principal Investigator at the Minerva Center for the Rule of Law Under Extreme Conditions. His areas of expertise include separation of powers, theories of judicial review, human rights, and comparative constitutional and administrative law. In 2016, Professor Reichman served as President of the Israeli Law and Society Association. He holds an LL.B. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, an LL.M. from the University of California at Berkeley and an S.J.D from the University of Toronto. After graduating from law school, Professor Reichman served as a Law Clerk to the Hon. Justice Aharon Barak at the Supreme Court of Israel. Professor Reichman is currently a Visiting Professor at Berkeley.

Commentary by Professors Francesco Biagi (University of Bologna) and Jason Mazzone (University of Illinois).

Sponsored by the Program in Constitutional Theory, History and Law with generous support from the Israel Studies Project.

Friday, Mar 9 | 9 am-4 pm
Levis Faculty Center Rm. 208 (Music Room) 

The Initiative in Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies and the Future of Trauma and Memory Studies reading group are delighted to present this on-campus graduate symposium in memory studies. The symposium will showcase the diverse and wonderful work within memory studies (broadly conceived) that students are doing here at the University. It will be an opportunity to share ideas and resources as well as connect. Students from diverse disciplines will be presenting their scholarship, receiving on-the-spot feedback provided generious by HGMS faculty.  For more information please contact Brett Kaplan. 

Sponsord by the Initiative in Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies and the Future of Trauma and Memory Studies

If you would like to announce your conversation tables & coffee hours, please send the information to Paul Myers

Mondays | 4-6 pm
Caffe Paradiso, 801 S. Lincoln Ave., Urbana

Kaffeestunde is open to all interested parties who want to practice their German, no matter their German level. This event is sponsored by Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures. If you have any questions, please contact Andrew Schwenk.

Wednesdays, Feb 21, and Mar 7 | 5-6 PM
La Casa Cultural Latina, 1203 W. Nevada St

Bate Papo is conducted by instructors in the Portuguese Language and Brazilian Studies Program at the University of Illinois. Here, students can practice the language, learn about the cultures of Portuguese speaking countries, and make new friends! Visit this Facebook page for additional information. 

Mondays | 4 PM
Espresso Royale, 1117 W Oregon St, Urbana

Interested in learning more about Turkish culture and language? Come to the Turkish table! All levels are welcome! For more information, see the University of Illinois Turkish Circle or email Dr. Ayse Ozcan

If you would like to announce your movie nights, please send the information to Paul Myers

Tuesday, Feb 20 | 6 pm
Foreign Languages Building, Rm. 1080 (Lucy Ellis Lounge)

The Department of French and Italian presents Italian Movie Night. This seriescontinues with Corpo Celeste (Rohrwacher, 2011). Priority seating is given to students registered for Italian classes. Contact Pierpaola Spagnolo for more information. 

Thursday, Feb 22 | 5:45pm
Foreign Languages Building, Rm. 1080 (Lucy Ellis Lounge)

Each viewing in this series will be followed by a thoughtful discussion on the topic of the film. All are welcome to attend. All films will have English subtitles.

The first movie in this series is the documentary, Shimon's Returns (Grunberg, 2014)

For more information, please contact Lizy Mostowski or Diana Sacilowski. 

This event is co-sponsored by the European Union Center along with REEEC, New Directions in East European Jewish Culture (an IPRH cluster), and the Program in Jewish Culture and Society.

DIS Copenhagen is a study abroad program that offers high-impact learning experiences for undergraduate students during the summer, fall, and spring terms. The intellectually challenging curriculum is broad, cutting edge, and enriched by experiential learning components, including faculty-led study tours across Europe.

All undergraduate students are welcome to attend an info session on Thursday, February 22^nd from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. in room 317 of Gregory Hall. If you have to leave early or arrive late because of a class, that’s completely fine.

If you cannot attend the session, contact Mike Nelson, Education Abroad Coordinator at the campus study abroad office, Illinois Abroad and Global Exchange, to learn more about the program.

The LAS international Programs office is offering two faculty-courses in Europe this summer:

• Diversity Abroad Scholarships
  Diversity Network Summer Scholarship
  Application Deadline: May 01, 2018
  The Diversity Abroad Network “Diversity Network” will offer summer scholarships in the amount of $1,000 for full-time undergraduate students.
  
  
• Gilman Scholarship for study abroad upcoming deadline
  Application deadline: Tuesday, March 6
  Interested in study abroad but concerned about the cost? The Gilman Scholarship is available for semester-long, year-long, and summer programs (at least four consecutive weeks in-country). The deadline is Tuesday, March 6 for Summer ‘18, Fall ‘18, and Academic Year 2018-2019 study abroad programs. Eligibility: U.S. citizen undergraduate students receiving Federal Pell Grant funding. National and International Scholarships Program

Search for additional study abroad funding using the IIE Passport Study Abroad Funding database.

During this spring break trip to France, participants will visit classrooms in Lyon, and discover the impact of different cultural and educational systems on teaching in the classroom. Participants also join student teachers from ESPE Academie de Lyon (Claude Bernard University Lyon 1) to discuss teacher education. The program wraps up with a weekend in Paris! French is not required.

Undergraduate students may receive 3 credit hours and graduate students 4 credit hours for their successful participation. The cost of the trip is $2800 and includes airfare, housing, most meals, lectures, airporttransfer, ground transport, tourist activities.

Apply at: https://illinois.edu/fb/sec/5938288 or contact  Dr. Allison Witt for more information.

Sciences Po is now accepting applications for its 2018 Summer School. This intensive program, featuring courses in both the social sciences and French language, is an excellent opportunity for students from their partner universities to discover Sciences Po over the course of the summer on their Paris campus. More information is available on the Sciences Po Summer School website: www.sciencespo.fr/summer.

If you would like to announce an event through the EUC e-Weekly, please send the information by no later than the prior Thursday of the event to the EUC Visiting Outreach Coordinator Paul Myers at psmyers2@illinois.edu.