Spring 2018  | Mar 26 - Mar 30 | e-Weekly Archive

Tuesday, Mar 27 | 11 am  
507 E. Green St, Rm 411
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Elezioni in Italia: Una nuova ondata di populismo?
In Italiano

Vi invitiamo a discutere con noi delle recenti elezioni in Italia, e delle loro possibili immediate conseguenze. Prenderemo  in considerazione i risultati, e il modo in cui le varie coalizioni si sono sviluppate durante la campagna elettorale. Questa discussione a videoconferenza sarà condotta in italiano, e vi offrirà l’opportunità di fare esercizio di lingua.

Francesca Savoia
Department of French and Italian
University of Pittsburgh

Commentatori
Aide Esu, University of Cagliari
Francesca Ragno, Italian Fulbright Distinguished Lecturer, University of Pittsburgh
Marco Cucculelli, Universitá Politecnica delle Marche
Raffaella Patimo, Universitá di Bari

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.

Wednesday, Mar 28 | 4 pm
Foreign Languages Building, Rm. 1080 (Lucy Ellis Lounge)
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States and banks have traditionally maintained close ties. At various points in time, states have used banks to manage their economies and soak up government debt, while banks enjoyed regulatory forbearance, restricted competition, and implicit or explicit guarantees from their home markets. The political foundations of banks have thus been powerful and enduring, with actors on both sides of the aisle reluctant to sever relations.

The central argument of this lecture, however, is that in the world’s largest integrated market, Europe, the traditional political ties between states and banks have been transformed. Specifically, through a combination of post-communist transition, monetary union, and economic crisis, states in Europe no longer wield preponderant influence over their banks. I explain why we have witnessed the radical denationalization of this politically vital sector, as well as the consequences for economic volatility, policy autonomy and the future of the euro. The findings in Europe have implications for other world regions, which, to varying degrees, have also experienced intensified pressure on their traditional models of domestic political control over finance.States and banks have traditionally maintained close ties. At various points in time, states have used banks to manage their economies and soak up government debt, while banks enjoyed regulatory forbearance, restricted competition, and implicit or explicit guarantees from their home markets. The political foundations of banks have thus been powerful and enduring, with actors on both sides of the aisle reluctant to sever relations.

Rachel A. Epstein is Professor of International Relations and European Politics at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver. Her publications include In Pursuit of Liberalism: International Institutions in Postcommunist Europe (Johns Hopkins 2008) and a special issue of the Review of International Political Economy entitled "Assets or Liabilities? Banks and the Politics of Foreign Ownership versus National Control" (2014). Her research and teaching examine the relationship between economic trends and national security outcomes, the dynamics of postcommunist transition, the role of international organizations in global politics, and economic crises and financial reform.

Organized by the European Union Center

Thursday, Mar 29 | 7:30 pm
210 Levis Faculty Center (Music Room)
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The keynote address for the Joint Area Centers Symposium (JACS) will be delivered by Tariq Ali, Writer, Filmmaker, and Editor of New Left Review. He will be speaking on "The Broken Ladder: The Global Left Fifty Years After 1968." 

Friday, Mar 30 | 9:30 am - 6:30 pm
208 Levis Faculty Center (Music Room)
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At the end of the Cold War, the notion of revolution seemed to have been placed among the relics of history. Francis Fukuyama’s “end of history” and Samuel Huntington’s “Clash of Civilizations” emerged as bold, alternative frameworks to imagine the course of history after the age of political revolutions had come to an end. Then, the so called Arab Springs and the re-emergence of radical narratives of transformation, from Ukraine to Venezuela, have forced intellectuals and politicians to reconsider the actuality and the meaning of revolutions in the age of globalization. As part of the year-long initiatives to discuss the history and the legacy of the Russian Revolution of 1917, this year’s Joint Area Centers Symposium will reflect on today’s legacy and significance of the concept of revolution.

The symposium will be articulated around 4 themes: 1) religion and revolution, 2) anti-colonialism, 3) violence and transformation, and 4) gender, race, minorities and revolution. The goal of the symposium is to bring experts from different disciplines and different geographical areas to articulate the productiveness or the anachronism of the concept of revolution in multiple cultural contexts. Our goal is to contribute to the debate on radical transformations today from a multilateral perspective that abandons the parochialism of a Western-centric understanding of the world. Scholars from and experts on China, India, Latin America, Europe and Africa will provide a truly transnational perspective to the symposium.

Sponsored by: Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center; Center for African Studies; Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies; Center for Global Studies; Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies; Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies; European Union Center; Department of French and Italian; Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures; Department of Linguistics; Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures; Program in Comparative and World Literature; School of Literatures, Cultures, and Linguistics; Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory; Women and Gender in Global Perspectives

Friday, Mar 9 - Thursday, Apr 5 | Various times
Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 North State Street, Chicago
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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)

Monday, Apr 2 | 12 - 2 pm
International Studies Building, Rm 101
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Hey Illinois foodies, we hope you'll join us for the first ever Taste of Europe Potluck, brought to you by the European Union Center!

The potluck will be held on April 2nd from 12-2pm in International Studies Building (ISB), room 101. Bring your best European recipe to share with other Europhiles right here in Illinois. Got a bangin' bangers and mash recipe? Excellent! Specialize in smorrebrod? Bring that Danish open-faced sandwich and share it with the world. The winner of the tastiest dish will receive a printed copy of the EU Cookbook and some official EUC swag. Bon appetit! Please contact Alexandra van Doren for more information. 

This event is part of Illinois International Week 2018. #ILLINOISinternational #IW2018

Tuesday, Apr 3 | 10 am - 12 pm
Levis Faculty Center, Rm 210 
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This roundtable is co-sponsored with Belgian university KU Leuven as part of the Conversation on Transatlanticism and Europe project, and will feature speakers from the US and the EU.

Moderator:
Dr. Neil Vander Most (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) 

Panelists:
Dr. Natasha Duncan (Purdue University)
Dr. Kolja Raube (KU Leuven)
Dr. Gustavo Muller (KU Leuven)
Dr. Emmanuel Rota (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
Dr. Carl Niekerk (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

Thursday, Apr 5 | 4:00 - 5:30 pm  
Education Building, Rm 162 
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Speaker: Peter Mayo

Peter Mayo, a professor of education at the University of Malta, will provide a Freirean Perspective on Migration, Racism and the Mediterranean.

This event is sponsored by European Union Center, Global Studies in Education Program and, the College of Education

Friday, Apr 6 | 2- 6 pm
Lincoln Hall, Rm. 3057
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This workshop will address Land Concentration, Agricultural Sustainability and Food Sovereignty  in the European Union.

Speakers:
Guntra Aistara, Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy, Central European University
David Bullock, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Bryan Endres, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Zsuzsa Gille,  Department of Sociology; Director, Global Studies Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Eszter Krasznai Kovàcs, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge
Claire Luby, Project Manager, NRES
Diana Mincyte, New York City Colleges of Technology (City Tech)

This event is sponsored by the European Union Center (EUC); Russian, East European and Eurasian Center (REEEC); Center for Global Studies (CGS); Women and Gender in Global Perspective (WGGP).

Apr 1 - Apr 7 | All day
Various Venues
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Through numerous educational, cultural, and recreational events co-hosted by student groups, centers, colleges, units, and local partners, International Week aims to raise awareness about the breadth of international education, activities, and resources available in our community. To see the events scheduled for this year, visit the International Week calendar. To learn more about International Week and see events from past years, visit the International Week webpage.

This event is sponsored by Illinois International and European Union Center.

Spring 2018 Semester
Instructor: Neil Vander Most 

The EU Center is happy to announce a new course in its course, the European Union for Professionals. This eight-week asynchronous online course is intended serve as an introduction to the European Union, with a particular focus on providing its students with enough information to allow them to competitively apply for European Union grants and funding opportunities. This course is intended for working professionals in the business, education, media, non-profit, and think-tank sectors. The first two weeks will introduce students to the European Union, laying out its institutional contours and frequent challenges. The next three weeks then focus on the issues associated with American international education and international recruitment more broadly. The course concludes with a practical and focused discussion about the details of European Union funding opportunities and where to find all of the required application materials on the internet.

This course will be primarily done asynchronously, with students being able to take the course at a pace that works best for their busy schedules. The one exception will be a week where students will have the opportunity to talk with the EU Center Director, Carla Santos and ask her questions about creating European related programming. This course is free and is not being offered for credit this semester.

Interested? Seats are still available! Please visit this page for more information and for the online course application. Questions? Please email the course administrator, Dr. Neil Vander Most at vanderm1@illinois.edu.

As one example of course content, students will watch Kedi (2016) a world-famous documentary about hundreds of thousands of stray cats that live side by side with humans in Istanbul.

Fall 2018 Semester
TR 2-3:20PM | 3 CREDITS
Instructor: Ayşe Özcan

TURK 490 will explore language and culture dynamics in Turkey within an interdisciplinary framework through its history, literature, art,cinema, media, music, and religion from the pre-Islamic era to the  present day, with a focus on modern Turkey (20th-21st centuries). This course will pay special attention to the complexities of Turkish modernity by examining the politics of secularization and modernization along with the implications of current trajectories to better understand how cultural continuities and transformations gave birth to modern Turkish language.

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.

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

Tuesday, Mar 27 | 4 - 5 pm
Foreign Languages Building, Rm 1080 (Lucy Ellis Lounge)

Every one is welcome to this event sponsored by the Arabic Language Program and Less Commonly Taught Languages Program. Contact Dr. Eman Saadah for additional information. This event will feature a discussion with the Egyptian Student Association of UIUC. 

Wednesday, Apr 4 | 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. 

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

Wednesday, Mar 28 | 7:15 pm
Foreign Languages Building, Rm. 1080 (Lucy Ellis Lounge)
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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 series continues with Border Street (Ford, 1948). 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.

Jessica Mrase, a current MAEUS student, has written an insightful summation of our last Conversation on Europe (see above for the next in the series) , which discussed the future of European cities in light of their struggles with diverse populations, the politics of change, and the need to be sustainable spaces. 

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.