1. Lecture on ‘The Individual and Tradition, Life Story, and Myth’
2. “Crisis and Cultural Consumption” Lecture
3. George Stolnitz Memorial Lecture in Jewish Studies
1. Lecture on ‘The Individual and Tradition, Life Story, and Myth’
2. “Crisis and Cultural Consumption” Lecture
3. George Stolnitz Memorial Lecture in Jewish Studies
4. 2010 Preparing Future Faculty Graduate Student Conference
5. Norwegian Summer Course
6. GPSO Announcements
7. International Conference Announcement and Call for Papers
8. European Spring Institute 2010 on the Future of Europe in Prague
Yesterday it was announced that President Obama will not be attending the EU-U.S. summit in Madrid in May. This event was suppose to highlight the new post-Lisbon Treaty EU foreign policy structure, but instead the Lisbon Treaty appears to have actually torpedoed the summit, as it is not always clear who is the leading actor. The newly created EU Council president (currently Herman Van Rompuy) has started organizing some events. However, Spain (the current holder of the EU presidency) had wanted to host some the high profile events, such as the annual EU-U.S. summit in Europe (there is also one on this side of the Atlantic).
The Lisbon Treaty was touted as a necessary reform that would increase the EU’s international impact, yet in this case it appears that it may have helped led to the President Obama’s decision to not attend. When President Obama attended last year’s summit in Prague, it appeared that he was not impressed by the EU being represented by three different people. This continuing trend could cause one to wonder if the EU doesn’t have more leaders than it needs while having too few solutions.
My personal view of Germany as a socially progressive beacon in central Europe was rocked recently by an article in the NY Times, “The Female Factor – In Germany a tradition falls and women rise,” in which the reporter explores the links between women, tradition and the economy in modern day educational policies.
Germany’s half-day school system has survived 250 years of social upheavals (including feudalism, Hitler’s mother cult, the women’s movement and reunification), by and large thanks to traditional expectations of women that follow the maxim “Kinder, Kueche, Kirche” (children, kitchen, church). Today, mothers who choose to enroll their children in afternoon classes and daycare in order to keep full-time hours at work can face harsh criticism from the neighborhood moms.
Government subsidies for afternoon teaching and care programs hopes to improve childhood education while so-called ‘parent money’ (high-paying paternity and maternity leave for couples who both take time off from their careers for newborn children) encourages both parents to juggle children and a career. The article notes that women often have to decide between the two if they wish to advance in German society, leading to more than half of female university graduates sitting out of the workforce. Even Chancellor Angela Merkel, arguable one of the most powerful women in Europe, has reached the heights she has without children.
The European Commission will present a formal opinion on Iceland’s application for EU membership on February 24, less than two weeks before Icelanders vote in a crucial referendum. While Iceland has already implemented a large share of EU rules as a member of the European Economic Area, the collapse of Iceland’s banking system in October 2008 (arguably the overwhelming impetus for Iceland’s membership bid at this point) has damaged the country’s relationship with the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, who have suggested that they might block membership talks unless Iceland agrees to compensate British and Dutch citizens who were negatively affected in the financial crash.
http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/2010/01/opinion-on-iceland’s-eu-bid-in-february/67022.aspx
1. Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis Colloquium Series, Spring 2010
2. Finnish Coffee Hour
3. Department of French & Italian Student-Faculty Forum Series: Of Angles and Beasts
4. Passionate Convictions at the IU Art Museum
5. Wrapped in Paisley: The Story of the Kashmir Shawl – Mathers Museum Exhibit
6. International Ibsen Scholarships
1. Study Abroad with SPEA in Pamplona, Spain
2. Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis Colloquium Series, Spring 2010
3. Finnish Coffee Hour
4. Berlin Study Abroad Information Session
5. Department of French & Italian Student-Faculty Forum Series: Of Angles and Beasts
6. Passionate Convictions at the IU Art Museum
7. Wrapped in Paisley: The Story of the Kashmir Shawl – Mathers Museum Exhibit
8. GPSO Announcements
9. International Ibsen Scholarships
10. Call for Papers: University of Chicago Italian Studies Graduate Student Conference
11. Job Listings
12. Postdoctoral fellowships at the Research College in Berlin
13. Study in Europe – Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (LMU)
According to Germany’s Welt am Sonntag newspaper, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said in an interview that “Turkey is a part of the European family of peoples. It is better to have Turkey inside the EU than to leave it standing outside.” Spain holds the EU presidency until the end of June and hopes to open accession talks with Ankara in four new policy areas.
Inclusion of Turkey could assist in more peaceful relations with regional neighbors, such as Iran, but many EU member states and citizens alike struggle with the fact that Turkey is a dominantly Muslim country. A recent poll which questioned people in Britain, France, Germany, Poland and Spain about the prospect of Turkey’s EU membership was split right down the middle: 47% of people said they were in favour of Turkey joining the Union, 47% opposed it, and 6% had no opinion. One of the biggest sticking points is religion – 39% of those surveyed said Turkey was “a Muslim country … not compatible with the common Christian roots” of Europe.
Will Turkey ever fit into the EU’s vision for itself?
For more information on Turkey’s membership bid, see the following articles: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20100124/tpl-uk-eu-turkey-spain-43a8d4f.html, http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/enlarge-turkey.2ed.
1. German Saturday School
2. Stammtisch – German Conversation Club
3. Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis Colloquium Series, Spring 2010
4. German Singing Group
5. Norwegian and Swedish Coffee and Conversation
1. Stammtisch – German Conversation Club
2. German Singing Group
3. Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis Colloquium Series, Spring 2010
4. Norwegian and Swedish Coffee and Conversation
5. International Job/Internship Panel
6. GPSO Financial Support
7. Spring 2010 Italian Graduate Reading Proficiency Exam-Time Change
8. Study Swedish with ISU Programs 2010
