When bananas brought down the Berlin Wall

2009 November 9
by kallanchen

http://www.germanynews.net/story/563156

Germany News.Net puts a spin on the traditional fall of the wall story. Ever heard of the “Banana Revolution” theory? Neither had I. Check it out!

20 Years After the Fall, Uniting Germany Still a Work in Progress

2009 November 9
tags:
by rmcooper4

As many of you may know, today marks the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. After the dust settled, almost immediately West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer began to push for reunification. Clearly the breaking of the barrier between East and West had wider implications, but in Germany it was the beginning of forging a new existence. The process of reunification was met with both enthusiasm and scepticism, but less than a year later Germany was one again. Nonetheless, while November 9, 1989 began the deconstruction of political boundaries in Germany, the present situation shows that the Wall still has a figurative presence. Here are a few maps I made about a year ago that illustrate the divide between the western states and the “Fuenf neue Laender” from the former DDR. Although the data is a little dated, I think it more or less support what even the most casual of tourists see in Germany today: The process of reunification may have begun twenty years ago today, but it did not just end in 1990.

West European Career Night~ Big Success!

2009 November 9
by smith265
IMG_0807

Rex Trewin speaking @ Career Night via skype

This was my third Career Night while working at WEST and it was by far the one I am most excited about! We had five panelists representing international business, higher education, and government service. Two panelists were recruiters for their field and offered many useful tips for interviewing and resume writing. Others boast 20+ year careers. The panel was rounded out by a current MA student with significant study abroad experience and knowledge of graduate schools for study of Western Europe.

Rex Trewin (WEST MA 1993) skyped in from Atlanta; he emphasized the importance of networking and introduced students to the powerful online networking tool, LinkedIn.com.  Other tips he offered included: always send hand written thank you notes; always have your 15-20 second ‘elevator speech’ prepared; Network! Network! Network!

A few words of wisdom  from the night-

“Don’t think the first career you have is the only one you will ever have.”

“Every job I’ve ever had is from someone I knew”

“Don’t discount your work at McDonald’s.  Play up your customer service skills.”

“Past behavior predicts future behavior:  good GPA = good study habits = good potential employee.”

To download a copy of presenter notes and bios. Check out our website @ http://www.iub.edu/~west/acad_careerdev.shtml

WEST offers multiple funding opportunities for students & faculty

2009 November 8
Multiple funding opportunities for travel and research are currently available to WEST students and faculty. Be sure to mark your calendar for these upcoming deadlines.
 
December 1st- Faculty Travel Grant  (up to $500/ international travel is ineligible)
December 1st- Graduate Student Mellon Travel Grant  (up to $400 domestic/ $750 international)
 
 Nov 1st-Dec 1st- Graduate Student Travel Award from the College Graduate Office (~$300)
      *must have Department Recommendation
 
January 15th – Graduate Student Summer 2010 Teaching Opportunity (~$2800)
      *applicants will submit a new course proposal for an undergraduate Summer I course
 
February 1st- Foreign Lanugage and Area Studies Fellowships for Academic Year 2010-2011 & Summer 2010
 *application will soon be available online @ www.iub.edu/~flas
 
February 1st – Faculty Summer Research/ Curriculum Development Grants (~$8000)
    *instructions and application materials available online @ http://www.iub.edu/~west/fund_fac_summergrant.shtml 
 
 
 

Announcements for Grad Students – 11/6

2009 November 6
by iuwest

1. Teaching Opportunity – Summer 2010

2. Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Information Session

3. “Considerations on the History of the Minorcan (Catalan) Dialect and Culture of St. Augustine, Florida” Workshop

4. GPSO Announcements

5. “Politics of Advanced Industrial Democracies” Graduate Seminar – Spring 2010

6. WEST Mellon Endowment Graduate Student Grants

7. Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis Colloquium Series, Fall 2009 

8. Department of French and Italian Lecture

9. College of Arts & Sciences Travel Awards 

10. Call for Papers – MIT International Review

11. International Education Week

 

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“The U.S. and the EU and the Global Economic Crisis”

2009 November 5
tags:
by iuwest

On October 22, Deputy Spokesman for the European Delegation to the United States Mattias Sundholm gave a lecture in the SPEA Atrium entitled “The U.S. and the EU and the Global Economic Crisis.”If you were bummed because you missed the event or just want to check out what he had to say, you’re in luck!

Announcements for Grad Students – 10/30

2009 October 30
by iuwest

1. Does Europe Have a Birthday? Roundtable on the Idea of Europe

2. NPR Spring and Summer 2010 Internships

3. “Inclusion, Isolation and National Identity in a Globalized World” Panel and “European Inclusion    and Exclusion Through Poetry” Session

4. GPSO Announcements

5. Lecture in French: La Francophonie

6. Horizons of Knowledge Lecture: “A Catalan Linguist on the Other Side of the World”

7. Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis Colloquium Series, Fall 2009 

 8. European Green Building Trends Webinar

 

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Announcements for Grad Students – 10/26

2009 October 26
by iuwest

1. Panel Discussion on “Inclusion, Isolation and National Identity in a Globalized World

2. Fireside Chat with David Hatch, Historian for the National Security Agency

3. The Fall of the Wall… 20 years later: Berlin Disco and Film Party

4. The Revised Birth of Negritude: Communist Revolution and “the Immanent Negro” in 1935

5. Place of Islam in Contemporary European Literature – Conference

 

 
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Announcements for Grad Students – 10/22

2009 October 22
by iuwest

1. Department of French and Italian Student-Faculty Forum Series

2. Department of French and Italian – The Revised Birth of Negritude Lecture

3. Tocqueville Program Presentation

4. German Language Lilly Library Tour

5. Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis Colloquium Series, Fall 2009 

6. Educators from around the world convene on IU Bloomington campus

7. POLS-Y 675 Course: Revolutions and the Making of the Modern World

8. REEI Collage Tribute to Fall of Berlin Wall

9. The Future of Nuclear Weapons Symposium

 

 

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Announcements for Grad Students – 10/19

2009 October 19
by iuwest

1. Two talks by Enrico Bernard, Italian playwright, essayist, film director, translator, and novelist

2. “Transnational Networks, Diffusion Dynamics, and Democratizing Elections in Post-Communist Europe and Eurasia”

3. Government Career Fair

4. GPSO Announcements

5. “The U.S. and the EU and the Global Economic Crisis”

6. Cultural Coffee Hours and ILASA Gathering

7. Scandinavian Film Series: The Seagull’s Laughter

8. Student Academic Center Free Workshops

9. Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis Colloquium Series, Fall 2009 

10. GPSO Survey

11. International Multi-Conference on Engineering and Technological Innovation – Call for Papers and Invited Sessions Proposals

12. Stammtisch – Tonight

13. Borns Jewish Studies Program – Faculty and Graduate Student Workshops

 

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