From Harlem to Hoamatlond/the Alps. Hip Hop, Malcolm X and Islamic Activism in Austria

A Lecture by Farid Hafez
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
4:00 p.m.
Room 710 Social Sciences Building



Professor Hafez's talk will touch upon the issue of how Austrian Muslim youth found their way through Hip Hop and Malcolm X to Islam and how they gave Islam a "Western" meaning, shaping a distinctive Western Muslim-identity.

Farid Hafez is currently working as a researcher at the Department for the Philosophy of Law, Law of Religion, and Culture at the University of Vienna, and lectures at the Department for Oriental Studies at the University of Vienna. His research focuses on Muslim organizations in Austria, the role of Islamophobia in Austrian party politics and on the Islamic Council in Austria within the Austrian political systems.



Hafez was awarded with the Bruno-Kreisky-Price for the political book of the year in 2009 (together with John Bunzl) for their anthology "Islamophobia in Austria."
For more information please contact the Center for Austrian Studies.
Sponsored by Center for Austrian Studies, European Studies Consortium and The Institiute for Global Studies.

Award-Winning, Critically Acclaimed, Norwegian Novelist Karl Ove Knausgaard's Talk now Available

Karl Ove Knausgaard read from his controversial work Min Kamp 1 (My Struggle-First Book) on Tuesday, September 18, 2012 at the University of Minnesota. The recording of this event is now available on the European Studies Consortium's new YouTube channel. You can see the video by clicking here.

Full Scholarships Available for Intensive Language Study at the Middlebury Summer Language Schools

Middlebury Summer Language Schools announces the continuation of the Kathryn Davis Fellowships for Peace. The fellowship will cover the full cost of one summer of language study (tuition, room, and board)--from the beginner to graduate level--in any of six languages, including Russian. The postmark deadline is January 14, 2013. See the website for application details.

Need-based Financial Aid Available to All Students - Nearly half of 2012 Language Schools students received financial aid. Learn more about financial aid and other scholarships and fellowships.

Alejandro Baer to speak about Kristallnacht in Civil War Spain

Kristallnacht in Civil War Spain
Tuesday, November 13
Room 1210 Heller Hall
4:00 p.m.

"Germany introduces forceful measures against the Hebrews.
A clear warning to international Jewry never again to make attempts on the lives of Germans." - Ideal, Granada, November 13, 1938.

Professor Baer will talk about the contrasting treatment given to the news of the German anti-Jewish pogroms on November 9 & 10, 1938 by the Francoist and Republican sides during the Spanish Civil War.

The Francoist press met the news with approval and glee, in contrast to the condemnations expressed in the Republican papers, which offered solidarity and support to the victims, even as the legitimate Spanish government approached it's own death agony.

The Spanish republicans soon recognized that their fate was intertwined with that of European Jews.

Professor Baer is the new director and Stephen C. Feinstein Chair of the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies. He is a distinguished scholar of Holocaust memory and testimony, and comes to Minnesota after serving on the sociology faculty of the Ludwig Maximilians-Universität-München in Germany.

His books include Holocausto. Recuerdo y representación (Holocaust: Remembrance and Representation) and El testimonio audiovisual. Imagen y memoria del Holocausto (Audiovisual Testimony. Image and Memory of the Holocaust). In addition he has authored numerous articles addressing issues of genocide, memory, and Anti-Semitism. He is currently engaged in research focusing on the uses and abuses of Holocaust history and memory in the Spanish-speaking world as well as the trans-nationalization of memory.

Sponsored by: Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies,Department of History, European Studies Consortium, Institute for Global Studies and the Department of Spanish & Portuguese.

Special Film Screening Demande à ton Ombre (Ask Your Shadow)

Special Film Screening
Demande à ton Ombre
(Ask Your Shadow)
with film director Lamine Ammar-Khodja
Wednesday, November 7
4:30 p.m.

St. Anthony Main Theatre
115 SE Main Street, Minneapolis
Tickets available by visiting: www.mspfilmsociety.org

Eight years after leaving native Algeria for France, Lamine Ammar-Khodja decides to end his exile on January 6, 2011, the day major riots break out in Algiers. Organized chronologically, the film is a first-person narrative dealing with the difficulties of getting back home. Because this journey isn't only a private matter, but also an opportunity to go back over Algeria's recent history, at a time when it could have taken another major turn.

Film discussion with director Lamine Ammar-Khodja and professor Patricia Lorcin, Department of History, University of Minnesota will follow the screening.

"Los hombres que dispararon en los quioscos: los autores de la novela popular en España"

A talk, in Spanish, by Javier Pérez Andújar, Spanish author and critic
COME LEARN ABOUT SPANISH PULP FICTION!

Thursday, October 25, 2012
1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
116 Folwell Hall

In this talk, Javier Pérez Andújar will explain the history and development of one of the main literary expressions of mass culture in contemporary Spain: the "novela de quiosco" (similar to so-called "pulp fiction" in English).

Pérez Andújar will trace the relations of this kind of literature to broader cultural and social trends, highlighting the differences among its many sub-genres (such as westerns, war tales, science fiction, thrillers, and sentimental fiction), and their different ways of engaging with changing socio-historical realities over time.

Javier Pérez Andújar (Sant Adrià de Besòs, 1965) is the author of the novels Los principes valientes (2007), Todo lo que se llevó el diablo (2010) and Paseos con mi madre (2011). He has also written the non-fiction works Catalanes todos; las 15 visitas de Franco a Cataluña (2002) and Salvador Dalí: A la conquista de lo irracional (2003) and edited the anthologies of fantastic short stories Vosotros los que leéis aún estáis entre los vivos (2005) and La vida no vale nada (2008). He currently writes literary articles and short stories for the Catalan edition of El País and contributes toL'hora del lector, a Catalan television literary program.

Free and open to the public -- Light refreshments served

Sponsored by: Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies, Global Programs and Strategy Alliance, and European Studies Consortium.

The Czech Republic: Still in Transition? The difficult voyage from Communism to European Union - to today

Wednesday, October 17, 2012
12:00 p.m.
1210 Heller Hall

Twenty-two years ago Czechoslovakia launched itself on a journey towards a free and democratic society. Under the motto Back to Europe, people expressed their desire to recapture the interrupted tradition of excellence, openness and toleration that characterized the first Czechoslovak Republic of 1918-1938.

Led by the visionary President, Václav Havel, the Czech Republic has reached important milestones, joining NATO and the EU. The largely successful transformation can be used as a model for the closed societies such as Cuba and Iran, or the ones in early transition, such as the Arabic countries in the aftermath of the Arab revolutions. In general, the experience of Central Europe, with its successes and failures, is a useful, albeit limited tool in all attempts to calibrate transition from a close to an open society.

Dr. Klvana's career spans from being the student leader during the velvet revolution that toppled the Communist Government, to being an important journalist, public official, and now major proponent of non-profit civil society. His work with the Zdenek Bakala Global Non-Profit Programs oversees several projects, including the Vaclav Havel Presidential Library and the newly established branch of the Aspen Institute on whose Board of Directors he serves as Vice President.
He is lecturer at the New York University in Prague. He worked as press secretary and policy adviser to President of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus, and in 2007-08 was a special Government Communication Envoy for the Missile Defense Program. In 2001-03 Dr. Klvana was Deputy Editor-in-chief of Hospodarske Noviny (a leading Czech daily) and in 2000-01 a senior international commentator for the Czech daily newspaper Mlada Fronta Dnes. In 2011 Dr. Klvana published his literary debut, a novel "Marina, A Russian Story" in Czech by Paseka Press. Dr. Klvana serves on the Board of Directors of Economia Publishing, a leading Czech media organization, and also on Board of ther Harvard Club in Prague, and is a member of the Czech Euroatlantic Council.
In 2012 he was awarded the prestigious Distinguished Leadership Award for Internationals from the University of Minnesota, where he earned his PhD degree in Speech Communication 1997. He also holds an MA degree in journalism from the Charles University in Prague. In 2003 he was a Shorenstein Fellow at Harvard University Kennedy School. Dr. Klvana publishes a blog in Czech in which he analyses international relations for leading Czech media. He frequently participates in international conferences.
Sponsored by: Global Studies, Austrian Studies, European Studies Consortium, History, Global Programs and Strategy Alliance.
For more information contact Katie Evans.

20th International Conference of Europeanists Submission Portal is Now Open

The submission portal for The 2013 Conference is now open! Submit your paper, session, or mini-symposium proposal today. The Council seeks proposals on all aspects of European history, society and politics, and particularly welcomes those that transcend disciplines, nationalities, and generations.

Submission deadline: October 8, 2012

Propose a symposium! Did you know that CES accepts proposals for 2-4 linked conference sessions on a common theme? Called a "mini-symposium," these linked sessions provide the opportunity to examine an issue in greater depth, are specially featured in the conference program, and are strongly favored by the Program Committee.

For more information visit the Council for European Studies at Columbia University's web site.

Award-Winning, Critically Acclaimed, Norwegian Novelist Karl Ove Knausgaard to Speak on Campus

European Studies Consortium Presents
The Award-Winning, Critically Acclaimed, Norwegian Novelist Karl Ove Knausgaard

Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Room 125
Nolte Center
315 Pillsbury Drive SE
4:00p.m.

Karl Ove Knausgaard's controversial work Min Kamp I (My Struggle-First Book) is the first of a six volume autobiographical work, which caused a literary sensation in Norway and is now available in the U.S. Knausgaard writes about his family, the death of his alcoholic father and his struggle to come to grips with life and death in a raw and powerful way. When asked if he should have published the books he said. "If I had known then what I know now, then no, definitely no, I wouldn't dare. But I'm glad I did. And I couldn't have done it any other way. I will never do anything like this again, though, for sure. I have given away my soul, in a way."

Karl Ove Knausgaard made his literary debut in 1998 with the widely acclaimed novel Out of the World, which was a great critical and commercial success and won him, as the first debut novel ever, The Norwegian Critics' Prize. His second novel, A Time To Every Purpose Under Heaven (2004), was also a huge success, praised by The Guardian and The Independent.
In the autumn of 2009, Knausgaard embarked on an unparalleled literary journey. The autobiographical novel My Struggle is a great literary accomplishment in more than one sense: It consists of six novels, the last of which was published in 2011. Vol. 1 was awarded the prestigious 2009 Brage Award, the Book of the Year Prize in Morgenbladet, the P2 Listeners' Prize, and the Norwegian Critics' Prize. In addition to amazing reviews, this fascinating literary experiment has generated an enormous interest among Norwegian journalists, critics and readers, resulting in hundreds of articles, commentaries, essays, blog posts and discussions. By the time of the publication of the sixth volume, the first five volumes had sold an incredible 400,000 copies combined.
Karl Ove Knausgaard lives in Malmö in Sweden with his wife and three children.
Reviews and audio
Library of Congress Reading: My Struggle Book I
This event is free and open to the public.
Co-sponsored by: The Institute for Global Studies, The Department of English and The Department of German, Scandinavian & Dutch.

Educational Series: French Canadian Identity in the Midwest

French Canadian Identity in the Midwest: A Four Session Fall 2012 Series
October 18, October 25, November 1, November 8, 2012
Room 614, Social Sciences, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
6:30pm-8:30pm
Cost: $40 (includes all materials and parking)

Session one of this series will provide a timeline and distinctions regarding French and French-Canadian heritages in the Midwest, as well as definitions of themes associated with ethnic identity. At the second session, participants will be encouraged to consider time, work, and resources in reporting on one or more of the following: family, individual or community history, possible interviews, readings, or helpful blog or web sites. In the third session, discussion will focus on why French-Canadian heritage was so "quiet" until the Quebec Quiet Revolution of the 1960s. The fourth session will discuss how to take part in the renaissance of French-Canadian and Quebec heritage in North America.


The facilitator, Virgil Benoit, professor of French & Founder & Director of Initiatives in French Midwest UND. He speaks, writes and consults about French-Canadian heritage. He is president and founder of AFRAN (l'Association des Français du Nord) and founder of Franco-Fête, an annual Midwest celebration.
This series is made possible through Initiatives in French Midwest (IFMidwest) of the Department of Languages and Literatures University of North Dakota in collaboration with the Institute for Global Studies and the European Studies Consortium at the University of Minnesota.
To register for the series please click here.
For more information please visit the IGS Professional Development web page.

Franco-Fête in the Twin Cities

The 2012 Franco-Fête
September 28 & 29, 2012
Minneapolis, St. Paul

The 2012 Franco Fête celebrates French heritage with a unique blend of cultural and academic events, including, music, dancing and food. For 35 years Dr. Virgil Benoit, professor, of French at the University of North Dakota and a lifelong member of the Red Lake Falls, MN community has organized this event. This is the first time the Fête is being held in the Twin Cities.

In addition to the festival the Institute for Global Studies and the European Studies Consortium will sponsor professional development for K-16 educators at DeLaSalle High School on September 29. A limited number of $25 scholarships are available. Scholarship recipients must agree to attend 2 educator breakout sessions on Saturday, September 29, 2012.

CEU's and resources will be available to participating educators.
To register and apply for the scholarship please click here.
The Franco Fête is open to the public. For information about the events, costs and directions please visit the 2012 Franco- Fête website.
Sponsored by the Institute for Global Studies (U of MN), the European Studies Consortium (U of MN) and the University of North Dakota.

Space still available for Trauma and Text Workshop

Workshop: Trauma and Text: Approaches to Teaching the Literature of Atrocity
July 23-July 27, 2012
9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Room 614 Social Sciences
University of Minnesota
30 CEUs
2 graduate credits available for additional fee (contact outreach@umn.edu if interested)
Registration deadline: July 9, 2012



How do we read narratives of trauma? What does it mean to experience the suffering of others through hart? What role can literature and film play in helping trauma survivors recover and heal? These are questions with which English, history, and art educators must grapple a twenty-first century populated with media images of tragedy and suffering. This institute will provide the opportunity for middle and high school teachers from across disciplines to think through the ways in which we approach the difficult task of engaging historical and personal trauma through creative works. We will examine closely both the positive uses of "trauma texts" and the risks that teaching such texts involves (secondary trauma, voyeurism, reductionism, pity). Importantly, we will spend time discussing the place of hope and agency, and the ways in which the artistic voice can promote growth and healing, both for the trauma survivor and the reader/spectator.
We will read a variety of theoretical and primary texts across genres (short stories, poetry, film, theater). Guest speakers will provide the institute with outside expertise and perspectives from a diversity of contexts. Institute participants will develop and receive feedback on a micro unit constructed around a text (film, poem, play, novel, etc.) for use in their classroom and will participate in creative writing exercises that model ways in which students can use their own stories as potential sites for healing and growth.
Register online here.
If you have any questions, please contact Deborah LeClaire at outreach@umn.edu or 612-624-7346.