Beyond Iberian Colonialism: One Day Conference

"Beyond Iberian Colonialisms: Spanish Arabs and the Fate of the Western Sahara"
Conference
Friday, April 4
9:00 a.m. - 4:00p.m.
Nolte 125
For more info please click here.

Key note speaker: Aminatou Haidar, "Saharawi Women and Peaceful Resistance"
2:15-3:15
Nolte 125

Film Screening of Sons of the Clouds: The Last Colony (Hijos de las nubes, la última colonia)(2012)
6:15 p.m.
St. Anthony Main Theater
As part of the Mpls/ST. Paul Film Society's International Film Fest
For tickets and more information click here.

K-16 Educator Workshop
Saturday, April 5
9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
125 Nolte
For more information please click here.




This conference will illuminate and draw together the histories of Iberian colonialisms with the present realities of African immigration and cultural production. International scholars, poets and speakers will explore why contemporary poets from the Western Sahara write poetry in Spanish, what the conflict between contemporary Moroccan policy and human rights of Saharans has to do with Spain's colonial past, and why contemporary Iberian and American artists have rallied behind the Saharan cause.

Key note speaker Aminatou Haidar is a Saharawi human rights activist, an advocate of the independence of Western Sahara, and president of the Collective of Saharawi Human Rights Defenders (CODESA). Known as "Saharawi Gandhi" for her nonviolent protests, she was imprisoned from 1987 to 1991 and from 2005 to 2006 on charges related to her independence advocacy. In 2009, she attracted international attention when she staged a hunger strike after being denied re-entry into Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara. Haidar has won several international human rights awards for her work, including the 2008 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award and the 2009 Civil Courage Prize. In 2012 she was nominated to the Nobel Peace Prize.

Sponsored by: Iberian Studies, the Institute for Global Studies, European Studies Consortium, The Imagine Grant Special Events Fund, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, African Studies Initiative, The Human Rights Program, Gender Women Sexuality Studies.

Funds Still Available Faculty Travel Grants in European Studies

New deadline for applications April 15, 2014

Funds still available!

The European Studies Consortium is able to provide funds for travel to University of Minnesota Twin Cities Campus faculty. These grants are for projects that further development of new curricular content or the building of partnerships in Western, Central or Eastern Europe. Grants will be made on a competitive basis. Successful applications will receive up to $1000 in travel support. Applicants will be notified of the outcome of the competition by email.

Applications will be judged on the following criteria:

Projects that internationalize or expand opportunities to integrate foreign languages into the curriculum. Funding to be used for the collection of materials to update courses on Europe or European cultures, or for the collection of curricular resources that would allow students to utilize their foreign language skills in area studies courses.

Travel to develop collaborative research and (or) curriculum for sustainable partnerships with European institutions or colleagues.

For application and complete details please click here.

From Social to Communicative Construction: Transatlantic Developments in Interpretative Sociology

A lecture by Bernt Schnettler
Professor and Chair for Sociology of Culture and Religion, University of Bayreuth, Germany
Tuesday, March 25
12:00p.m.-1:30p.m.
Room 710 Social Sciences
Lunch provided by reservation



In the late 1960s, the 'new' sociology of knowledge opened up a path of stimulating academic collaboration between European and American currents of thought. Roughly half a century later, the 'New' Sociology of Knowledge has evolved in different directions. Professor Schnettler will focus on the vibrant debate in Europe. Special attention will be paid to the recent development of three cognate approaches: The Theory of Communicative Genres, the Social Constructionist Approach to Discourse Analysis (SKAD) and Sociological Hermeneutics, now jointly developing a research program under the programmatic title "Communicative Constructionism."

To reserve lunch email marydrew@umn.edu

Sponsored by: The European Studies Consortium and the Department of Sociology

Europe in the News

The European Studies Consortium was founded to promote and support inquiry into Europe related issues, engaging scholars and students across disciplinary and collegiate borders. Based on this inquiry we have established a Europe in the News page on our website. This page will give links to articles from credible international media resources on current events affecting Europe today. From the UK to the Ukraine and all points in between we will be monitoring and posting the latest news on a weekly basis. The page also has links to European news sources to track events by country.

Currently we are watching the situation in the Ukraine very closely and will be featuring articles as events unfold.

To access the page please click here.

Ambassador João Vale de Almeida Head of EU Delegation to speak at the University of MN

FLAS Nomination Form now Available Online

The new FLAS nomination form is now available to all designated department personnel to upload student-required information to compete in the 2014-2015 FLAS competition.

The new system eliminates duplicate paperwork and makes the process flow easier between the nominators and the FLAS coordinator.

The form is available by clicking here or by utilizing this link http://z.umn.edu/zumneduflas.

Quick Tips:

It is best to collect all of the information before uploading the information.

Uploaded documents (unofficial transcripts, student's 1-2 page statements, letter of recommendation, department nomination letter) can be in a word document or PDF.

Important: Where it states to put in the UMN Internet ID that you do not put in the full email address. This will stall the nomination form.

Students no longer need to get a statement from a LCTL instructor. They need only provide the instructor's name, Internet ID (x500) and email address. If the LCTL instructor does not have a University Internet ID please use the Non-University LCTL Instructor form provided by clicking FLAS Non-University LCTL Form.pdf. Once completed it can be uploaded with the other documents.

If you have any questions about the nomination process please visit the FLAS website by clicking here or contact Jodi Elowitz, FLAS Coordinator at 612-624-6527 or elow001@umn.edu.

2014 Summer Research Grants in Austrian/Central European Studies for UMN Graduate Students

The Center of Austrian Studies is able to offer four Summer 2014 Research Grants of $4,000. Applications are welcome from all disciplines with connection to Austrian/Central European Studies

Students should email the following as Word documents to Klaas van der Sanden (vande001@umn.edu) by 4:30 p.m., February 28, 2014.

1. A two-page proposal describing the scholarly work to be undertaken during the summer. The work must be related directly to your progress towards degree completion.
2. A statement of academic progress, listing:
a. Year of entrance into the graduate program
b. Actual or projected dates of Ph.D. prelims, prospectus meeting, and Ph.D. defense, as appropriate;
c. Remaining degree requirements to be completed with a schedule for completion
3. Transcript
4. Letter of Recommendation by the Applicant's advisor

For More Information, contact:
Klaas van der Sanden
Center for Austrian Studies
Email: vande001@umn.edu
For selection criteria and eligibility please visit cas.umn.edu