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European Studies Symposium

The European Studies Symposium gathers together a group of speakers from different academic disciplines and institutions.  Their presentations address the significance of Europe, its past and present, its parts and the whole, as an academic enterprise of particular merit.  The speakers define the academic foundations and reflect the disciplinary range of European Studies.

The symposium is made possible by the generous support of the European Union, the University of Illinois European Union Center, the Illinois State University Office of the President, the Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences, the Office of International Studies and Programs, and the ISU Departments of Economics, History, Politics and Government, Sociology and Anthropology, and Languages, Literatures, and Cultures. 

Listed below are the topics and presenters:

April 2-3, Past and Present

  • Thursday, April 2, 4:00-5:30 pm, Schroeder Hall, Room 130, Illinois State University
    • Introduction:  Bruce Burningham, Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, ISU
    • Keynote address: Multilingualism and Language Education in Europe: Aspirations and Challenges
    • ​Zsuzsanna Fagyal, Department of French and Italian, Department of Linguistics, University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign
  • Friday, April 3, Caterpillar Auditorium, State Farm Hall of Business, Illinois State University
    • 9:15 am to 12:00 noon
      • Introduction: Moderator Anthony Crubaugh, History Department, ISU
      • Guest of honor, Consul General of the Republic of Poland Paulina Kapuścińska
      • Historiographic Foundations of European Studies, Andrew Weeks, ISU
      • European Geography, Climate, and Culture, J.M. van der Laan, ISU
    • 10-minute break
      • Europe and the Classical Heritage, Carl Springer, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville
    • Lunch Break
    • 1:15 to 4:00 pm
      • Moderator: Andrew Weeks
      • Religion in Europe: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Robert Erlewine, Illinois Wesleyan University.
      • The Neglected European East, Bart Rokicki, University of Warsaw, Poland.
    • 10 Minute Break
      • The Strained Franco-German Core of the European Union, Joyce Mushaben, University of Missouri at St. Louis.


April 16-17, Institutions and Integration

  • Thursday, April 16, 4:00-5:30 pm, Schroeder Hall, Room 130, Illinois State University 
    • Introduction:  Professor Michealene Cox, Department of Politics and Government, ISU
    • Keynote address:  Why Do European Studies Matter?
      • John McCormick, Jean Monnet Professor of European Union Politics, Indiana University, Indianapolis
  • Friday, April 17, Caterpillar Auditorium, State Farm Hall of Business, Illinois State University
  • 9:15 am to 12:00 noon
    • Introduction: Moderator Klaus Schmidt, Department of Technology, ISU
    • The Arts as Public Trust in Europe, Michael Dicker, ISU​
    • Business Culture in the European Union, Elisabeth Oltheten, University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign
  • 10-minute break
    • Structures of the European Union, John McCormick, Indiana University​
  • Lunch Break
  • 1:15 to 4:00 pm
    • Moderator:  J.M. van der Laan
    • Guest of honor, Consul General of the Hellenic Republic (Greece) Ioanna Efthymiadou
    • Learning from Europe in the Health Sector, Provost Janet Krejci, ISU
    • The Eurozone:  When Will the Crisis End?, David Cleeton, ISU
  • 10-minute break​
    • Transatlantic Lessons: Why the European Way is Still the Best Hope in an Insecure Age, Steven Hill, Senior Fellow with the New America Foundation​
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