New centers to strengthen European studies

Two new academic centers devoted to the burgeoning field of European studies have been established at UW–Madison.

The European Union Center and the Center for German and European Studies will further enhance UW–Madison’s ability to teach and research Europe and European integration, according to David M. Trubek, dean of International Studies.

“Together, these centers stand as a significant resource for the training of a generation of scholars addressing the new Europe in all of its complexity,” Trubek says.

The two centers join the UW–Madison European Studies program and are part of a larger initiative that in recent years has sought to strengthen and revitalize European studies at UW–Madison, Trubek says.

This effort includes support from the European Studies Program, directed by Gilles Bousquet, professor of French and Italian; the Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies; the university’s General Library System; and Phillip R. Certain, dean of the College of Letters and Science. The European Union Center, one of 10 new EU centers located on college campuses around the country, began operating in September with $175,000 in start-up funds from the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium.

Organizers say the goal of the centers is to work together to increase the awareness and understanding of the European Union in academia and among the general public in the United States. The 10 EU Centers were selected from more than 200 proposals nationwide.

Jonathan Zeitlin, director of the UW–Madison European Union Center, says that increased knowledge of the European Union will be crucial in the coming millennium. The European Union consists of 15 countries, 370 million people and is considered a major trading partner with the United States. The EU will phase in its own currency, the euro, in January.

“The European Union is not a new super-country or super-state but a complex, multilevel political order,” says Zeitlin, professor of history, sociology and industrial relations. “People want to understand exactly what this entity is and how it works.”

The European Union Center will focus on one broad theme in each of the next three years, Zeitlin says. This year, the theme is Economic Integration, Monetary Union and Transatlantic Relations. In 1999-2000, the theme will be Labor Markets, Employment and Social Protection. Culture, Identity and Citizenship will be the theme in 2000-2001.

The Center for German and European Studies is a joint project with the University of Minnesota. The German Academic Exchange Service funds the center with a $1.4 million grant over the next 4 1/2 years.

The center will link faculty members from 10 academic disciplines and professional schools from both universities to create a significant body of scholarship on issues relevant to Germany and Europe. The center initially will emphasize the politics of changing identities and diversity across Europe and within Germany.

“Understanding Germany’s role in the new Europe is vital because of Germany’s position as an important economic power at this historic moment of transition,” says Berghahn, professor of German and Jewish studies at UW- Madison.

James Klauser, former secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Administration, has strong ties to Germany and enthusiastically supported the center’s application.

“The grant creates a wonderful opportunity for the university and its students, and it is a fine recognition of the quality of work being done at UW- Madison,” Klauser says. “These international partnerships are critical to the success of international education today.”

The Treaty on European Union, which took effect Nov. 1, 1993, created the European Union. The founding members are Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Other members are Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Austria, Finland and Sweden joined the European Union in 1995.