The Center for German and European Studies (CGES) at University of Wisconsin–Madison has received a fifth major grant from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), renewing the center’s funding through December 2016.
“The competition for funding this time around was more intense than in the past, and we are extremely grateful to DAAD and the German government for its continuous support since the center’s founding 17 years ago,” says CGES Director Pamela Potter, professor of German and Music.
“This new round of funding will allow us to continue the exciting transatlantic work we saw in the past year, including innovative projects on the environment,” Potter says. “Gregg Mitman’s groundbreaking experiment with the ‘Anthropocene Slam’ in Madison and the accompanying exhibit in Munich are perfect examples.”
CGES will pursue three international, interdisciplinary research projects involving students, faculty, and visiting scholars: “Responding to Contemporary Challenges in Germany” (Myra Marx Ferree, Alice H. Cook Professor of Sociology); “Germany and the World: Transformation and Transmission of Ideas, Ideologies, and Identities” (Potter); and “Environmental Futures” (G. Mitman, Vilas Research and William Coleman Professor of History of Science, Medical History, and Environmental Studies).
DAAD established the CGES in 1998 under the German Marshall Plan with matching grants from UW–Madison and the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities. Devoted to the development of the next generation of scholars and the production of new knowledge relating to Germany and Europe, the center supports research, teaching, and outreach in a broad range of fields and disciplines.
Plans for the next two years include:
- Study visits for groups of German and American students and scholars to compare the cultural and environmental history of the Mississippi and Rhine rivers
- An international workshop exploring the intellectual influence of Germany on the world over the last three centuries
- A lecture series of leading scholars on comparative demographic trends in Germany, the EU and the US
- Continuing visits by major figures in the German-American partnership.
- The grant comes at a significant point for German-US relations, which have been strained by diplomatic differences.
For more information, contact Elizabeth Covington, executive director, of the European Studies Alliance, (608) 265-4778, eecovington@wisc.edu.