Eight UW–Madison Graduate Students Receive Scott Kloeck-Jenson Travel Award

Global Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has awarded the Scott Kloeck Jenson Award to eight outstanding graduate students whose work will deepen international understanding and global social justice concerns.

The grants given to the eight students are in memory of Scott Kloeck-Jenson and his family. Scott was completing doctoral work on rural poverty in Mozambique province of Zambezia with his family on a Fulbright scholarship. There, he was also the field director for the Land Tenure Center’s Mozambique project. He was due to return to the United States in January 2000 to complete his dissertation with UW–Madison but, tragically, on June 23, 1999, Scott, his wife, Barbara, and their two children, Zoe and Noah, were killed in a car accident in South Africa.

Upon his death in 1999, his remaining fellowship funds and contributions from Scott’s family and friends were pooled to support UW–Madison graduate students. That same year, Global Studies named its annual Summer Travel Grants Program in memory of Scott and has since diligently worked to raise appropriate funds for graduate students competing for the Scott Kloeck-Jenson Award.

To date, 65 UW–Madison students have received the Scott Kloeck-Jenson award.

The following graduate students will conduct their studies in the memory of Scott and his family with their work on social justice issues around the world this summer: Catherine Sikubwabo Honeyman (Educational Policy Studies), Erika Robb (Anthropology), Huai-Hsuan Chen, (Cultural Anthropology), Joseph Harris (Sociology), Karin Butterworth (Cultural Anthropology), Kristen Molyneaux (Educational Policy Studies), Özlem Altiok, Sociology and Rural sociology), and Sarbani Chakraborty (Curriculum and Instruction).

For more information on the Scott Kloeck-Jenson Fellowships please visit global.wisc.edu/skj/

Contact: Steve Smith, Global Studies, University of Wisconsin–Madison, (608) 262-0646, sksmith@wisc.edu

How Networks Impact the Myanmar, China Disaster Responses

The recent disasters in China and Myanmar underline the network aspects of the crisis response, says emergency management expert Donald Moynihan, associate professor at the Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Organizations from all over the world are trying to work together to provide basic services. Their capacity to succeed depends a good deal on the level of cooperation they receive from the governments of China and Myanmar.

“In Myanmar, in particular, the government has obstructed the flow of information about the scope of the problem, and has prevented aid organizations from establishing a coordinated approach,” Moynihan says.

“The government has, in effect, weakened the ability of responders to learn about the nature and location of needs, and to understand how they can best combine forces with other responders,” he adds. “The lack of trust the government has shown toward aid agencies has weakened the range of skills and resources the crisis network can bring to bear to respond to the situation.”

Moynihan has just published the book “The Dynamics of Performance Management: Constructing Information and Reform.” He also has expertise on how emergency responders learn from their performance during and after crises.

Moynihan is available to speak with reporters about international crisis response and can be reached at (608) 263-6633, dmoynihan@lafollette.wisc.edu.

FROM: Karen Faster, (608) 263-7657, kfaster@lafollette.wisc.edu

UW Receives Large Grant from German Government for German and European Studies

Contact: Elizabeth Covington, Executive Director, European Studies Alliance, (608) 265-4778, eecovington@wisc.edu

The Center for German and European Studies (CGES) at University of Wisconsin–Madison has received a grant for $530,000 from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) renewing the center’s funding through 2012.

“Writing a successful grant this time was a terrific challenge because DAAD had decided to shift from a center-focused to a project-focused funding model,” says Myra Marx Ferree, CGES director. “However, our faculty rose to the challenge beautifully, and we put together a compelling package that really spoke to cutting-edge concerns and will allow us to work synergistically across disciplinary lines.”

CGES proposed four international, interdisciplinary plans to DAAD including: After the Violence: The Work of Memory in German Culture and Society (Leader: Marc Silberman); Positioning ‘Modern’ Germany in the World: Nationalism and Cosmopolitanism Colonialism, Migration, (Leader: B. Venkat Mani); Transforming European Governance (Leader: Jonathan Zeitlin); Work, Family, and Education in Europe: Challenges of Globalization and Gender (Leader: Myra Marx Ferree).

DAAD’s reviewers recognized that “social science-based proposals have great potential as break-through ventures for newly integrated knowledge about major social transformations in western societies.” What is more, they wrote, humanities projects represent a “comprehensive effort to broaden existing research in German culture, political history, and mental transformation since the 19th century.”

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. At the heart of the center’s activities is a unique series of research projects focusing on Germany and Europe from a trans-Atlantic perspective, involving faculty, graduate students, and visiting scholars.

“CGES is a model for cutting-edge social science- and humanities-based interdisciplinary, international research and graduate education,” says Gilles Bousquet, dean of the Division of International Studies. “This highly competitive new award is a tribute to the leadership of Professor Myra Marx Feree.”

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New Exchange Program to Build Bridges Between UW and India

CONTACT: Aseem Ansari, (608) 265-4690, ansari@biochem.wisc.edu

MADISON - Although still recovering from jet lag, a group of 15 undergraduate students from India are getting situated in various labs across the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, where they will spend the summer conducting research.

They are the first official participants in the university’s Khorana Scholars Program, which aims to create new opportunities for promising young researchers in one of the world’s most populous nations.

But the new program isn’t just about giving students a new scientific and cultural experience. Aseem Ansari, a UW-Madison professor of biochemistry who co-directs the program, explains that the Khorana Scholars’ visit is part of a broader effort to forge a closer relationship with India.

“The hope is that this program will lead to stronger ties between the University of Wisconsin-Madison and leading educational institutions in India and to the creation of virtual scientific communities across the globe,” he says.

The students, who hail from seven leading Indian universities, will fan out across campus to join labs in the College of Engineering, the College of Letters and Science, and the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. While the students are expected to have some trouble adjusting to campus life here, organizers of the visit expect that they will return home more adept at navigating American culture-and with a deeper sense of what it means to be a research scientist.

UW–Madison Receives Federal Grant for Middle East Studies

The Middle East Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison received a grant from the U.S. Department of Education to increase expertise among students and faculty on this strategically important region. The grant will allow UW–Madison to expand the available pool of knowledge of Middle East languages and cultures across the campus.

“This grant allows the Middle East Studies Program to meet the demands from undergraduate students wanting more and higher language and culture programs,” said Uli Schamiloglu, Director of Middle East Studies. “Not only can we now meet these demands but we can also provide a strong dependable resource for a better understanding the region.”

With the grant the Middle East Studies program plans to develop advanced Colloquial Arabic courses as well as regularize the offering of three levels of Persian. It also plans to enhance the Persian summer immersion program and expand in its study-abroad programs for students. The program will reach out to the campus and community by improving their resources in library holdings, films, speakers, and faculty development grants. It will also create relationships with institutions in the Arabic world that will strengthen its resource base and available opportunities for students.

The Department of Education awards Title VI A funding to develop, enhance, and apply international undergraduate programs to strengthen and advance foreign languages and studies.

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2008 Study Abroad Photo Contest Winners Announced

CONTACT: Katie Saur, 608-890-0939, kbsaur@bascom.wisc.edu

Madison, WI – International Academic Programs (IAP) in the Division of International Studies has announced the winners of the 2008 Study Abroad Photo Contest. A reception to honor the winners and have them discuss their photos will take place on Thursday, May 1st from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the On Wisconsin Room at the Red Gym. The reception is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

Each year IAP holds a photo contest asking past study-abroad students to submit their favorite photographs to promote the many and diverse study-abroad programs UW offers. This year 72 students submitted an average of eight photos for four photo categories: people and culture, natural landscapes, urban landscapes, and “Badgers abroad.”

For a list of student winners visit: http://www.studyabroad.wisc.edu/alumni/photos/2008_contest/

“Study abroad is one of the best ways we extend the boundaries of the campus to encircle the globe,” says Gilles Bousquet, dean of the Division of International Studies. “This is how we produce global citizens—and that means global talent for a strong state economy. That’s the role of any great global public university.”

Last year 1,600 UW–Madison students studied abroad. IAP offers over 100 study-abroad programs on six continents, including academic year, semester, summer and winter inter-session options. Programs are available to students of any degree or major, freshmen to seniors, as well as graduate students. Visit the Study Abroad Resource Room located in 250 Bascom Hall or www.studyabroad.wisc.edu.

The winning photographers received special prizes from local businesses. The local businesses donating gift certificates are: Fromagination, Husnus, Ian’s Pizza, and the Sunroom Café.

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UW to Launch Interactive Radio Show and Web Site on Islam and Muslims in the World

CONTACT: B. Venkat Mani, bvmani@global.wisc.edu, 608-265-2631

UW–Madison’s nine area and international studies programs, in partnership with Wisconsin Public Radio, and the Division of Information Technology (DoIT) have received a generous grant from the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) for an interactive program that will support public dissemination of scholarship on the topic of Islam. The grant is part of SSRC’s project, “Academia in the Public Sphere.”

UW–Madison’s eight Title VI National Resource Centers (Global Studies; African Studies Program; Center for South Asia; Center for South East Asian Studies; Center for European Studies; Center for Russia, East Europe and Central Asia; Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies; and Center for East Asian Studies) and its Middle Eastern Studies Program will host a 12 month project titled “Inside Islam: Dialogues and Debates.”

Spearheaded by Global Studies, the grant will allow for the production of 8–10 one-hour, call-in radio shows with local and international scholars on Islam, hosted by WPR’s Jean Feraca. Topics may include such subjects as “Islam and Music” and “Women and Islam,” and will address the diversity of Muslim communities throughout the world. These broadcasts will be followed by real-time chats and a blog on the WPR Web site. In addition, they will produce “insideislam.wisc.edu,” a Web site hosted by DoIT.

Award-winning Filmmaker Pierre Sauvage to Give the Mildred Fish-Harnack Human Rights and Democracy Lecture

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Masarah Van Eyck, Director of Communications, Division of International Studies, UW­­­–Madison, 608 262-5590

Pierre Sauvage, award-winning filmmaker, producer and screenwriter, will deliver the Mildred Fish-Harnack Human Rights and Democracy Lecture at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Sauvage will give a lecture titled “Did Americans Fight the Holocaust” on Tuesday, April 15 at 4 pm in the Wisconsin Historical Society Auditorium (816 State St., Madison).

An Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker, Pierre Sauvage is best known for his 1989 documentary Weapons of the Spirit which won numerous awards and remains one of the most widely used documentary teaching tools on the Holocaust. An expert on rescuers of Jews during the Holocaust, Sauvage is currently focusing on the American experience of the Holocaust.

Weapons of the Spirit will screen on Monday, April 14 at 6 pm in the Browsing Library at Memorial Union (800 Langdon St., Madison).

These events are sponsored by the Global Legal Studies Center and the Division of International Studies and are co-sponsored by the Mosse/Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies, the Department of Communication Arts, and the Center for Interdisciplinary French Studies. Both events are free and open to the public.

The Mildred Fish-Harnack Human Rights and Democracy Lecture is named after a Milwaukee native who was a vibrant and active student at UW–Madison in the 1920s. While living in Germany, Fish-Harnack assisted in the escape of German Jews and political dissidents. She is the only American civilian executed under the personal instruction of Adolf Hitler, for her resistance to the Nazi regime. The Mildred Fish-Harnack Human Rights and Democracy Lecture is designed to promote greater understanding of human rights and democracy, and enrich international studies at UW-Madison. For further information on Fish-Harnack and the lecture series, please go to www.international.wisc.edu/fishharnack/.

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World Languages Day to Draw 700-plus Students from Across Wisconsin

CONTACT: Wendy Johnson, (608) 262-1473, wsjohnso@wisc.edu

MADISON - It’s a rite of passage each spring for thousands of state high school students - heading to Madison for basketball, hockey and wrestling tournaments and a taste of the city, the university and a day or two out of school.

But the siren call is not just for sports enthusiasts. The campus beckons each spring to those interested in exploring world languages and cultures at World Languages Day, an annual event sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Language Institute that attracts some 700 students from 25 Wisconsin high schools. This year’s event, the 7th World Languages Day, will take place on April 22 in the Memorial Union and the Pyle Center.

Through more than 50 class sessions on language learning, storytelling, skits, cinema, dance and music, students are exposed to many diverse world languages and cultures. Over 30 languages are represented in these sessions, from Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Norwegian and Spanish to Yoruba.

International Faculty Book Series Features Human Rights Around the World

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Wendy Christensen, Communications, Division of International Studies, UW–Madison, communication@international.wisc.edu, 608 262-5590

UW­–Madison’s International Institute Faculty Book Series Features Human Rights Around the World

Celebrating the contributions that UW–Madison faculty bring to the study of human rights, this semester’s book series offers diverse perspectives and voices to shed light on these complex issues.

This popular and long-running book series, sponsored by the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Division of International Studies, the International Institute, and the University Bookstore, brings together avid readers and UW–Madison faculty for public, lively discussions about topics from around the world.

All the talks take place at 7pm at the University Bookstore in the Hilldale Mall (702 N. Midvale Boulevard).

They are free and open to the public.­

Tuesday, April 8
Robert Skloot (UW–Madison, Theatre and Drama, Jewish Studies)
Theatre of Genocide: Four Plays about Mass Murder in Rwanda, Bosnia, Cambodia and Armenia (University of Wisconsin Press, 2008)

In this pioneering volume, Robert Skloot brings together four plays—three of which are published here for the first time—that fearlessly explore the face of modern genocide. The scripts deal with the destruction of four targeted populations: Armenians, Cambodians, Bosnian Muslims, and Rwandan Tutsis. Taken together, these four plays erase the boundaries of theatrical realism to present stories that probe the actions of the perpetrators and the suffering of their victims. A major artistic contribution to the study of the history and effects of genocide, this collection continues the important journey toward understanding the terror and trauma to which the modern world has so often been witness.

Three UW Faculty Receive Palmes Académiques for Work on International Environmental Project

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
3/21/08

Contact: Masarah Van Eyck, mvaneyck2@international.wisc.edu, 608-262-5590.

Three University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty will be named Chevaliers de l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques in a private ceremony with the French Consul General, Jean-Baptiste de Boissière, in Madison on March 27.

Dating from 1808 under Napoleonic rule, the L’Ordre des Palmes Académiques was established to distinguish university dignitaries and recognize service in the field of education. Today it is conferred on scholars, scientists, and those in literary and artistic fields.

The three will receive the Palmes Académiques for their efforts in building and running the intercultural program Environmental Policy, Land Use and Conservation Biology in Franco-American Perspective with the support of the New York-based French American Cultural Exchange (FACE) Foundation and the Cultural and Scientific Services of the French Embassy.

The Consul General will recognize their contribution in building strong research and education ties between the UW and the French school, l’École National Supérieure Agronomique de Montpellier. In just three years, 13 U.S. and 12 French graduate students have participated in the program, developing their scientific and linguistic knowledge and cultural insight. The program has included faculty exchanges as well.

Consul General de Boissière will deliver a public talk, “The New Context of the French-American Relation,” at noon on March 27 in 206 Ingraham Hall. Introducing de Boissière will be Gilles Bousquet, dean of the Division of International Studies and himself a recipient of the Palms Académiques.

Award recipients are:

Wisconsin Passes State Resolution on International Education

CONTACT: Masarah Van Eyck, mvaneyck2@international.wisc.edu, 608-262-5592

On March 5, 2008, the Wisconsin Legislature passed a Joint Resolution on International Education. Spearheaded by Sam Dunlop of St. Norbert College, the resolution recognizes that “international education is a critical component of higher education…contributing to the economy of the state and to a diverse college environment.”

“This is one of the best things the legislature can do for the state of Wisconsin,” says Gilles Bousquet, dean of University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Division of International Studies. “Education is the currency of the global knowledge economy; global citizens are what link the local to the global.”

Noting that Wisconsin’s economy is “inextricably tied to the rest of the world,” the resolution urges universities to emphasize foreign language instruction and study abroad to promote cultural awareness and give graduates the cross-cultural skills they will need to be leaders in the global work force.

Annual Study Abroad Photo Contest Announced

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Katie Saur, International Academic Programs, University of Wisconsin-Madison, (608) 890-0939, kbsaur@bascom.wisc.edu

Madison, WI –International Academic Programs (IAP), a member program of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Division of International Studies, has announced that its annual Study Abroad Photo Contest will take place this February.

Each year International Academic Programs (IAP) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison hosts a Study Abroad Photography Contest in order to promote study abroad programs to the student community. Past participants of UW-Madison-sponsored study abroad programs are invited to submit photos from their time abroad. Entry photos are grouped in four categories: natural landscapes; people and culture; urban landscapes; and “Badgers abroad.”

First, second, and third place winners, as well as honorable mentions, will be determined in each category during a voting period involving students, faculty and staff at the university. Prizes will include gift certificate donations from local businesses and magazine subscriptions.

Photo contest rules and entry forms can be found at

WISCTV to Air Series on UW-Alumn, Nazi Resister

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Masarah Van Eyck, Director of Communications, Division of International Studies, mvaneyck2@international.wisc.edu, 608-262-5590

Madison—Most people wouldn’t recognize her face or her name, but this Wisconsin woman’s story stretches far beyond our borders. In mid-November WISC-TV, News 3 will take an in depth look at Milwaukee native and University of Wisconsin–Madison alum, Mildred Fish Harnack and her amazing journey into Nazi Germany—a journey that started with a chance meeting on the UW–Madison campus.

After earning a BA and MA at UW–Madison, she met her husband, German-born Arvid Harnack, while lecturing in Bascom Hall. After moving to Germany, she became a pioneer in the study of American literature and eventually a major force in the underground resistance to the Nazis.

In the end, Fish-Harnack, was the only American woman executed on the direct orders of Adolph Hitler.

Mildred Fish Harnack: Back to Berlin will air each night at 10pm from November 13 -15 on News 3.

Global U: UW-Madison Receives Top Ranking in International Study Opportunities

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: Masarah Van Eyck, Director of Communications, Division of International Studies, 608-262-5590, mvaneyck@international.wisc.edu

Whether through study abroad, international teaching and research collaborations, language study, or the thousands of students from around the world who enroll at our campus every year, the University of Wisconsin–Madison is truly a global university.

And the numbers prove it:

–Released today to coincide with International Education Week, the 2007 Open Doors report which surveys study abroad programs across the nation, ranks UW–Madison 5^th and 6^th respectively among other research institutions’ semester- and year-long programs in 2005-2006.

Overall, UW­-Madison’s study abroad program ranks in the top 20 of U.S. research institutions. And for good reason: UW–Madison offers students over 150 overseas study and internship opportunities to every continent except Antarctica. In 2005-2006, it sent more than 1,600 students abroad.

But one need not leave the state to gain ample global knowledge. Given a choice to study more than 60 languages, study with experts about any part of the world, and the opportunity to live in language-specific housing through the International Learning Center, UW–Madison is devoted to preparing its students for the future.

Grant from Thai Embassy boosts Thai studies

The Royal Thai Embassy has granted the Center for Southeast Asian Studies nearly $100,000 to support the university’s Thai studies program.

The gift will enhance teaching and research on Thai history, culture, and society. Specifically, it will support the development of certificates in Thai studies at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, with scholarship funds for students specializing in Thai studies. It will enable the library to enhance its collection of Thai print materials, and it will support special conferences, lecture series, and film series relating to Thailand.

The gift will also enable the Center for Southeast Asian Studies to establish a Distinguished Visitor program to bring visiting specialists on Thailand to teach and lecture, expanding on existing academic and professional links between Thailand and UW-Madison.

Is a US Strike on Iran Inevitable?: Iran Expert to Speak in Madison

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Masarah Van Eyck, Director of Communications, Division of International Studies, mvaneyck2@international.wisc.edu, (608) 262-5590.

Madison, WI—News reports from Washington, DC and Tehran differ on the reasons why the US may seek to attack Iran in the coming months. Neither country disputes the fact, however, that Iran is next on the list of targets in President Bush’s “War on Terror.”

Gary Sick, principal White House aide during the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the US hostage crisis, will give his talk, “Is a US Strike on Iran Inevitable?” Thursday, October 25, at 8pm in Grainger Hall’s Morgridge Auditorium (975 University Ave.). The event is free and open to the public.

UW Alumni Return to Campus to Discuss Importance of Languages in Careers in International Development

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Wendy Johnson, Outreach Coordinator, Language Institute, Tel. (608) 262-1473, Fax (608) 890-1094, wsjohnso@wisc.edu

Madison—Having worked in many countries including France, Morocco, the Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, Peru, and Brazil, three of UW–Madison’s alumni know firsthand how essential their studies in French, Russian, Spanish, and Portuguese have been to their international development work.

“Proficiency in the local language is really invaluable to be able to engage directly with local partners, understand what they are thinking and to create trust and confidence with them,” says Malcolm Childress, UW-Madison alumnus and senior land administration specialist with the World Bank. “In some areas, such as Latin America, knowing the language is a basic prerequisite for working in the country.”

On Monday October 15, 2007, UW-Madison’s Language Institute will host Childress and two other UW alumni for a panel discussion entitled “Language for Life: Languages and International Development.” The event will be held at 4:00 pm in 6104 Social Sciences Building. The event is free and open to the public.

Panelists include:

Indian Ambassador to the US to Speak in Madison

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Sharon Dickson, Associate Director, Center for South Asia, sdickson@facstaff.wisc.edu, 608-262-3209.

INDIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE US TO SPEAK IN MADISON

Madison—Ambassador Raminder Singh Jassal, the present Indian Ambassador to the U.S., will address U.S.–India relations at the Pyle Center on October 17th from 6pm to 7:30pm. This event is free and open to the public.

Ambassador Jassal was instrumental in forging the US–Indian nuclear deal that has accepted India as one of the world’s nuclear states. Previously, Ambassador Jassal served as India’s Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs and as Ambassador to Israel. He joined his new post as Deputy Chief of Mission Embassy of India, Washington, D.C. in January 2005.

Ambassador Jassal’s appearance is made possible by the Center for South Asia, a program in UW–Madison’s International Institute (an initiative of the College of Letters and Science and the Division of International Studies).

Sixth Annual “World Beyond Our Borders” Series Highlights International Books by UW-Madison Faculty

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Masarah Van Eyck, Director of Communications, Division of International Studies, UW-Madison, mvaneyck2@international.wisc.edu, (608) 262-5590

From oral traditions in Northern Europe to modern Turkish-German novels, from an anthropologist’s memoir of India to Kissinger’s impact on the last century, this fall’s “World Beyond Our Borders” series offers a lively and eclectic mix of new work by UW-Madison faculty.

Join the authors for one—or all four—of these free, public events.

The popular series, sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Division of International Studies, the International Institute, and Borders Books, brings together avid readers and UW-Madison faculty for public, lively discussion about topics from around the world.

Tuesday, September 11

B. Venkat Mani (UW-Madison, German)

Cosmopolitical Claims: Turkish-German Literatures From Nadolny to Pamuk (UniversityIowa Press, 2007). Mani explores literary claims of cosmopolitanism in four “Turkish-German” novels to argue that the cultural hyphen signals at best a scrutiny of German and Turkish national identities. of7 p.m. at Borders Books West, 3750 University Avenue, Madison.