the center for austrian studies cas 2015-16 annual report cas the 2015-16 cas staff 2015-16 CAS staff, left to right: Jan Volek, Martin Baresch, Jennifer Hammer, Christopher Flynn, Daniel Pinkerton, Howard Louthan. Not pictured: Michaela Bunke. Photo: Lisa Miller. Director Editor Howard Louthan specializes in the intellectual Daniel Pinkerton has been the editor and art Student Employees and cultural history of early modern Central director of the Austrian Studies Newsmagazine Christopher Flynn is a fifth year graduate Europe with special attention to religion. His (ASN) since 1992 and the CAS Annual Re- student in the Department of History. He stud- books include The Quest for Compromise, an port since 1991. He assisted with the website ies early medieval history and is working on a examination of toleration in late 16th century redesign, performed other design and editorial dissertation on late Carolingian warfare. He was Vienna, and Converting Bohemia, an explora- duties, and assisted the director on special proj- assistant editor of the AHY and chief copyeditor tion of the recatholization of the Czech lands in ects, such as administering the CAS Book and of the ASN. the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. His Dissertation Prize competition. Pinkerton holds current work examines the religious cultures of an MFA in playwriting and an MA in European Jan Volek is a doctoral student in history who 16th century Poland. Louthan has previously history. Outside of the university, he is an award- works on the religious history of central Europe taught at the University of Notre Dame, Warsaw winning playwright and lyricist. in the late medieval and early modern periods. University, and the University of Florida. He assumed various editorial duties with the Program Coordinator book series and the ASN. Jennifer Hammer joined CAS in January 2015, with primary responsibilities for supporting pro- Michaela Bunke, a junior majoring in history contents gramming in the Center for Austrian Studies, as and minoring in religious studies, with interests well as the Center for Holocaust and Genocide in the Czech lands and early modern history, The Director’s View 3 Studies. She led our web redesign team. Jennifer was an undergraduate administrative worker for Publications 4 earned a BA at the University of Minnesota in spring semester. Anthropology and Japanese and has done gradu- Events 7 ate work at Parsons the New School of Design. Faculty 10 Jennifer studied in Nagoya, Japan, and has lived CAS-BMWFW Fellow Student Support 12 in Graz and New York. She has previously worked Martin Baresch was the 2015-16 CAS-BMWFW for the non-profit organizations JSTOR, Artstor, Fellow. Please see back cover for details about Partnerships 13 Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and others. the fellowship and about Martin. Support & Collaboration 14 FRONT COVER: TOP: Participants in the CAS Graduate Student Workshop on Early Modern Making a Gift 15 Central Europe. Left to right: Jan Volek, Vojtěch Bažant, Lisa Scott, Pavel Soukup, Sara Ludin, Věra 2015-16 BMWFW Fellow 16 Vejrychová, Amy Nelson, Suzanna Ivanič, Agnieszka Rec, Aaron Moldenhauer, Michael Van Dussen, Christina Traxler. BOTTOM: 1950s bumper car from the exhibit In den Prater! Wiener Vergnügen seit 1766 at the Wien Museum. (Photos: Daniel Pinkerton.) 2015 2 2016 the director’s view cas Past, present, and future at CAS I write my first annual report from Lebanon, on the Habsburgs from Vienna, to create a series and as I reflect back on a week spent in busy Bei- of public lectures that was one of the most suc- rut, I marvel at the remarkable diversity of this cessful programs the Center has ever run. Middle Eastern capital. The ethnic and religious CAS seeks to build upon this solid founda- vibrancy of this city is singular, and though this tion and continue to offer coverage on a range Levantine and Middle Eastern culture is unique of themes and topics, but at this important mo- to this bustling port on the Mediterranean, it ment of transition we do face a series of challeng- does remind me of what I have found so attrac- es that may impact the scope of our activities. tive and engaging in the study of Central Europe. We construct our programming around faculty Central Europe, too, has boasted a dynamic and interests, and with the retirement of Gary Co- cosmopolitan culture that has been a product of hen at the end of 2016, the university will be left constant churning and change, a mixing of peo- without a faculty member who regularly teaches ple and the ways of life they brought with them. the history of modern Central Europe. Though Photo: Lisa Miller During my first year as director of the Cen- we at CAS will continue to advocate for a new ter for Austrian Studies, we have attempted position in this area, we have undertaken a series Minneapolis from universities in Vienna, Prague, to reflect this rich cultural legacy through our of initiatives to strengthen and reinforce a Cen- New Haven, Berkeley, and Chicago. Please see the programming. A quick scan of our calendar will tral European presence at Minnesota. This year profiles of these emerging scholars who have par- show a wide range of activities in many differ- for the first time we established a graduate stu- ticipated in our CAS Seminar program (https:// ent fields. We opened and closed our academic dent advisory council to bring together students cla.umn.edu/austrian/research/projects/semi- year with theatrical productions—in September at the university from all colleges who share an nar-fellows). We are already making preparations a cabaret show from the Jewish ghetto of Terezín/ interest in Central Europe. It provides a way for for future workshops as we reach out to and Theresienstadt and in May a children’s musical us to work with future scholars and a platform to bring together promising young scholars from from the very same place. The academic lectures help launch their young careers. This past fall we both sides of the Atlantic. we sponsored also spanned a wide range, both in took two of these students to the Czech Repub- In conclusion, I would like to recognize the terms of chronology and discipline. lic, where they presented portions of their dis- contributions of many at CAS who have made As we look forward to the future, we also re- sertation research at an international convention what we do possible. Jennifer Hammer, after 18 flect back on the past and recognize the leader- of Austrian centers. We have also created an un- months as program coordinator, has become ship of Gary Cohen, who shaped the direction dergraduate advisory board, and we are working an indispensable fixture at CAS. Our graduate of CAS in such a critical fashion. Gary arrived towards an undergraduate internship program at student editors, Chris Flynn, Sharon Park, and at the University of Minnesota in July 2001 and the Center. We hope this will bolster interest in Jan Volek, made important contributions to our led the Center until July 2010 before moving on Central Europe among undergraduates. publications, particularly the Austrian History and serving as chair of the history department. A final initiative to note concerns our wider Yearbook. Martin Baresch, the BMWFW Fellow He returned as acting director in 2014-15. If I mission supporting research and scholarship from Austria, enriched our intellectual and so- could sum up Gary’s achievement at the Cen- nationally and internationally. It is no secret that cial life. Joshkin Sezer and Michaela Bunke were ter, I would emphasize the energy he invested the footprint of Central European Studies in the our undergraduate fellows this year and helped broadening the reach and scope of our activities Anglophone world is slowly shrinking. We con- us rethink our undergraduate program. Finally, I in terms of geography, chronology, and subject tinue to see declining enrollments in German would like to single out our longtime editor of matter. This was reflected in the wide array of and other languages of the region, which in turn the Austrian Studies Newsmagazine, Dan Pinker- conferences, workshops, and programs he led at affects a broad range of disciplines in the arts, hu- ton. Dan began work at CAS in 1990 as an RA, the Center—from climate change to Baroque cit- manities, and social sciences. Graduate students became a civil servant in 1994, and will be retiring ies, contemporary social policy and patterns of working on Central European topics now more at the end of 2016. As directors have come and Austrian-American migration. Just last year, he than ever need support and encouragement. gone, Dan has been a consistent presence at the collaborated with the Minneapolis Institute of To help accomplish that, we ran a workshop for Center and has represented the Center so well for Art, which was sponsoring a visiting exhibition advanced level graduate students who came to so many years. Thank you, Dan! v OUR MISSION THE CENTER FOR AUSTRIAN STUDIES • SERVES as an international leader in promoting new scholarship about Austria and Central Europe across disciplines in the humanities, the social sciences, international business management, and the fine arts; • CONNECTS scholars, students, and an international community to resources in Minnesota, Austria, Central Europe, and the EU; • REACHES OUT to students, scholars, and an international community of educated nonacademics, bringing an awareness of Austria and the new Europe and its relevance to American life; • ENRICHES THE TEACHING MISSION of the university and the College of Liberal Arts by connecting its research and outreach programs with classroom opportunities for students. The Center pursues its mission through a variety of activities, including research projects, publications, international interdisciplinary symposia, student and faculty exchanges, scholarships, and outreach events for both students and the Twin Cities community.