Euro Exchange The Newsletter of the Institute for European Studies Directors Note -Director’s Note 1–3 Over the past 9 months, three -This Year—So Far— 4–5 events have changed the world in at EURO which we live inexorably. First, the -Future of the EU 6–7 COVID-19 pandemic swept across Mini-Conference Europe and the United States, -Getting Connected: 8–9 exposing weaknesses in our Interview with Tim Hellwig globalized economy, altering our way -Welcome to the 10– of life, shifting the political calculus EURO Cafe! 12 of both the forces of democracy and the forces of authoritarianism, and further undermining an already weakened transatlantic relationship. Our first commitment this Next, the heinous murder of George year has been to help you, our Floyd sparked a growing movement constituents and partners, stay for racial justice in the United States informed about events in that has spread to Europe and the Europe. This past Spring saw rest of the world. Last, but not least, the debut of our EURO News the climate cns1s continues Summary, a weekly news unabated. California, the new round-up that provides an epicenter, is experiencing an overview of European current unprecedented wave of forest fires, events focusing on foreign the smoke from which has darkened affairs, economics, political skies up and down the coast. developments, and the refugee, The Institute for European public health, and Studies has been doing its utmost to environmental crises. We hope respond to our changing world and that the News Summary will to continue to provide our build a common information constituents with a variety of base and a sense of community resources that will help them stay among our constituents, informed and think critically about increasing interest in the the contemporary global moment. European Union and European We are committed to initiating affairs among students and discussions that we hope will faculty at IU alike. facilitate the emergence of the kind We have also initiated two of far-reaching, international event series that we hope will solutions that these global problems address the contemporary require. moment. First, we are Pagel Fall2020 Page2 continuing and expanding upon the film series that European University Institute), Dimitiris Kourkoulas we organized last year, "(En)Countering (former EU Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dictatorships in Post-WWII Europe." This year, in Bulgaria, and Lebanon), and Meglena Kuneva addition to providing streaming access to films and (Bulgarian and European politician and currently hosting virtual discussions, we will be hosting the EU Ambassador to the Council of Europe}. academic talks, including "America and the Greek Recordings of the two talks are available on our Colonels: The Making of Cold War Foreign Policy" Facebook page. (Neovi Karakatsanis of IUSB and Jonathan Swarts This coming Spring, we will be hosting the of Purdue University Northwest), which is on tap for Midwest Model EU (MMEU), an annual competition the beginning of the Spring Semester. A screening, simulating the EU's legislative process that we have followed by a discussion, of Agnes Vardas' Nausicaa hosted at IUB since 2009, when it moved here is also planned for the upcoming semester. from IUPUI. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we We have also launched a new series, had to cancel last Spring's MMEU. This year, we will "Understanding Race and Racism in Europe," which be hosting the event, the second oldest of its type we hope will provide our constituents with in the United States, virtually. We are hoping that comparative perspectives on the way that race is the virtual format will allow for even wider conceptualized and racism is mobilized in a variety participation. We are also looking forward to once of European contexts. On November 6, we hosted again hosting the event in person here in Jeffrey Coleman of Marquette University, who gave Bloomington in Spring 2022. an interesting talk on "Black Spain: Consumption, Every year, EURO's Title VI grant helps to fund Rejection & Necropolitics" that included an faculty travel to conduct research and to participate intriguing exploration of the Spanish candy, in conferences. Please join me in congratulating Conguitos, which translates as "little Congolese." last year's winners: Gunther Jikeli, Asaad Ansaleh, We also hosted discussions of two films this Gergana May, Laszlo Borhi, Maria Bucur, Ke-Chin semester: Mathieu Kassovitz's La Haine and a Hsia, Peter Sposato, and Kathleen Meyers. Due to recent documentary produced by the Onassis COVID-19-related travel restrictions we are Center in Greece that is titled "Nine Afro-Greeks extending the window in which these funds may be Discuss What 'I Can't Breathe' Means in Greece." used and working with recipients to find other The two coordinators of the Nine Afro-Greeks means to utilize the funding. We also fund graduate project, Jackie Abhulimen and Eirini Niamouaia student research-this past year from donations to Ontoul, joined us for a fascinating discussion of this our IU Foundation account. This past Spring event. If you missed either the Coleman talk or the Semester we made awards to Beatriz Barros, Nine Afro-Greeks discussion, we are planning to Szabolcs Laszlo, Fionan Mac Gabhann, Hallie post videos of them soon. Gillespie Chu, Maria Cintra, Kirby Evers Haugland, After being derailed due to the COVID-19 Jonathan Lanz, and Jessica Storey-Nagy. Crisis, our mini-conference on "The Future of the The coming semester will be a busy one for European Union" took place as a virtual event on our Title VI grant. We continue to make great November 12 and 13. The event featured two progress with the Center for Latin American and panels "What COVID-19 Hath Wrought: How the Caribbean Studies and the African Studies Program Pandemic is Altering the European Union" and "The on our shared Digital Toolbox project, which Transatlantic Relationship in the Wake of the provides digital access to cultural objects and American Elections." The all-star lineup included, standards-ready lesson plans for K-12 teachers. Stavros Lambrinidis (the EU's Ambassador to the Many thanks to Annie Mangus, our European United States), Senator Chris Van Hollen from Content Coordinator, who has been working Maryland, Lee Feinstein, Anna Diamantopoulou tirelessly on this project identifying objects from IU (former Greek Parliamentary Deputy and Minister, collections for the Toolbox, researching them, and former European Commissioner, and President of developing networks of connections by linking them the Athens-based think tank, DIKTIO Network for to other cultural and intellectual resources as well Reform in Greece and Europe}, George as other objects in the Toolbox. This past year, the Papakonstantinou (former Greek Parliamentary topic of our Summer Teachers Institute, which aims Deputy and Minister of Finance and faculty at the to enhance K-8 teachers' global competence so that Fall2020 Page4 This Year-So Far-at EURO November 13th By Heather Duemling (https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=3w6GpbXAZuk).If you were unable to attend As it has been for everyone, the Fall 2020 the conference live, you can now watch semester has been a whopper for EU RO. We have the recordings at the YouTube links listed been faced with pandemic challenges on a here. You can read more about the conference on regular—sometimes daily—basis. We've been page 6-7. making pivots as quickly as possible, connecting As a Department of Education Title VI with our academic and outreach communities, and National Resource Center (NRC), EURO has re-imagining our path forward. continued with our outreach efforts on our own and Race and racism is an over-arching theme for in collaboration with our fellow H LS N RCs. The our programming this year. We hosted Professor necessity to function in the virtual realm has Jeffrey Coleman from Columbia University to speak brought many exciting opportunities to broaden on November 6th. His lecture, "Black Spain: our impact. In response to the COVID-19 Pandemic Consumption, Rejection and Necropolitics," dealt public health crisis over the summer, with the paradoxical nature in which Blackness is EURO reached out to MSI and community simultaneously consumed and rejected in Spanish college partners to offer our cultural production, politics and daily life. Our film collaboration and assistance in getting screenings have included La Haine, with a courses with European content adapted to the discussion led by Professor Hall Bjornstad (FRIT) online platform. This led to work with Spelman on November 9th, and a screening of the College, Florida International University, and Ivy Onassis Center's "9 AfroGreeks Discuss: What Tech Community College. does 'I can't breathe' mean in Greece" on EURO participated in two K-12 outreach December 4th co-sponsored by the African events in coordination with our fellow HLS NRCs Studies Program. The latter was followed by that reached teachers around the world as well as a vivid discussion, led by Vassiliki Tsitsopoulou, our usual audience of Indiana educators. Indiana Adjunct Lecturer with the Modern Greek teachers were able to discuss teaching during Program, with the film's producers, Jackie times of crisis with their peers from around the Abhulimen and Eirini Niamouaia Ontoul. globe. They also learned about using the United Constantine Vassiliou's lecture, Nations sustainability goals as just one way "Montesquieu's Moderation: A liberal art for the to add international content while teaching commercial world," was co-hosted by the Indiana academic standards. Because of the Tocqueville Society on October 23rd. In it, he virtual platform, more teachers were reached addressed how 18th-century ideas of moderation for both events, and a more rounded may help enrich current discussions on how varied discussion was possible. forms of populism since The Great Recession have While our 2020 EURO Faculty raised questions about the viability of democratic Travel/Research Award recipients had to put many politics under the existing liberal economic order.