Jewish Studies Work in Progress Colloquium:
Emma Squire is a doctoral candidate in the Theatre Arts Department. She is currently working on her pioneering dissertation on the Yiddish Theatre in Soviet and Post-Soviet Lithuania. Through archival research in Vilnius, and interviews with spectators and theater artists, her project explores the repertoire, challenges, and cultural impact of the Jewish Folk Theatre in communist times.

Learn more and Register Here: https://virginiatech.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_nKGH19xIRW-oBHRQFq8TYw

The EU policy on Digitization (of Art Collections) with Antoinette Maget Dominice (Ludwig Maximillian University), Ewa Manikowska (Institute of Art Polish Academy of Sciences), Arianna Traviglia (Center for Cultural Heritage Technology University ca'Foscari)
Moderator: Francesca Fiorentini, University of Trieste
This panel will illustrate the technologies available for Cultural Heritage and assess both their potential and risks within the European Union policy framework in this sector.
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Join the European Studies Center at Pitt's virtual book club, exploring recent works by European authors. We will be reading "Gingerbread" by Helen Oyeyemi.

Discussion dates at February 16 and February 20. The deadline to RSVP is Thursday, January 7, 2021. A free copy of the book is available to the first 50 registrants who request one. The event is open to ALL.

RSVP at https://forms.gle/uTRwaCSdDVpd9Lir9

HealTogether CIC is a community enterprise organization with a vision for improving access for mental health care services for the Somali community in England and Wales. Anabelle joins us from the UK to discuss starting her own organization to help fellow Somalis in her community after a lockdown and a furlough. She spent 15 years in HR and Talent Acquisition before actualizing her dream during Covid-19.

The ESC’s 2020-21 theme, Creating Europe, explores both the political, social, cultural, and geographical forces that have given shape to contemporary Europe and also individuals who create and are creative in their daily or artistic expressions of what it means to be European.

In this second installment of our 'Creating Europe through' series, the focus will be on the built environment. Our panelists will discuss the following: How does the architecture of EU institutional buildings reflect or express European ideas or identity? Does EU funding for infrastructure projects throughout Europe promote a European identity among EU citizens? And how does the EU work to integrate buildings into the circular economy and create a greener Europe?

Join the European Studies Center at Pitt's virtual book club, exploring recent works by European authors. We will be reading "Gingerbread" by Helen Oyeyemi.

Discussion dates at February 16 and February 20. The deadline to RSVP is Thursday, January 7, 2021. A free copy of the book is available to the first 50 registrants who request one. The event is open to ALL.

RSVP at https://forms.gle/uTRwaCSdDVpd9Lir9

JMEUCE Lecture Series:
This talk places empire and decolonization at the heart of the history of European integration. When French officials came to the negotiating table to help found the European Economic Community (EEC), their sovereignty over Algeria was a paramount concern. As a result, they demanded that their European collaborators agree to name Algeria in the treaty establishing the EEC. This held unintended consequences before and after Algeria’s independence. Algeria’s exit from Europe proved plodding and uneven, demonstrating both the range of possibilities for what the shape of integrated Europe might have been and also the slow process of decolonization.

Megan Brown
Department of History, Swarthmore University

August von Platen’s (1796–1835) name appears regularly in queer German print culture around 1900. Following the highly advertised publication of the famed poet’s diaries in 1896 and then in 1900, sexologists and admirers took up the culture of reading his work for traces of the queer life he led. This talk explores one such project: Xavier Mayne’s The Intersexes: A History of Similisexualism as a Problem in Social Life (1910), which includes an extensive biography of Platen. This talk will examine how the crafting of Platen’s body in this text—an embodiment through words—played a central role in imagining an ideal queerness venerated by Mayne and much of the writing about Platen around 1900.

Ervin Malakaj is Assistant Professor of German Studies at the University of British Columbia. His scholarship focuses on German media studies, queer studies, and critical university studies. He is the co-editor with Regine Criser of Diversity and Decolonization in German Studies (2020, Palgrave)

STUDENT CAPSTONE PRESENTATIONS 4:00PM EST
Capstone Senior Seminar Research Projects: Chloe Abele, Meghan Fanning, Samantha Good, Anna Hudson, Jacob Kuzy, Ingrid Miller, Max Nowalk, Lauren Towner, Anne Marie Yurik

In January, the United Kingdom will leave the European Union. In this discussion, Anand Menon, an expert on the European Union, will talk about what this means for the future of the European Union, the ramifications for the United Kingdom, and what may happen next.

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EU DEMOCRACY FORUM – IMAGINE THE FUTURE
Democracy cannot be taken for granted -- not in Europe, not anywhere. With this series of talks by experts on European politics and society we want to encourage discussion about the future of democracy in the European Union, its member states, and the neighborhood. As the EU Commission launches its Conference on the Future of Europe in 2021, we invite you to imagine this future with us. Our contributors will reflect on the EU’s achievements and challenges. We will hear their reflections on how to strengthen and expand democratic processes and institutions, both in Brussels and in Europe more broadly.

Inspired by the European Year of Rail, which shines a light on one of the most sustainable, innovative, and safest modes of transportation, and acknowledging the challenges we have all faced during the pandemic in traveling and forging new connections, the inaugural MEET EU Short Film Competition for U.S. Youth asks young people to create a short film (documentary or non-documentary) responding to the theme “Transatlantic Connections”. The theme is intentionally broad and entrants are encouraged to be creative in how they interpret it.

MEET EU: Making Encounters, Engaging Transatlanticists, is a grant generously funded by the European Union through the European Union Delegation to the US in Washington, DC. The goals of this grant are to shine a light on the EU and the importance of the transatlantic relationship through the eyes of young Americans. We encourage entrants to think creatively to give us your perspective on the European-American relationship, similarities and differences between countries, and why this relationship matters.

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Join the University of Pittsburgh and Newcastle University for a virtual conference: The Role of Universities in Sustainable, Just and Inclusive Cities on January 21st and January 22nd , 2021.

Post-industrial cities are crucibles of reinvention and innovation. Those that have successfully navigated the sunsetting of industrial production have creatively reoriented to intellectual technology, advanced manufacturing, business services, and life science innovations. And yet, the challenges that followed industrial decline—loss of population, unemployment, and destructive urban redevelopment strategies—continue to reverberate.

As the founding members of the International Place-Based University Network, Newcastle University and the University of Pittsburgh are hosting this conference. The goal is to share best practices for community and civic engagement as well as to explore potential international collaborations for academically based community engagement.

To view the full schedule of events and to register, visit: https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/esc/events/international-place-based-universit...

The Foreign Language & Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship program is a prestigious and competitive award that allows select Pitt undergraduate and graduate students to devote full time attention to their chosen modern foreign language and area studies specialty. There are separate competitions for the Academic Year FLAS Fellowship and the Summer FLAS Fellowship.

Attend this info session with representatives from the European Studies Center, the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, and the Asian Studies Center to learn more about the requirements and how to submit a strong application.

Register here: https://bit.ly/FLAS-info-session-2021

For Year 3 of our faculty development workshops for community colleges and minority-serving institutions, we are offering a series of monthly webinars focused on technology. The third of the webinars will examine Technology and Cybersecurity specifically addressing the challenges of protecting data against international threats.

Register here

Join the European Studies Center at Pitt for a Virtual Book Club to explore recent works by European authors. Our first book is Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck. Discussion dates are December 6 and December 10. Those who RSVP by 10/22 can receive a FREE book and the event is open to ALL.

RSVP at https://forms.gle/EqVJieX1XgVvWd1i7

Join the European Studies Center at Pitt for a Virtual Book Club to explore recent works by European authors. Our first book is Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck. Discussion dates are December 6 and December 10. Those who RSVP by 10/22 can receive a FREE book and the event is open to ALL.

RSVP at https://forms.gle/EqVJieX1XgVvWd1i7

The High School Model European Union is an annual event for high school students, with this year's simulation taking place virtually via Microsoft Teams. The goal of the Model EU is to give high school students the opportunity to learn about the workings of the European Union through a hands-on simulation of a meeting of the European Council. Playing the role of presidents and prime ministers, students spend a day engaged in intense negotiations over current issues impacting the EU.
Registration Deadline: Wednesday, October 28, 2020
Cost: $10/student
More information and Registration: https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/esc/outreach/students/model-eu

Around the world, countries are undertaking fiscal stimulus responses in order to accelerate their recovery from COVID-19. On 21 July 2020, EU leaders agreed to a €1,824.3 trillion (ca $2 trillion) package which includes a €1,074.3 billion budget for the next seven years and a major stimulus package of €750 billion. The Next Generation EU (NGEU) stimulus package will help to rebuild and to support investment in green and digital transitions. Climate action is at the forefront of this historic agreement with a target of 30% of total expenditures going towards efforts to reach EU climate neutrality by 2050. A part of the package/agreement is the €150 billion Just Transition Mechanism (JTM). By targeting support to the most affected regions, the JTM program aims to guarantee that the EU’s “climate-neutral economy happens in a fair way, leaving no one behind.”

The EU also seeks to provide worldwide impact by serving as a global leader on reaching science-based targets of the Paris Agreement and by promoting implementation of ambitious environmental, energy, and climate policies with partner countries. Last year the EU announced the European Green Deal - Europe's new growth strategy for achieving climate neutrality by mid-century. Most recently the European Commission proposed to increase the 2030 target to reduce EU greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% in the next decade, compared to 1990 levels. As a part of the EU's climate neutrality agenda, innovative actions were proposed on clean hydrogen economy, methane emissions reduction, energy efficiency in the building sector, and offshore wind deployment.

What does Europe's drive for climate neutrality mean for the transatlantic cooperation? How can the EU and the next U.S. Administration work together towards a shared transatlantic agenda?

Event Registration:https://www.cvent.com/d/b7qrr4
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Elizabeth Echevarria, Founder and CEO of Living in Liberty discusses her decision to start the organization to combat human trafficking and the work the organization does to aid women and children in Pittsburgh. Services, funding, volunteering, employees, and outreach are all part of the organization's efforts.

November 15th, 2020
6:30-7:30pm
Zoom Discussion

Zoom Link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9238996364?pwd=UFMrTUlQN1QxazFFdmNsenVIdnI5UT09

Throughout our history, art and artists have resisted oppression, violence, injustice, and inequality. Some of the world’s most interesting art is on the streets and easily accessible to all. In this workshop we will discuss how protest art uses public space to engage in dialogue between the artist and the public. At an unprecedented moment in geopolitics, the work of public artists amplifies activism, resistance, and solidarity. Artists give context and vision to broad social movements, supporting those who have been marginalized and who need justice. Artists around the world question what is and why that transcends national boundaries and politics . We will examine works of Ai Wei Wei, Keith Herring, murals from Northern Ireland, to the Black Lives movement.

Wednesday, November 11
6:00 - 8:300 pm (Eastern Time)
Eric Shiner: "Kusama Yayoi, Radical Performance as a Means of Self-Preservation and Social Critique"
Erin Hinson: "Loyalty in Dissent: Loyalist Public Murals in Pre- and Post-Ceasefire Northern Ireland"

To learn more, please visit our website: https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/ncta/

Register here!

In the past year more people have become familiar with the graph of the epidemic curve than ever before. Beginnings, peaks and endings of COVID-19 occupy everyday discussions, inform policies, shape social interactions and provide bases for criticism and political action. What constitutes an ending, when that endpoint is and what might bring it about is more and more unclear, however. Through historical case studies, this talk explores some of the stakes in how we think about the temporalities of epidemics, and how their historical framing may impact on public health responses.

Event Registration:https://ufl.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_d5MQzqD6SfOBZvETP9wd4A

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Throughout our history, art and artists have resisted oppression, violence, injustice, and inequality. Some of the world’s most interesting art is on the streets and easily accessible to all. In this workshop we will discuss how protest art uses public space to engage in dialogue between the artist and the public. At an unprecedented moment in geopolitics, the work of public artists amplifies activism, resistance, and solidarity. Artists give context and vision to broad social movements, supporting those who have been marginalized and who need justice. Artists around the world question what is and why that transcends national boundaries and politics . We will examine works of Ai Wei Wei, Keith Herring, murals from Northern Ireland, to the Black Lives movement.

Monday, November 9
6:00 - 8:30 pm (Eastern Time)
Caitlin Bruce: "Visual Noise: Street Art in Activism and Placemaking in Bogotá Colombia"
Eric Shiner: "Ai Weiwei: Art Shall Liberate the World"

To learn more, please visit our website: https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/ncta/

Register <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSenz0AUotCQCle_Mpz0i9yO4eg9Ugf4...!

Speak with a student ambassador from the European Studies Center to learn about their four certificate offerings, events, scholarships, symposia and more.

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86171673232?pwd=aThWaHhxeDFsTEdPeGZsdzZaS01EQT09
Password: 4Lkh8d

Amir Issaa is an Italian rapper, hip-hop artist, producer,
writer, and social activist who has worked in the Italian
music industry since the late 1990s. Born and raised in
the diverse working-class neighborhood of
Torpignattara in Rome, he is the son of an Egyptian
father and an Italian mother. Issaa was one of the
founders of the Rome Zoo, a collective of rappers and
musicians that helped to define the rap scene in Italy
and launched the careers of many artists. He has won
several awards for his music, in particular for his work
on the 2012 film, Scialla!, which garnered him the David
di Donatello for best song and best soundtrack.
Issaa's work as an activist began as a reaction to his
own family's struggles; his father, an Egyptian
immigrant, was incarcerated for most of Issaa's
childhood. In 2017, Issaa published an autobiographical
novel, Vivo per questo (This is What I Live For), in which
he reflects on his formative years growing up in
Torpignattara and the prejudice and racism that he
faced. Issaa has long been an activist for immigrants'
rights, particularly those of the children of immigrants
living in Italy. More recently, Issaa has been involved in
the Italian Black Lives Matter movement and published
the song "Non respiro" ("I Can't Breathe") in response to
the murder of George Floyd. ​Register Here: https://pitt.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GJDIU1dFTLGApPc0uiu_RQ

The New Speed of Politics: Is Gender Equality Accelerating or Shutting Down? With Former MEP Maria Gabriela Zoana and faculty discussant Helga Varden, Assoc. Professor of Philosophy and Women and Gender Studies, U of I.

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Event Registration: https://gatech.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ebbdCX2k4hcc7aJ

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Event Registration: https://gatech.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ebbdCX2k4hcc7aJ

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A UHC scholar community is a collaborative, interdisciplinary group of people who share interests in researching issues, imagining projects, resolving problems, and learning from each other’s experiences. The “Horror Genre as a Social Force” scholar community seeks to build on existing Pitt initiatives devoted to the scholarly study of horror in its social, historical, cultural, political, and artistic forms. Key partners include the Global Studies Center (home of the Global Horror Studies Archival and Research Network), the University Library System (home of the George A. Romero Collection and the Horror Studies Archive), the Department of English, the Film and Media Studies Program, and the George A. Romero Foundation.
At this session, we will have a chance to meet each other, discuss projects in progress, and imagine projects to come that connect to horror studies conceived as broadly and ambitiously as possible. Your curiosity is much more important than any expertise in horror!

Faculty and Staff Event Link: https://pitt.zoom.us/s/96802462278
There will be a separate information session for students earlier that same day: Friday, October 9th at 2:00pm. Zoom link: https://pitt.zoom.us/j/96813508616

Speak with a student ambassador from the European Studies Center to learn about their four certificate offerings, events, scholarships, symposia and more.

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86171673232?pwd=aThWaHhxeDFsTEdPeGZsdzZaS01EQT09
Password: 4Lkh8d

Speak with a student ambassador from the European Studies Center to learn about their four certificate offerings, events, scholarships, symposia and more.

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86171673232?pwd=aThWaHhxeDFsTEdPeGZsdzZaS01EQT09
Password: 4Lkh8d