Abstract:

Story-telling is ubiquitous, ranging from fiction to gossip, but what exactly is the core structure of narrative? This talk will propose that narrative thinking takes place when we consider alternative versions of an event – and make excuses. Based on this suggestion, the talk provides an overview of this theory of narrative and ends with a speculation about the connection of narrative and moral reasoning.

*Part of the visit of short-term fellow Dror Wahrman

With responses by Molly Warsh (History) and Adam Shear (Religious Studies).

Master's Thesis Defense:

Claudia Fritsche, Ambassador of Liechtenstein to the United States, joined the Office for Foreign Affairs of the Principality of Liechtenstein on June 1st, 1978 and served in a variety of diplomatic functions. Ambassador Fritsche assumed her duties as the first resident Ambassador of Liechtenstein in Washington at the beginning of October 2002 after leaving her post in New York, where she had served as the Permanent Representative of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the United Nations from 1990 to 2002.

Mr. Dimiter Kenarov will present a lecture that focuses on shale gas in Poland and Europe which will be live videoconferenced with the European Union Center of Excellence at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.

“Shale Gas: From Poland to Pennsylvania” – Based upon his new project forthcoming that focuses on a commodity called “a game changer", promoted as a cleaner fossil alternative to coal and oil and cheered as the next step toward the American dream of energy independence. Poland is now Europe's center of shale gas. Like Pennsylvania, it embraces the promises and dangers of extraction. At the center of debate: hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and an associated largely unexplored question of global politics.

As President Obama’s second term commences, the continued vitality of America’s oldest alliance remains critical, as seen by recent speculation about a US-EU free trade agreement. Simultaneously, Europe itself is in the midst of change, as its eastward expanding borders force a reassessment of European and EU identity. Ms. Amy Westling, Deputy Director of the Office of European Union and Regional Affairs, joins us from the US Department of State to discuss the continued importance and current initiatives of the evolving transatlantic partnership.

Talk on new media in 17th century England.

Paper abstract

This paper provides novel evidence on the causal effect of parents’ involvement at school on
pupils’ cognitive and non-cognitive skills. Furthermore, it shows how the impact of more
involved parents on their children is amplified at the class level by peer group interaction. We
build on a large scale controlled experiment run in a French deprived educational district,
where parents of middle-school children were invited to participate in a low-cost program of
parent-school meetings on how to get better involved in their children’s education. At the end

This presentation explores how beginning learners of Spanish perform opening and closing sequences during two videoconferencing exchanges. Data were analyzed using Conversation Analysis and several patterns of interaction were identified. Discussion will focus on description of these interactional patterns and on pedagogical implications.

Marta Tecedor Cabrero, candidate for the Spanish Lecturer/Coordinator position will be on campus January 23rd and 24th.