Dr. Claudia Schoppmann is a well-known German historian. She is the author of Nationalsozialistische Sexualpolitik und weibliche Homosexualitaet (1991), on Nazi politics and female homosexuality, co-editor of Nach der Shoah geboren (1994), on second-generation Jewish women in Germany, and other books on German (women’s)history. Dr. Schoppmann’s work opens up new roads for further research in contemporary German societal issues.

She will read from her book Days of the Masquerade (1996), which presents the life stories of ten lesbians, both Jewish and non-Jewish, who lived through the Nazi era. The women Claudia Schoppmann interviewed, and others whose lives she reconstructs, took very different paths under the Nazi era.

This program is specifically recommended for students of Lesbian and Gay Studies, Women’s Studies, Modern German History, and Holocaust Studies. Q&A period follows.

This program has been co-sponsored by York University’s Canadian Centre for German and European Studies and Centre for Jewish Studies as well as by Hillel of Greater Toronto.

Time: 12:30 pm
Location: 230 York Lanes

Please RSVP to ccges@yorku.ca

Together with York’s Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics, CCGES is pleased to be able to present a screening of the DEFA feature film production Der Dritte (Her Third) in the presence of its Director, Egon Günther.

Released in 1971, the film recounts eighteen years in the life of Margit through a series of flashbacks. After two failed relationships, each of which produced a child, a newly liberated Margit discovers herself. Her amorous pursuit of a colleague provides not only an entertaining love story, but also a testament to the evolving self-confidence and independence of East German women.

After the screening, Ralf Schenk, an internationally-known authority on East German film, will lead a discussion of the film and engage Egon Günther on questions raised by his work.

Time: 2:00-5:00pm
Location: Accolade East 013

CCGES is pleased to welcome Mr. Claude Laverdure, Canada’s Ambassador to France, to the York campus to deliver a talk entitled Canada-France Relations: Common History, Shared Future. This lecture is taking place in the context of Prof. Markus Reisenleitner’s Humanities course “Defining Europe: Introduction to European Studies”, however all interested individuals are invited to attend.

During this talk, Ambassador Laverdure will review Canada’s current political, economic, social and cultural links with France, outline the impact of these relations on Canadians, and discuss opportunities to expand our partnerships, including the role that students, young graduates and young professionals can play today and in the years to come.

Ambassador Laverdure graduated from the Collège André-Grasset in Montreal in 1961 and from the Université de Montréal [political science] in 1965. He joined the Department of External Affairs in 1965 and served in Brussels, Paris and Tunis. From 1986 to 1988, he was Ambassador to Haiti and, from 1989 to 1992, he was Ambassador to Zaire, with concurrent accreditation to Burundi, Rwanda and the Congo. In 1998, he was named Ambassador to Belgium, with concurrent accreditation to Luxembourg; he was also the Prime Minister’s Personal Representative for La Francophonie.

In Ottawa, he held a number of senior positions, including Federal Coordinator for La Francophonie; Director General of Human Resources; Assistant Deputy Minister, Africa and Middle East, and Assistant Deputy Minister, Europe, Middle East and North Africa. From August 2000 to December 2003, he served at the Privy Council Office as Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister and Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet (Foreign and Defence Policy). From September 2002 to December 2003 he also served as the Prime Minister’s Personal Representative for the G8 Summit. He presented his credentials to the President of the French Republic on November 4, 2003.

Time: 2:30 pm
Location: Vari Hall “B”

This meeting of the Graduate Student Colloquium will feature a guest speaker, Prof. Stefan Haas, Director of the DAAD’s Information Centre (Toronto). Prof. Haas will present details on the DAAD’s support programs for graduate students interested in study/research in Germany.

Time: 1:00-2:00 pm
Location: 230R York Lanes