Together with the CITY Institute at York, CCGES will host a talk by Tino Petzold and Sebastian Schipper (Human Geography, University of Frankfurt) considering the transformation of the University of Frankfurt on Tuesday, November 30th from 12:30 to 2:00 pm in room 626 York Research Tower.

Sit In, Uni. Frankfurt 2009

At the end of 2009, students occupied a central building at the University of Frankfurt as part of a nationwide university strike. While this form of protest enjoys a long history of legitimacy in Germany, in this case a brutal police intervention broke up the demonstrations after only three days.  To understand this new shift towards authoritarian practices, Petzold and Schipper argue that it is essential to analyze the general transformation of the University of Frankfurt in the context of the neoliberalization of the higher education system in Germany and Europe. (CONTINUE READING)

The Canadian Centre for German and European Studies (CCGES) is organizing three panels on issues related to automobility. These panels will raise socially, economically, technologically and politically important issues around the car, its production, use and culture.

The series organizers Prof. Roger Keil (Director, CITY Institute)  and Prof. Bernard Wolf (Schulich School of  Business),  both  CCGES  faculty affiliates suggest that European and North American societies of the 20^th century arguably were transformed and marked by the automobile more than by any other commodity. The car is the chief artifcat of industrial society, at the centre of transportation in our cities, at the core of household mobility and financial decision-making, the most iconic symbol of modern life, and a lightning rod for environmental critique.

(CONTINUE READING)

Moritz Rinke

A humorous novel from Germany? Written by a German? On German History? Never heard of such a thing? Yet, it does exist! Moritz Rinke, one of Germany’s finest young playwrights and novelists, will discuss the perils and possibilities of having fun with history and read from his new novel Der Mann, der durch das Jahrhundert fiel (The Man Who Fell Through The Century).

This event takes place Wednesday, November 24th and will feature an English-language reading from Mr. Rinke’s new novel as well as discussion moderated by Dr. Wolfram Eilenberger (a professor of philosophy at the University of Toronto and cultural commentator with several German publications).

All are welcome, but attendees are asked to register in advance with ccges@yorku.ca

Location: 626 York Research Tower (building #95 on the map found here)
Time: 10:30 am – noon

Willem Maas, a CCGES Faculty Affiliate and Co-Director of the European Union Centre of Excellence Project housed at CCGES,  will be hosting a one-day conference entitled “Multilevel Citizenship” at York’s Glendon Campus on Friday, October 29th. This event will be funded by both the European Commission through the EUCE York and the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service).

Citizenship in contemporary societies has come to be defined as a relatively homogeneous legal and political status within the context of a state. While undeniably important, the focus on (nation-)state citizenship obscures important developments at both sub- and suprastate levels. For example, the rise of citizenship of the European Union has raised expectations that other regional integration efforts may also result in meaningful supranational rights. At the same time many states, particularly federal states, face demands for special local rights. And the comparative history of citizenship and its political evolution provides rich examples of multilevel citizenship in theory and practice. The aim of this conference is to stimulate debate on the concept of multilevel citizenship, focusing on its contemporary relevance and its implications for the future of citizenship. Participants will be asked to revise their contributions for publication.

Multilevel Citizenship – Conference Program

Multilevel Citizenship Participants List

For more information on the conference, please contact Prof. Maas at maas@yorku.ca

Dr. Antje Barabasch

Together with York’s Faculty of Education, CCGES is pleased to host a talk by Dr. Antje Barabasch (Education, Otto- von-Guericke University, Magdeburg) on Thursday, November 25th from noon to 1:30 pm in 749 York Research Tower building #95 on the map found here).

The work of the teacher has been affected by post-socialist transformations in the former German Democratic Republic  (GDR) that brought significant organizational and curricular changes to the educational system. The author investigated these changes in the general school system and examined how East German teachers of two generations cope with them and think about educational reform. (CONTINUE READING)