UMaine Offers Camden Conference Companion Course on Evolution of Europe
Contact: Howard Cody, 581-1868; George Manlove, 581-3756
ORONO — How do modern European politics, economics, currencies, cultures, religions and languages affect Americans? How is the development of the European Union influencing the evolution of Europe, and — more importantly — why should the United States care?
Those questions surround some of the issues to be raised at the 2007 Camden Conference in February and also in an intensified companion course being offered through the University of Maine’s Division of Lifelong Learning. The course focuses on developmental and evolutionary trends in Europe, and what Americans can learn from them.
The 20th annual Camden Conference, “Europe: Old Continent in a New World,” is being presented at the Camden Opera House Feb. 23-25. With a look at Europe’s current trends, complexities and global relations, the conference will highlight some of the lessons Americans might learn from European experiences and perspectives.
The conference is the centerpiece of the UMaine course, being taught by seven professors at locations in Orono, Belfast and Camden on three Saturdays, Feb. 17, March 24 and April 21. According to Robert White, dean of the Division of Lifelong Learning, the UMaine-Camden Conference partnership, established in 1996, has provided students and faculty with extraordinary opportunities to become engaged with internationally recognized speakers.
Members of the public, in addition to current college students, are invited to register. Students may take the course for credit in English, political science, history, peace studies, modern language and classics, university studies or international affairs. Course tuition includes the fee for attending the three-day Camden Conference.
The 2007 Camden Conference speakers include respected international scholars, diplomats or former diplomats who will delve into the legacy of the old Europe and the challenges of the new from a perspective that considers culture, ethnicity, immigration, national identities, gender issues and demography.
Central to the UMaine course will be issues confronting the membership and policies of the European Union, language policies in Europe and politics and economics, according to Howard Cody, professor of political science and Canadian studies and director of International Affairs at UMaine.
“This course is going to cover a tremendous amount of material,” says Cody, who is coordinating this year’s curriculum. The course is intended to provide students with a solid knowledge base for understanding issues to be discussed at the Camden Conference.
“It’s exciting,” Cody says. “In February, we’ll deal with themes that will be in the conference. We’ll also have people in class discussing things that may not be useful in terms of the conference, but will be very useful in understanding Europe.”
UMaine faculty members co-teaching the course, and their topics, include: Richard Blanke, professor of history, (“The Old Europe and the New: The Recent Historical Background”); James Warhola, professor of political science, (“Expansion of the European Union and the Identity of Europe”); Howard Cody, (“The European Union Today” and “Politics in Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain”); Tony Brinkley, professor of English, (“Artistic and Literary Impressions on the Old and New Europe”); Kathleen March, professor of Spanish, and Madelon Kohler-Busch, professor of German, (“Language Policies in Europe”); and Tina Passman, professor of classical languages and literature, (“Cosmopolitanism: An Ancient Way to Look at the New Europe”).
Presenters at the Camden Conference include keynote speaker Stanley Hoffmann, professor and director of the Center for European Studies at Harvard University. Other speakers include the European program director of the International Crisis Group in Brussels, a diplomat in residence at the Woodrow Wilson School of Princeton University, and the senior associate and deputy director of the Moscow Center, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, in addition to several esteemed university scholars.
For further information, call Marlene Charron at (207) 581-4095 or visit the Division of Continuing Education website. To register, call CED at (207) 581-3143.
More information about the Camden Conference, speakers, exhibits and related programs are available at the Camden Conference website (www.camdenconference.org).