This May, three University of Michigan faculty—Joshua Newell, associate professor of environment and sustainability; Ronald Suny, William H. Sewell Jr. Distinguished University Professor of History; and Kathleen Wroblewski, lecturer in history—participated in the inaugural faculty fellowship exchange between the U-M Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia (WCEE) and the University of Regensburg and Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies (IOS). The summer 2022 program, titled “Frictions and Transformations of Globalization,” brought together scholars from several institutions worldwide to explore global connections, focusing primarily on labor, migration, and the environment. In addition to their individual talks, Professors Newell, Suny, and Wroblewski participated in a “Meet the Partner” discussion aimed at strengthening institutional ties between WCEE and IOS. Newell spoke on supply chains, a hot topic as the war in Ukraine disrupts international commerce; Suny talked about the surge in right-wing populist movements and the threat to liberal democracy; and Wroblewski lectured on Polish immigration and how immigrants presented themselves as respectable candidates for entry into the United States.
Faculty affiliates from WCEE have previously participated in events at IOS, including Professor Geneviève Zubrzycki, who delivered the keynote lecture to mark the opening of the Leibniz ScienceCampus, and Professor Mikhail Krutikov, who sits on the University of Regensburg Graduate School Advisory Board.
Regensburg is a beautiful city with a preserved old town that was not destroyed during the Second World War. The faculty at the university showed off the city and countryside, with its beer gardens, monuments, and the scenic Danube that flows through the town. Graduate students met with the Michigan visitors. The town proved to be ideal for quiet time to read and write as well as exchange ideas and build connections with the local academic community.
