20th Transatlantic Students Symposium

Freedom and the Transatlantic Relationship in a Multi-Crisis World

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Oregon State University,
University of Warsaw,
Hybrid Symposium:
Warsaw, Berlin and Virtual, May 26- June 5, 2022

Program Description

We are living in a multi-crisis world. A global pandemic, climate change, challenges to democracy, the continued legacy of colonialism, increased movements of refugees, as well as the global rise of authoritarian tendencies have been the defining features of the last years.

Additionally, the world has moved away from the unipolar world of the brief post-Cold War period and is becoming more multipolar. For several years now, the United States has increasingly resisted the role of the leading power in the world. The geopolitical landscape is undergoing serious changes, from the rise of China, the reestablishing of the Russian sphere of influence, and the creation of new alliances such as the QUAD (US, UK, Japan and India) and AUKUS (Australia, UK and US).

These developments have also affected the transatlantic relationship. Brexit has led to a crisis of identity within Europe and will continue to affect the ability of the European Union to serve as a democratic role model in the world. The transatlantic partners seem to be drifting apart in their foreign policy. Domestically, strong divisions have appeared throughout the recent years, more seriously in the United States and the United Kingdom than in Europe, although due to Covid, such societal divisions seem to have become a global phenomenon.

The 20th Transatlantic Students Symposium will address some of the crises that we share within the transatlantic world: the different policies and cultural attitudes regarding Covid and the resulting social, political and economic conflicts, as well as repercussions of the pandemic on the movements of refugees as they are calling national immigration policies to task.

The program will be held in cooperation between Oregon State University, Humboldt-University Berlin, the University of Warsaw, and the University of Washington. We will pursue a hybrid format, due to limitations still laid upon us by the Covid crisis. Part of the programming will be held virtually, others on site. In addition, we will partner with a program held by the University of Washington in Rome on the topic of "Unity and Disunity: Comparative Perspectives on the EU and the United States." Students will participate in a virtual conference between all four campuses in Spring 2022 allowing for the sharing of research, perspectives and opportunities for ongoing dialogue in a truly global constellation of ideas.

Organizers

Dr. Philipp Kneis, Dr. Allison Davis-White Eyes
PD Dr. Reinhard Isensee, Dr. Kristina Graaff (Humboldt),
Dr. Tomasz Basiuk (Warsaw)

Program Information

Syllabus for Preparatory Class at OSU

see also: Latest Program Report

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