The Europe Center February 2017
40 Years of the Distinguished Visiting Austrian Chair Professor Program at Stanford
An "Amerika-Sterne" Token
2017 marks the 40th anniversary of the Distinguished Visiting Austrian Chair Professor program at Stanford. Administered by The Europe Center and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, this program has brought an Austrian scholar to Stanford each year since 1977.
The history of the program begins in 1976. In honor of the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and to demonstrate its appreciation for America’s support following WWII, a committee chaired by Chancellor Bruno Kreisky appealed “to the Austrian public to make donations for an Austrian contribution from people to people on the occasion of the American Bicentennial.” Through donations, the purchase of "Amerika-Sterne" (“America Stars," which were car stickers showing the Bicentennial emblem that worked as lottery tickets), and matching by the Austrian government, the committee raised an endowment of $1.5 million designed to support Austrian studies at an American university.
Fifteen American universities had signaled an interest in the program, nine submitted formal applications, and three finalists were considered: Yale, Minnesota, and Stanford. All three had proposed to use the money differently, and Stanford’s proposal would bring an Austrian scholar to the U.S. each year, with alternating professional backgrounds in the humanities, social sciences, and the arts. The decision was taken to split the endowment between Stanford and Minnesota, which would install a permanent Chair for Austrian Studies within a Center for Austrian Studies.
In order to choose the candidates for the chair, two advisory committees were created with one in Vienna and one at Stanford. A list of possible candidates was put together in Vienna, and Stanford made the final selection. The first holder of the Distinguished Visiting Austrian Chair Professorship was Fritz Fellner, a historian from the University of Salzburg, and there have been thirty-seven Distinguished Visiting Austrian Chairs since that time. Dirk Rupnow, Professor of History at the University of Innsbruck, is the 2016-2017 Distinguished Visiting Austrian Chair Professor.
To read more about the history of the Distinguished Visiting Austrian Chair Professor program at Stanford, please see our website for an article by Dirk Rupnow.
Featured Faculty Research: Ran Abramitzky
We would like to introduce you to some of The Europe Center’s faculty affiliates and the projects on which they are working. Our featured faculty member this month is Ran Abramitzky. Ran is an Associate Professor of Economics. He earned his Ph.D. from Northwestern University in 2005 and joined the faculty at Stanford that same year.
Ran's research is on economic history and applied microeconomics and he focuses on immigration and income inequality. In his work on migration, Ran and his co-authors have examined various aspects of migrant assimilation and the economic returns to migration in both Europe and the United States. His current book project, The Mystery of the Kibbutz: How Egalitarian Principles Survived in a Capitalist World (under contract with Princeton University Press), examines the puzzle of why the Israeli kibbutzim - voluntary and egalitarian communes - have persisted within a capitalist state. Economic theory predicts that in a system where all members make equal wages, those who would earn more on the open market will exit the commune. Moreover, communes must contend with adverse selection - disproportionately attracting those in desperate economic positions. Yet the kibbutz has successfully persisted for a century and today approximately 2.6% of Israel's Jewish population live in kibbutzim. Ran finds that today's kibbutz have developed mechanisms for overcoming many of the collective action and selection problems facing communes. Social sanctions, for instance, are effective in combatting shirking. Restrictions on entry are used to dissuade the entry of less productive individuals. Higher kibbutz wealth increases the benefits of remaining. The kibbutz serves as a form of insurance for its voluntary members. The Mystery of the Kibbutz is expected to be published in November 2017.
Featured Graduate Student Research: Jane Esberg
We would like to introduce you to some of the graduate students that we support and the projects on which they are working. Our featured graduate student this month is Jane Esberg (Political Science). Jane is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Science at Stanford University.
In her research, Jane is interested how autocratic repression can be used to retain supporters, rather than to simply eliminate opposition. In her dissertation project, Jane examines the use of three repressive behaviors - political killings, the use of courts to try political prisoners, and popular culture censorship - during the Chilean military dictatorship (1973-1989) with comparisons to military regimes in Argentina (1976-1983) and Brazil (1964-1985). Funded by The Europe Center, Jane traveled to Europe in September 2016 to examine the case of Spain under Franco. While in Spain, Jane conducted the majority of her research on four archives: the General Archive of Administration, the National Historic Archive, the Document Center of Memory, and the Provincial Archive of Salamanca. From her exploratory analysis in the archives, Jane believes that there are fruitful comparisons to be made between Chilean and Spanish use of political trials.
Please visit our website for more information about our Graduate Student Grant program.
The Europe Center Sponsored Events
March 1, 2017
5:30PM - 7:00PM
Ori Gersht, International Artist
Optical Unconsciousness
Oshman Hall, McMurtry Building
This event is co-sponsored by The Contemporary project, Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages, Department of Art and Art History, The Europe Center, and the Taube Center for Jewish Studies.
Save the Date: April 3, 2017
11:30AM - 1:00PM
Guido Tabellini, Bocconi University
Historical Roots of Political Extremism: The Effects of Nazi Occupation of Italy
Room 400 (Graham Stuart Lounge), Encina Hall West
No RSVP required.
This seminar is part of the Comparative Politics Workshop in the Department of Political Science and is co-sponsored by The Europe Center.
April 11, 2017
12:00PM - 1:30PM
Philippe Van Parijs, University of Louvain
Europe's Destiny: A View from Brussels
CISAC Central Conference Room, Encina Hall, 2nd Floor
RSVP by 5:00PM April 7, 2017.
Save the Date: April 24, 2017
11:30AM - 1:00PM
Torun Dewan, London School of Economics
Room 400 (Graham Stuart Lounge), Encina Hall West
No RSVP required.
This seminar is part of the Comparative Politics Workshop in the Department of Political Science and is co-sponsored by The Europe Center.
Save the Date: June 5, 2017
11:30AM - 1:00PM
Daniel Stegmuller, University of Mannheim
Room 400 (Graham Stuart Lounge), Encina Hall West
No RSVP required.
This seminar is part of the Comparative Politics Workshop in the Department of Political Science and is co-sponsored by The Europe Center.
European Security Initiative Events
February 23, 2017
12:00PM - 1:15PM
Samuel Charap, International Institute for Strategic Studies
Timothy Colton, Harvard University
Book Talk: Everyone Loses
CISAC Central Conference Room, Encina Hall, 2nd Floor
RSVP.
February 27, 2017
11:30AM - 12:45PM
Aleksandr Golts, Visiting Fellow, Kennan Institute
Russian Military Reform and its Consequences
Reuben Hills Conference Room, Encina Hall, 2nd Floor
This event has reached full capacity. Please contact Magdalena Fitipaldi to be added to the wait list.
Save the Date: March 13, 2017
12:00PM - 1:15PM
Paul Jones, U.S. Ambassador to Poland
Philippines Conference Room, Encina Hall, 3rd Floor
RSVP by 5:00PM March 8, 2017.
Save the Date: March 16, 2017
12:00PM - 1:15PM
H.R. McMaster, Lt. General of U.S. Army
RSVP by 5:00PM March 13, 2017.
Save the Date: April 10, 2017
Time TBA
Ivan Krastev, Center for Liberal Strategies, Sofia, Bulgaria
We welcome you to visit our website for additional details.
In his talk, Moravcsik spoke about the four major crises currently facing the European Union and argued that these crises present less cause for concern than current discourse would suggest. The first crisis is Europe's purported decline in geopolitical power, particularly vis-à-vis China. Contrary to these claims, however, Moravcsik presented evidence indicating that the European Union outstrips China on various measures, including military spending, the number of combat and non-combat forces deployed abroad, number of aircraft carriers, number of allies, relative economic power, civilian foreign economic assistance, and its effective use of non-military intervention. The second crisis is one of Euroscepticism, as exemplified by Brexit. Moravcsik noted that the current British negotiating position largely reflects the status quo. Moreover, he is skeptical that the there will be a domino effect. Specifically, mainstream political parties are unlikely to call for a referendum on the EU, particularly given the results of the British vote, and that the anti-EU parties, even at their most successful, gain too little national political power to successfully hold a referendum. Migration constitutes the third crisis, and Moravcsik argues that this crisis is as serious as it is being portrayed. However, this crisis is unlikely to undermine the entire European project, as there is a clear and effective political solution - closing the border using fences, criminal law, and repatriation agreements. The final crisis is the lack of economic growth. Again, this crisis is exaggerated as both the EU-28 and the Eurozone have had higher per capita growth over the past decade than has the U.S. or Japan. However, that growth has been uneven across the EU member states and has been either stagnant or negative in countries such as Portugal and Greece. Moravcsik's ultimate take away was that in order to undo the European Union, a crisis must be serious and lacking a clear policy solution, and none of the four crises currently facing the EU meet both of these criteria.
In his research, Justin is interested in 19th and 20th century British and American literature, with a focus on sound studies, poetics, Victorianism, transatlantic modernism, periodicals, technology, and urbanization. In his dissertation Justin examines sound technology and poetry in Britain and America from 1816 to 1914. In one of his dissertation chapters, Justin focuses on the work of the little-known Irish poet, James Henry. Supported by The Europe Center, Justin traveled to Dublin in October 2016 in order to examine the only known repository of Henry's manuscripts, which is housed in the Trinity College archives. In addition to his work in the archives, Justin was able to meet with Emeritus Professor John Richmond, now in his nineties and housebound, who wrote the first Henry biography in 1976. His book is now extremely rare and prohibitively expensive, but he generously gave Justin a copy, which will be of great value for his continuing research. In addition to his work towards the chapter on Henry, Justin was able to advance the research for various other chapters of his dissertation by meeting with other scholars and visiting sites of historical importance. Justin plans to return to Trinity in order to finish cataloging Henry's papers.
Dirk is a historian who is interested in 20th century European history, Holocaust and Jewish studies, cultures and politics of memory, and intellectual and migration history. His current research focuses on developing an inclusive narrative of post-war Austrian history, one that reflects the current plurality and diversity of Austrian society. In order to do so, Dirk will be working primarily on two projects during his time at The Europe Center. In the first project, he is examining the so-called "guest worker“ migration to Austria during the 1960s and 1970s. Because labor migration was viewed as temporary, it somehow remained a blank spot in narratives of post-war Austrian history. But in fact, it has had a lasting effect on Austrian society. The migrants remain nonetheless invisible and have no voice in the discourse on the national history. Dirk seeks to uncover greater information and new sources in order to provide a more complete and multiperspective portrayal of contemporary Austrian history as both a European and global transnational history. In the second project, Dirk seeks to understand how museums can be used to present an inclusive historical narrative to the public. He will lead a group of Austrian museum curators and museologists on a tour of the historical museums in Washington, D.C. - including the National Museum of the American Indian and the National Museum of African American History and Culture - in order to observe how the U.S. presents the history of both minority and marginalized groups. As a member of the Advisory Board for the planned House of Austrian History in Vienna, Dirk intends for this work to facilitate a compelling and inclusive presentation of Austrian history. Please join us in welcoming Dirk to Stanford.
