Emory Report

March 6, 2000

Volume 52, No. 24

International Affairs: Professors to expand horizons in Germany A group of Emory professors will travel to Germany in May for an intensive, three-week study of the country's history, culture, politics, economics, business, law and health policies. Fifteen professors, none of them experts on Germany or Europe, will participate in the program, sponsored by the Halle Institute for Global Learning. The purpose of the trip is to broaden their intellectual horizons, said Marion Creekmore, director of the Halle Institute and vice provost for international affairs. "My hope is that this exposure to Germany will influence their teaching and perhaps their research," Creekmore said. "As participating faculty members broaden their perspective, my hope is that the experience will be conveyed to their students, who will then develop more international perspectives themselves." Participants were selected in a process determined by their respective schools. Before they depart on May 15, each will go through an orientation prepared by experts on Germany from a number of Emory departments. The group is scheduled to return to Atlanta June 2. "They will study before they go," Creekmore said. "And after they return, we will have an event next fall in which they can share what they learned." The group will visit Frankfurt, Berlin, Cologne, Bonn, Dresden and Leipzig and will meet with authorities on everything from banking to art. Political, economic and social issue experts also plan to meet with the delegation to discuss topics ranging from immigration and citizenship laws to labor relations and economic globalization. There also will be talks about banking, commerce, Germany's integration into Europe's monetary union and its evolving relations with nations in Eastern Europe. In addition, each faculty member will teach a class at a German university in his or her field of expertise. "Participants will gain a good understanding of political, economic and commercial, legal, health, social and cultural issues of contemporary Germany, as well as insights into German history and traditions," Creekmore said. All travel, food and lodging expenses are covered. The Halle Institute is working with two German groups, the Armonk Institute and Atlantik-Bruecke, to plan the trip. Next spring, the Halle Institute plans to sponsor a similar trip to India, Creekmore said. "My hope is that every year the Halle Institute would send a group of professors abroad to expand their intellectual horizons," he said. This is the fourth major program of the Halle Institute, founded in 1997. The others are the Halle research program, organized and directed by Distinguished Halle Professor Thomas Remington; the Distinguished Halle Fellow program; and the Halle guest speaker series. Elizabeth Kurylo is international communications coordinator for the Office of International Affairs and the Halle Institute for Global Learning. Return to March 6, 2000 contents page