Progress made after fall of Berlin Wall focus of lecture series

Sept. 7, 1999

KALAMAZOO -- The progress in Russian and Eastern European society 10 years after the deconstruction of the Berlin Wall is the focus of a public lecture series offered on Wednesdays this fall at Western Michigan University.

"When the Berlin Wall was torn down in 1989, much of the world saw it as a watershed event both for the peoples of the region and the world at large," says Dr. James M. Butterfield, WMU associate professor of political science and organizer of the series. "This series will examine the progress made by an increasingly diverse set of countries in moving away from their communist heritage."

Ethnic tensions, education, art and economics are just some of the topics that will be addressed by experts in the series including scholars from WMU as well as Northwestern University, Arizona State University and Croatia.

The series is sponsored by WMU's Russian and Eastern European Studies Program, the Haenicke Center for International and Area Studies, and the Lee Honors College. All programs begin at 7:30 p.m. and, with the exception of the annual George Klein lecture on Oct. 20, are held in the Lee Honors College lounge. Because a class precedes the public lecture, doors will not open until 7:25 p.m.

The lectures and presenters scheduled are:

• "Making the Transition to Democracy," Dr. James M. Butterfield, WMU associate professor of political science, Sept. 8;
• "Support for Systemic Transformation in Eastern Europe," Dr. Vyacheslav G. Karpov, WMU assistant professor of sociology, Sept. 15;
• "The Challenge of Market Transitions," Dr. Annette Brown, The Barents Group, Sept. 22;
• "Free Art in a Free Society?: The Dilemma of Public Institutions Dedicated to Fine Arts in Post Soviet Russia," Dr. John O. Norman, WMU associate professor of history, Sept. 29;
• "Transforming Education for New Democratic Societies," Dr. Elena B. Lisovskaya, WMU assistant professor of teaching, learning and leadership, Oct. 6;
• "The Czech Republic in Transition," Dr. James R. Palmitessa, WMU assistant professor of history, October 13;
• The annual George Klein Lecture, "Two Strategies of Post-Communist Reform: Restoration and Transition," Dr. Branko Horvat, an economist from Zagreb, Croatia, Oct. 20, in Room 3508 of Knauss Hall;
• "Ethnic Tension and the Causes of War in Chechnia," Dr. Georgi Derluguian, assistant professor of sociology at Northwestern University, Nov. 3;
• "Patriarchs and Politics, Mystics and Madmen: Religion in Contemporary Russia," Dr. Eugene Clay, assistant professor of religious studies at Arizona State University, Nov. 10;
• "The Security Dimension of European Integration," Dr. Lawrence Ziring, WMU professor of political science, Nov. 17; and
• "Ten Years After the Wall: The Ongoing Transition," Dr. James M. Butterfield, WMU associate professor of political science, Dec. 1.

For more information, persons should call Butterfield at (616) 387-5696.

Media contact: Marie Lee, 616 387-8400, marie.lee@wmich.edu

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