WMU News

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:

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

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


Office of University Relations
Western Michigan University
1903 W Michigan Ave
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5433 USA
616 387-8400
univ-rel@wmich.edu

http://www.wmich.edu/wmu/news