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In August 2018, the European Union Center at the University of Illinois was awarded its second Jean Monnet Center of Excellence grant under the Erasmus+ program of the European Commission, for the years 2018-2021. The project supported by this grant, Re-imagining Identities and Institutions for a Stronger Europe (RIISE), sought to place into conversation two complementary interdisciplinary research and teaching programs to advance transatlantic dialogue on current manifestations of populism, a significant threat to goals of European unity. RIISE conceptualized populism as a product arising from tensions between the dynamic evolution of institutions and identities. More details about the project can be found in the press release.
Key Faculty
- Carla A. Santos
- William Bernhard
- Jacob W. Bowers
- Xinyuan Dai
- George Deltas
- Zsuzsanna Fagyal
- Zsuzsa Gille
- Konstantinos Kourtikakis
- Carol Leff
- Emanuel Rota
Select Courses
- EURO 418: Language and Minorities in Europe
- EURO 490: Comparative Politics of European Union Enlargement
- EURO 596: The Everyday Making of the European Parliament and Parliamentarians
Select Past Events
- Contemporary German-Jewish Relations, Anti-Semitism, and Populism in Europe, and Other Issues Affecting Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship
- Brexit: Implications for Human Welfare
- Germany from the Outside
- Research on Migration and Education in Sweden
- Is the European Union Driving Increasing Demands for Secession in Scotland and Catalonia?
- Migration in the Mediterranean: A Historical Perspective
- Interdisciplinary Conference on Refugees, Migrants, Citizens: Political Socialization Across Borders
- The New Cold War: Liberal Democracy vs. Authoritarianism — Why the EU is Today More Important Than Ever Before
- From the End of History to the Crisis of Liberal Democracy: A Symposium on Europe
- Race and Racism in the Mediterranean at the Beginning of the Modern Age
- The New Speed of Politics: Is Gender Equality Accelerating or Shutting Down?
- Case Studies in the Making of the European Parliament and Parliamentarians: A Conversation Series
- Rights, Representation, and Resources: Gender Equality in Sweden and the EU
- Race, Human Rights, and Populism in Poland: A Symposium
- Why is Roma Education Still Separate and Unequal?: Employing Dis/Crit to Explain the Enduring Overrepresentation of “Gypsies” in Special Education
Select Blog Posts
- Reimagining a Research Agenda: European Identities and Institutions under a Strength Test
- Institutions Under Pressure, Identities in Conflict: Year 3 of a JMCE Grant in Review
Virtual Library Exhibit on Gender and Populism in Europe
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The European Union Center, in collaboration with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's Library, organized a physical and virtual book exhibit on gender and populism. The exhibit featured 32 books representing six themes (History of Populism; European Populism; Gender and Populism in Europe; Populism and the Charismatic Leader; Gender, Nationalism, and Populism; and Country and Regional Perspectives) and were accompanied by scholarly essays.
Co-sponsored JMintheUS Network Events
In 2020-21, the European Union Center at the University of Illinois participated in the Jean Monnet in the U.S.A. Series (#JMintheUS), an initiative of several EU-funded universities across the United States. The shift to virtual events had made new kinds of collaborations possible. Co-sponsors of the #JMintheUS initiative were better able to share programming related to the European Union and European Union studies, increasing access to more communities throughout the country. Below are examples of #JMintheUS events co-sponsored by the EU Center in 2020-21:
- Crisis Signaling: How Italy's Coronavirus Lockdown Affected Incumbent Support in other European Countries
- An Update on EU-Iran Relations
- Brexit Update with Anand Menon
- Europe's Green Recovery with Frans Timmermans, Vice President of the European Commission
- The EU Economy and the Pandemic: Short-term Pain and Long-term Gain?