Berlin European Studies Program for Spring 2015

Freie Universität Berlin invites applications for its undergraduate FU-BEST (Berlin European Studies) program for Spring 2015 and beyond. It also extends an invitation to any institutions that may wish to join our large community of program partners. Students from a wide range of U.S. institutions have successfully participated in this growing program, which has been positively evaluated by the Forum on Education Abroad. Please see http://www.fu-berlin.de/en/sites/fubest/about/partner/index.html for details.

  • Based on the U.S. academic calendar, FU-BEST offers a strong intensive German language program, covering all levels, as well as an exciting menu of almost 30 content courses taught mostly in English but also in part in German.
  • There is no language prerequisite for participation in this program, but all participants are obligated to enroll on-site in German language training at their particular level.
  • The content courses cover topics from a variety of disciplines, ranging from political science, history, philosophy, and sociology to music history, architecture, film studies, marketing/management, environmental studies, sociology, and art history.
  • Every semester features a week-long off-site excursion (in the case of Spring 2015, the participant group will be divided in two and will travel to Strasbourg/Paris and London, respectively), as well as many local field-trips, cultural events, and related opportunities.
  • Participants are housed in homestays or single-occupancy apartments, but may also opt out of these choices if they set up their own housing sufficiently in advance of the program.
  • The cost of this program is, by current standards in higher education, quite affordable in our view, enabling a growing number of students to participate. See http://www.fu-berlin.de/en/sites/fubest/fees/index.html for details.
  • Starting with the Spring 2015 semester, the program plans to add two new courses, on film music and on women’s studies (both in transatlantic perspective), to its already broad curriculum. For a listing of courses, please follow this link:http://www.fu-berlin.de/en/sites/fubest/prog/courses/index.html.

The application deadline for participation in the Spring 2015 semester is October 15, and April 1 for the Fall 2015 semester.Please note that we can now also accept application files via e-mail in PDF-format, as long as the files are complete in all respects and contain all necessary signatures on the various pages.

Students may apply directly to FU-BEST (after approval at their home institution) or via their home college/university (especially where an institutional partnership exists).

For full details on courses as well as other features of the program and application materials, please visit www.fubest.org and click on the many links to all the information and documents (including course syllabi).

Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit Online

Access available for a limited time – Trial subscription

Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit Online
The Encyclopedia of Modern Times Online, which is based on the printed edition Encyclopedia of Modern Times (JB Metzler Verlag Stuttgart, 2005-2012), offers over 4,000 key words a multi-faceted look at the significant age of the mid-15th to the mid 19th century.

The perspective is European. This does not mean that the view is locked to the rest of the world. On the contrary, the interaction of European and other cultures has been considered in detail.

Trial ends Sept. 22, 2014

Coming Soon – Access to 4 New Microform Collections

The Center for Research Libraries will add the 4 new microform sets to its collections. Notre Dame will have access to these through interlibrary loan once they are purchased.

Argentinisches Tageblatt, 1914-1933. Bludeau Partners International, LLC

Argentinisches Tageblatt (AT) was founded in Buenos Aires in 1889 by a Swiss immigrant Johann Alemann and his son Moritz.  AT publication took a liberal/democratic position. It was firmly opposed to National Socialism in Germany, and consequently banned in Germany.

Deutsche La Plata Zeitung, 1900-1933. Bludeau Partners International, LLC

Hermann Tjarks started Deutsche La Plata Zeitung in Buenos Aires in 1880. It was a competitor of Argeninisches Tageblatt (AT), and its conservative monarchist leanings put it in political opposition to AT. The difference between the two papers increased in the 1920s, and Argentine National Socialist organizations recognized the value of Deutsche La Plata in their efforts to gain the support of Argentine Germans.

The loss of advertising revenue from Argentine Jews, combined with free advertising offered for Argentine National Socialist groups, ruined La Plata Zeitung financially by 1938. Support from Germany rescued it temporarily, but the sinking of an Argentine freighter by a German submarine led to violent attacks on the publisher, and in 1944 the Argentine government ordered Deutsche La Plata to cease publication.

Gubernskie Vedomosti, 1838-1918. Bludeau Partners International, LLC

Gubernskie Vedomosti began to be published since the late 1830s by the local gubernia governments of imperial Russia. The number of titles steadily grew from the initial 4 to over 80 by 1918 when the last Gubernskie Vedomosti was closed down. The frequency of publication varied from title to title and from year to year, but most of the titles were published multiple times a week. They had a largely uniform organizational structure combining government news and laws into the official section and mainly local affairs in the unofficial section. They came out with irregularly issued supplements usually featuring substantial reports, travelogues, or scholarly researches. Titles being acquired include: Kurskie gubernskie vedomosti, 1838-1918 and Kaliszskie gubernskie vedomosti, 1867-1914.

Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York (NARA T715). National Archive and Records Administration

The NARA microfilm provides immigration information recorded in the passenger arrival records between 1820 and 1957 for vessels arriving at the Port of New York between 1820 and 1957. The portion requested for CRL shared purchase covers the period from October 30, 1940-June 28, 1942.

The passenger list records were created by the U.S. Customs Service (Record Group 36), and the Immigration and Naturalization Service [INS] (Record Group 85). They include information such as: a person’s nationality/place of birth; ship name and date of entry to the United States, port of origin, profession, age, place of last residence, name and address of relatives they are joining in the U.S., amount of money they are carrying, etc.

Most existing digital versions of these records do not cover the 1940s, or support retrieval only on named individuals rather than providing full information on ship names and departure dates.