Past Events
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Feb 17Reading to Live: From Symbolic Act to the Activity of Form
Dr. Jensen Suther
Elevhjem Building L166
Drawing on the account of a “bio-aesthetics,” I develop in my recent book, True Materialism, I will show that Jameson's provocative idea of the symbolic act fails to live up to its own promise: instead of grasping artistic and literary works as coded representations of class struggle, Marxist criticism must understand narrative not primarily as representation but as an essential dimension of the self-reproduction of animals like us.
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Feb 16Virtual Lecture: Yugoslav & Post-Yugoslav Jewish Identity in the Balkans
Zoom
This talk will aim to better understand Jewish identity in Yugoslavia, and its implication on the wars that saw its dissolution and afterward.
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Feb 12Virtual Lecture: “German Americans and the Founding of the United States”
Emily Sneff
This lecture will examine the roles of military leaders, early officeholders, and supporters on the home front, including members of the Muhlenberg family (Peter, Frederick, and Catherine); Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben; Michael Hillegas; Mary Ludwig Hays—better remembered as Molly Pitcher—and other men and women whose influence can still be felt today.
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Feb 3Language and Place: Poetry in Yiddish and Pennsylvania Dutch
Josh Brown (UW–Eau Claire), Matt Johnson (UW–Madison), Mark Louden (UW–Madison), Sunny Yudkoff (UW–Madison)
UW–Madison Memorial Union, Old Madison Room, 800 Langdon Street
This event will showcase poetic works in Yiddish and Pennsylvania Dutch that deal with the concept of place.
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Feb 2‘МОСТ’ WANTED”: Intergenerational Bridge-Building in Bulgarian Village Revitalization
1418 Van Hise Hall
This presentation explores why and how young, urban Bulgarians are addressing rural depopulation, and especially how recovery of traditional cultural practices plays into their endeavors.
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Jan 30GNS+ Book Talk – The Not-Quite Child
Dr. Liina-Ly Roos, Dr. Ida Moen Johnson, and Dr. Mary Hennessy
Madsen Room (1312 Van Hise)
The discussion will focus on Liina-Ly Roos’s recent publication, The Not-Quite Child (University of Washington Press, 2025). The event will take the form of a conversation among three of our wonderful GNS colleagues: Dr. Liina-Ly Roos, Dr. Ida Moen Johnson, and Dr. Mary Hennessy. Snacks will be served.
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Dec 1Presentations, Exhibit, Reception: “Early Anabaptist Documents at the Max Kade Institute”
University Club, 432 East Campus Mall, Room 313
Join us at the Max Kade Institute to celebrate the recent acquisition of a collection of books, some of them quite rare, published by and about Anabaptists. Donated by J. Denny Weaver, these mostly German- and Dutch-language items were collected by Weaver and his late father-in-law, J. C. Wenger, a professor at Goshen College who …
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Nov 20Virtual Lecture: The German Audience for the U.S. Declaration of Independence
Emily Sneff
Free and open to the public, but registration is required. Click here to register for a Zoom link. July 4, 2026, will mark the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence. Almost immediately after being adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, the document was translated into German. Join Dr. …
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Nov 16Madison Polish Film Festival ‘25
Marquee Cinema at Union South
Join us for the 2025 Madison Polish Film Festival at the Marquee Cinema at Union South!
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Nov 14Scandinavian Day at UW-Madison
Scandinavian Day at UW-Madison Celebrating 150 Years of Scandinavian Studies November 14th, 2025 For more information and registration, please go to: 150th Anniversary Celebration Join us for a day of seminars, tours, and performances celebrating the Nordic Unit at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, followed by a festive Scandinavian-inspired buffet dinner in the Fluno Center. Scandinavian …