The
old and new world can learn from
each other
By
Martina Law
Published February 2004
In
February 2004, Seattle Pacific
University opened its doors for
the 21st Annual European Studies
Symposium. Sponsored by the
European Studies Faculty, the
Division of Humanities and the
College of Arts and Science of
SPU, the Symposium receives
support from the SPU Society of
Fellows and the Intercollegiate
Studies Institute.
Looking at the Symposium program
was enough to see that the agenda
promised to be as diverse and
fascinating as Europe itself.
It
started more than two decades ago,
as a way for students at SPU to
show their final project in
European Studies. In addition to
presenting their own projects, it
was a way to highlight areas of
European Studies to the public.
Years later, the European Studies
Symposium has grown significantly,
featuring numerous European
Studies students and distinguished
faculty presenters.
At
this year’s Symposium, the keynote
speaker was Rick Steves, whose
presentation on “Europe on
Purpose” drew hundreds of people
into the hall. Other presentations
addressed a variety of key issues
on European politics, arts, and
languages. One of the lectures was
Dr. Resat Kasaba’s presentation on
“The EU and Turkey: The Elusive
Prize”. Dr. Kasaba, from the UW’s
Jackson School of International
Studies, drew an amazingly
comprehensive picture of Turkey’s
history and its wish to join the
European Union.
The
Director of the European Studies
Symposium is Dr. Michael
Macdonald, Professor of European
Studies/German and Philosophy, and
an exquisite language duelist who
provided a clear insight of the
SPU European Studies. He noted
that the four languages involved
in European Studies are Russian,
Spanish, French and German, with
interest in Spanish ‘booming’. The
number of students majoring in
Spanish has grown enormously,
whereas there has been a decline
in German and Russian majors.
Macdonald’s passion for Europe
goes back decades. “I studied
Spanish and did well”, he said. “I
studied French and did well.”
German didn’t come as easily as
the two Romantic languages. He
decided to go to Heidelberg for a
year. There he fell in love with
the medieval town and its culture,
but mostly with German composers
such as Wagner, Brahms, and
Beethoven. Over the years that
passed, he fell in love with all
of Europe. He is a strong believer
that European countries can learn
from each other, and the ‘old
world’ from the new, and vice
versa.
Macdonald wants to emphasize two
goals while teaching his students.
The first is to give them a deep
understanding of modern Europe and
the European Union. The second is
to provide them with a thorough
knowledge of great contributors to
the historical formation of modern
Europe. His ideas can definitely
be applied to the European Studies
Symposium’s larger purpose, to
inform the public on European
matters.
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