During the summer semester 2025 as part of our C.IAS lecture series, we welcomed a number of speakers in Graz and online, primarily focusing on the current US-political climate but also including reflections on the foreign relations between the US and Europe.

April 2

Lonnie Johnson: “Getting to know the United States after 1945 - Exemplary U.S. ‘exchange of persons’ programs in postwar Austria: Fulbright and Smith-Mundt”

The lecture focused on the history and evolution of U.S. exchange programs, specifically the Fulbright and the lesser-known Smith-Mundt programs, and their impact on postwar Austria. It traced how these initiatives emerged in the aftermath of World War II, during the U.S. occupation of Austria (1945–1955), as tools of soft power intended to foster mutual understanding and counter lingering anti-American sentiment rooted in Austria’s historical, cultural, and ideological biases. The lecture highlighted how these "exchanges of persons"—from students and scholars to journalists and jazz musicians—not only introduced Austrian elites to American society but also had lasting influence on Austrian-American relations.

April 7

Elizabeth Dillenburg: “Empire's Daughters: Girls and Britain's Colonial Past”

The lecture elabortate on the interconnected histories of girlhood, whiteness, and British colonialism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It highlighted how, although girls are often overlooked in studies of colonialism, they nevertheless played a vital role in the empire as migrants, settlers, laborers, and creators of colonial knowledge and were heralded as “empire builders.” To examine the complexities of girls' engagement and experiences in the empire, this presentation specifically discussed the Girls' Friendly Society and explored how the Society's multifaceted emigration and imperial education programs constructed ideas of girlhood, race, and empire that then circulated globally. This presentation used the Girls' Friendly Society as a lens to explore the micropolitics of colonialism and argued that understandings of colonialism remain incomplete without considerations of girls and girlhood.

May 7

James Forsher: “Democracy in Times of Change: Has Donald Trump Changed the Furture of American Society?”

The lecture considered the century-long history of right-wing political movements in the United States and in how far these movements foreshadowed the political events of today.

May 28

Benjamin Nienass: “Grief and Political Transformation”

The lecture reflected on the connections of grief and politics, specifically on the role of public mourning in sustaining and confronting ideologies. Drawing on different conceptualizations of public grief, the talk considered temporal registers, melancholic attachments to the past as well as narratives of “overcoming” and progress. 

June 5

Manfred Berg: “Donald Trump and the Crisis of American Democracy”

The lecture provided an analysis of Trump's rise to power and his successful re-election. It discussed the potential consequences for US-American democracy and the recent governing of Trump and his administration. Berg argued that Trump's second term will be a stress test for the checks and balances of the US-American consitutional order.

Following the recent publication of our edited volume “Entanglements, Narratives, and the Environment: Inter-American Perspectives”, we were pleased to host a symposium and book presentation titled Eco-Criticism and Democracy: Inter-American Perspectives at the University of Graz yesterday.

The event brought together scholars from across the Environmental Humanities, including Lucio De Capitani (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice), Kirsten Fischer (University of Minnesota), Candace Goodrich (University of Giessen), Christina Korak (University of Graz), and Robert Winkler (University of Salzburg). Their presentations offered valuable insights into the intersections of the climate crisis, environmental literature, and democratic approaches from an Inter-American perspective.

We extend our thanks to all who contributed to this meaningful exchange and look forward to the possibility of a follow-up publication that continues this important interdisciplinary dialogue.