Two Scholars to Explore the Legacy of the Berlin Wall and International Exchange, May 18

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Laura A. Belmonte, left, and Hope M. Harrison.

As debates over the merits of border walls continue on this continent, the May 17-19 "Building Bridges: The Fulbright Legacy and the Future of International Exchange" conference will bring two widely-recognized scholars to campus on Saturday, May 18, to share their perspectives.

At 11:30 a.m. Saturday, May 18 in Vol Walker Hall, a discussion titled "Open Doors of Internationalism?" will feature Laura A. Belmonte, associate dean for instruction and personnel of the College of Arts and Sciences and professor of history at Oklahoma State University.

A specialist in the history of U.S. foreign relations, Belmonte is author of Selling the American Way: U.S. Propaganda and the Cold War and co-author of Global Americans: A Transnational U.S. History. Her A History of the International LGBT Movement is forthcoming with Bloomsbury.

Joining her will be moderator Oliver Schmidt, executive director of Fulbright Germany, and Alessandro Brogi, professor of history and director of undergraduate studies at University of Arkansas.

Then, at 4 p.m. Saturday, May 18 in Vol Walker Hall, Hope M. Harrison, associate professor of history and international affairs at George Washington University, presents "Die Mauer muss weg!" ("The Wall must go!"): Remembering the Berlin Wall.

Harrison is the recipient of fellowships from Fulbright, the Nobel Institute in Oslo, the American Academy in Berlin, Harvard, and the Wilson Center. Her book, After the Berlin Wall: Memory and the Making of the New Germany, 1989 to the Present, will be released by Cambridge University Press in 2019, for the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

She previously authored Driving the Soviets up the Wall (2003) which was awarded the 2004 Marshall Shulman Book Prize by the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies; the German translation was also published to wide acclaim. She serves on the board of three institutions in Berlin connected to the Cold War and the Berlin Wall and has appeared on CNN, the History Channel, the Science Channel, the BBC and Deutschlandradio.

"We are excited to host these Fulbright scholars and administrators from Europe and the U.S. and we are thoroughly delighted to welcome Dr. Hope H. Harrison and Dr. Laura Belmonte, two leading scholars on the history of the Cold War," said Laurence Hare, U of A associate professor of history and conference organizer. "Their work, which has made significant contributions to our understanding of transatlantic relations, is especially crucial in 2019, which marks 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall and represents a critical moment for the future of Europe."

Both lectures are free and open to the public, and are a part of the conference, which is aimed at understanding the trajectory of transatlantic ties and the future of international cooperation.

The conference, "Building Bridges: The Fulbright Legacy and the Future of International Exchange," is part of the "Wunderbar Together" campaign sponsored by the Federal Republic of Germany. It is co-sponsored by the German-American Fulbright Commission and the University of Arkansas International and Global Studies Program and Office of Study Abroad. It will cap a year of commemorative events on both sides of the Atlantic celebrating German-American cooperation.