Collaboratives

The Center for German and European Studies (CGES) invites proposals from University faculty members for interdisciplinary research projects in the humanities, social sciences, law, public policy, and business. Research collaboratives are designed to connect interdisciplinary groups of faculty and graduate students from Minnesota with their counterparts at another academic institution. Typical collaborations are one or two semesters in duration and are designed to create research opportunities that would not otherwise develop at a single institution. Recent collaboratives have included topics as the environmental humanities and Interrogating the Archive.

Fall 2020 Research Collaborative

GER 8300 Urban Development: New Regimes of Segregation

Matthias Rothe (Dept. of German, Nordic, Slavic & Dutch), Daniela Sandler (School of Architecture), and Stephan Lanz (Urban Studies, European University Viadrina, Frankurt/Oder, Germany)

The above graduate seminar is an integral part of a research collaborative between the University of Minnesota and the European University Viadrina entitled The City as Political Space: Berlin and the Twin Cities.

An integral part of the collaborative is a series of Friday lectures that are open to the public.

October 16, 2020 - 11:30 am - 12:40 pm CST: Greg Donofrio (School of Architecture), "Urban Renewal, Highways, and Segregation."

Greg Donofrio is an associate professor of heritage studies and public history at the School of Architecture at the University of Minnesota. His talk will address the role of highways in enforcing racial and urban segregation in Minneapolis with a particular focus on the I-35 Public History projects, which he coordinates.

October 23, 2020 - 11:30 am - 12:40 pm CST: Yolanda Roth, "Defund the Police & Community Empowerment."

Yolanda Roth is a Community and Labor organizer from the Twin Cities. She will talk about the struggle for change in urban power structures (e.g., the 'defund the police' campaign) and social justice activism in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder.

October 30, 2020 - 11:30 am - 12:40 pm CST: Mauri Melander Friestleben, "Education Integration in the Twin Cities."

Mauri Melander Friestleben is the principal of North High School, and former principal of Lucy Laney Elementary School, both in North Minneapolis. She will talk about education and racial inequities, drawing from her experience leading schools in predominantly black communities.

November 6, 2020 - 11:30 am - 12:40 pm CST: Ashleigh Grizzell, Erin Kindell, MacKenzie Kusler, and Adam Rosenthal (Architects), "Urban Determinants Project."

Ashleigh Grizzell, Erin Kindell, MacKenzie Kusler, and Adam Rosenthal are the architects behind Urban Determinants, a multimedia project that analyzes disparities in housing, criminal justice, health, and economic opportunities in Minneapolis.  Their talk will present the Urban Determinants project, using digital models, videos, and other visualization tools to present and critique systems of oppression and segregation.

All talks are online and the public is invited to attend via zoom.  If you are interested, email CGES at cges@umn.edu to receive the necessary access information.