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SHERMAN, TEXAS—The fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War will be the focus of an Austin College lecture by Dr. Georg Schild on Monday, October 6, at 4:30 p.m. in Hoxie Thompson Auditorium of Sherman Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public.
Schild has been a professor of North American history at the Eberhard Karls University in Tübingen, Germany, since 2004. He completed undergraduate and graduate work at the Freie Universität Berlin in the years right before the fall of the Berlin Wall. He received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Maryland, followed by completion of his professorial thesis, in Bonn, Germany.
He also has served as a visiting scholar at American colleges and universities, including the University of Oregon and most recently, at Austin College in Spring Term 2013. A widely published scholar, his publications include Abraham Lincoln, A Political Biography (2009); The American Experience of War (2010); and, 1983: The Most Dangerous Year in the Cold War (2013). He regularly speaks and makes paper presentations on both sides of the Atlantic.
The lecture is hosted by the Austin College German program and funded by a grant from the Germany Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Austin College is one of 40 colleges and universities in the United States selected as grant recipients and project partners with the German Embassy in Washington, D.C., in an interdisciplinary campaign, “25 Years: Fall of the Berlin Wall.” Ruth Cape and Wolfgang Lueckel of the Austin College German faculty are coordinating the Austin College partnership activities.
Initiated by the German Information Center USA, the center for public diplomacy at the German Embassy, the Fall of the Berlin Wall campaign commemorates the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, which marked a new era in German history. As a former symbol of repression, the Berlin Wall’s fall has become an icon of freedom and peaceful revolution. In the context of the campaign, many questions will be explored—among them what made the people in East Germany take to the streets and eventually call for a German reunification, as well as the role of foreign policies of the U.S. and other major powers in the process.
“Two years ago, we partnered with other colleges and universities in the Think Transatlantic Campus Weeks, a campaign also generously funded by the German Embassy in Washington, D.C.,” said Ruth Cape, associate professor of German. “We are delighted to work on another round of interesting and fun-filled interdisciplinary projects here at Austin College and are quite grateful to the German Embassy for inviting us to be partners in this year’s campaign. We hope that commemorating this significant world event through numerous activities during the campus weeks will be not only an educating but also culturally enriching experience for Austin College students, faculty, and friends alike.”
Austin College, a private national liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas, has earned a reputation for excellence in academic preparation, international study, pre-professional foundations, leadership development, committed faculty, and hands-on, adventurous learning opportunities. One of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges That Change Lives, Austin College boasts a welcoming community that embraces diversity and individuality, with more than 36 percent of students representing ethnic minorities. A residential student body of 1,250 students and a faculty of more than 100 allow a 12:1 student-faculty ratio and personalized attention. The College is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and cultivates an inclusive atmosphere that supports students’ faith journeys regardless of religious tradition. Founded in 1849, the College is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter.
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