LSU Manship School and LSU Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures to Host Commemoration of the Fall of the Berlin Wall

Oct. 29, 2019

Baton Rouge, LA – The Manship School of Mass Communication’s Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs will host a commemorative event for the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in partnership with the LSU Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures on Monday, Nov. 4 in the Journalism Building’s Holliday Forum at 4 p.m.

The event is sponsored by the German Embassy and will include a lecture and panel discussion on the cultural significance and aesthetic representations of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Dr. Stephen Brockmann, professor of German at Carnegie Mellon University and one of the leading experts in the field of post-wall German literature and film will present “The Collapse of East Germany, The Fall of The Berlin Wall, and Why They Matter to Us Today.”

“On November 9, 1989, virtually impossible events unfolded in Germany. The Cold War’s most forcefully guarded border caved in. It seemed to yield to the pressure of sustained mass protests. Yet the tumbling rocks of the Berlin Wall were only the prelude to an ideological earthquake. We are still feeling the aftershocks to this day.” LSU Associate Professor of German Dr. Gundela Hachmann said. 

 Following Dr. Brockmann’s lecture, experts and historical eyewitnesses to the fall of the Berlin Wall from around the LSU campus and greater Baton Rouge area will present their impressions of the historic event. Panelists and moderators include:

  • Dr. Stephen Brockmann, Carnegie Mellon University, Professor of German
  • Marco Fischer, former resident of the then German Democratic Republic (known as the communist East Germany)
  • Dr. Gundela Hachmann, LSU, Associate Professor of German
  • Dr. Brendan Karch, LSU, Department of History
  • Dr. Harald Leder, LSU, Academic Programs Abroad
  • Prof. Suzanne Marchand, LSU, Boyd Professor, Department of History
  • Jan Schweisgut, First Secretary, Political Section, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany

Reserve a seat here

 Parking is available at the Union Square Garage, which can be accessed on East Campus Drive. Visitor parking is available on the second, third, and fourth floors for $1.50 per hour on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

For more information, contact smalin@lsu.edu

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The Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs is partnership-driven, action-oriented and dedicated to exploring contemporary issues at the intersection of mass communication and public life. Its interdisciplinary approach draws together experts from diverse fields to advance research and dialogue. The intent is to inspire our communities to think deeply, take action, develop solutions and broaden knowledge. Underlying the Center’s endeavors is to strengthen and advance the Manship School of Mass Communication’s national and state leadership in media and politics.

LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication ranks among the strongest collegiate communication programs in the country, with its robust emphasis on media and public affairs. It offers undergraduate degrees in public relations, journalism, political communication, digital advertising and pre-law, along with four graduate degree programs: master of mass communication, Ph.D. in media and public affairs, certificate of strategic communication, and dual MMC/law degree.

The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at LSU offers training in eight languages. Programs in Arabic, Chinese, German, Italian, Spanish, Latin, Greek and Biblical Hebrew enable students to cultivate communicative and cultural competencies and to prepare for careers in the humanities as much as for those in government, science, business, or mass communications. 54 internationally recognized scholars and instructors from around the world provide rigorous linguistic instructions as well as courses on the cultures, literatures, and films from abroad. They seek to engage the LSU community in cultural diversity and bring global perspectives to Louisiana.