Naming Swamps and Avalanches: Place Names in Tyrol and Louisiana

Professor Gerhard Rampl

Place-names are generated by humans as language-users in response to their environment. In terms of geographical environment Tyrol and Louisiana are, in fact, extremely different: the first an inner Alpine country with no access to open waters, the second a southern Mississippi-state with extensive swamp lands and coastal marshlands. The lecture will show how these differences are reflected in the respective place names.

Gerhard Rampl is a Visiting Professor from the University of Innsbruck in UNO’s Department of English and Foreign Languages in the fall semester 2016; he serves as part of the faculty exchange between UNO and the University of Innsbruck. He is a Senior Scientist with the Department of Languages and Literatures: Linguistics at the University of Innsbruck. In 2011/12 he was Visiting Scholar at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) conducting the project "Communicating Location in Emergency Calls". He is Coordinator for Toponymic Guidelines for map and other editors with the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN). His research interests include Onomastics, Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Conversation Analysis (CA).

Center Austria at the GSA in San Diego

Center Austria was an active participant at the 2016 German Studies Association Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA. Professor Günter Bischof chaired a roundtable "Austria and Migration: The Current Refugee Crisis in Historical Context" with the Ambassador of Austria to the United States,Wolfgang Waldner (right), Dirk Rupnow (University of Innsbruck) and Christiane Hintermann (University of Vienna). 

Professor Bischof also delivered the Saturday luncheon keynote, “American Nation-Building and Postwar Reconstruction: The Marshall Plan in Austria.” Furthermore, Senior Research Fellow Dr. Hannes Richter presented first results from an ongoing research project at the Austrian Embassy in Washington, D.C. on the Austrian image in the United States. 

Photos: click on an image to enlarge. All photos courtesy of Winfried Garscha.

 

 

The Globalization of Human Rights – Hopes and Concerns

When: Monday, September 26, 12:30 pm
Where: International Center Seminar Room 112

The Austrian Marshall Plan Center for European Studies

Invites you to a lunch talk

by

Marie-Luisa Frick
University of Innsbruck/Harvard University

The Globalization of Human Rights – Hopes and Concerns

Since the negotiation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 the question of reconciling its universal claim with the fact of (partial) cultural relativity has never ceased to produce controversial debates among human rights theorists. It is, however, a widely accepted assumption that in a decolonizing world of 7.3 billon people human rights cannot be imposed, but have to be “translated” into as many “local” moral codes as possible. Against the background of considerable regionalist and particularist dynamics (“African”, “Asian”, “Islamic” human rights), I will try to put into perspective the promising prospects of such trends as well as the dangers they involve.

 

Marie-Luisa Frick is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Innsbruck. She is currently a visiting fellow at the Harvard Human Rights Program. Her research fields are: Political Philosophy and Philosophy of Law, Ethics, Philosophy of Religion and Human Rights. In her recently completed Habilitation thesis she explored conditions for the idea of human rights to take root in different cultural/ideological environments. Among her publications are: „The Cultural Defense and Women’s Human Rights. A Critical Inquiry into the Rationales for Unveiling Justitia’s Eyes to Culture, “Philosophy & Social Criticism 40 (2014); she is coeditor of Islam and International Law. Engaging Self-Centrism from a Plurality of Perspective (Brill 2013), and Power and Justice in International Relations. Interdisciplinary Approaches to Global Challenges (Ashgate 2009). 

25th Anniversary of Contemporary Austrian Studies

When: September 15, 2016, 3-4 PM
Where: Student Lounge, International Center

Center Austria and the UNO Center for the Book/ UNO Press presented:

 

The 25th Anniversary Volume of Contemporary Austrian Studies:

Austrian Studies Today

Art Exchange Exhibit Opening

Parallel Barking Separate Sleeping

The UNO-St. Claude Gallery is excited to announce the 17th Annual Center Austria Artist Exchange exhibition, "Parallell Barking Separate Sleeping," featuring the art of Andrea Lüth and Kata Hinterlechner.

When: September 10, 2016, 6-9 PM
Where: UNO-St. Claude Gallery, located 2429 St. Claude Ave

Kata Hinterlechner

Kata Hinterlechner

While both artists seek to depict abstract and storytelling aspects, Hinterlechner’s work focuses on collage and photography, and Lüth draws with words and texts. The exhibit is the 17th incarnation of the UNO-Center Austria artist exchange, an annual partnership between artists from the University of New Orleans and Innsbruck, Austria. The UNO Department of Fine Arts and Center Austria have collaborated since 2000-2001 to exchange artists between the Fine Arts program and Innsbruck in order to exhibit their work and to promote global opportunities for our artists. Hinterlechner and Lüth continue this proud tradition by bringing their art to exhibit from Innsbruck. Both artists will be present at the opening reception.

The UNO-St. Claude Gallery, located 2429 St. Claude Ave., will hold the opening reception on Saturday, September 10th, from 6-9 PM. The exhibit will run from September 10 — November 6,, 2016. The gallery’s regular hours are Sat-Sun, from 12-5 PM. Please direct any inquiries to Kathy Rodriguez at klrodi2@uno.edu, or call the gallery during open hours at (504)948-6939.

Stop by the UNO-St Claude Facebook page let us know if you're coming and to stay up-to-date with the latest news from the gallery:
https://www.facebook.com/events/150705802040269/150707045373478/?notif_t=like&notif_id=1472582768774670

Center Austria donates new History Prize to Institute of History, Univ. of Innsbruck

Center Austria donates new History Prize to Institute of History, Univ. of Innsbruck

On June 14, 2016, Dean Klaus Eisterer transferred this year's "historia scribere" prizes to students of the University of Innsbruck's History Department. Lisa-Marie Gruber won the UNO Center Austria Prize in Transatlantic History for her seminar paper "Colonialism in Early Modern History: The Rise of the Spanish Colonial Empire in the Sixteenth Century." The award is sponsored by the University of Innsbruck's Institute of Contemporary History, the Institute of History, and the Institute of Ancient History.

Center Austria congratulates the 2016 Model UN Delegation from UNO

Center Austria congratulates the 2016 Model UN Delegation from UNO

UNO's delegation just returned from the National Model UN Conference in New York City. Representing Australia and New Zealand (Security Council), they come home with four awards: Distinguished Delegation, 2 Outstanding Position Papers, and 1 Best Delegation in Committee. We are especially proud because three of the delegates are University of Innsbruck students: Martin Schefzik, Mathias Thome, and Yannick Wiberg. Congratulations to another very successful conference!

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