European Studies hosts professional development workshops for educators based on themes relating to the European region. If you are a K-14 educator in Wisconsin and would like information about upcoming workshops, or have ideas for a potential workshop theme, please email ejconrad@wisc.edu.
News
K-14 Workshop Presents Legacy of Empire in France and Russia
The UW–Madison Center for European Studies and Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia hosted an in-person professional development workshop for educators on February 1 titled “Empire and Identity in France and Russia.”
Co-sponsored by the Center for European Studies and the Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia.
Find out more here.
Past Workshops
Empire and Identity in France and Russia: A Professional Development Workshop for K-14 Educators
February 1, 2025
This 1-day teacher training workshop helped Wisconsin educators understand the current relationship between the two countries, and how their shared past as empires has shaped the modern-day identities and politics of their people and the relationship of the two regions with each other. Participants heard from University of Wisconsin-Madison speakers knowledgeable about the regions’ legacy of empire on current events and concepts of identity – lessons that can be applied to classroom instruction on concepts of citizenship and the politics of migration in the United States.
International Children’s Literature Event 2024 “Stories of Separation and Belonging: Exploring Migration, Partition and Displacement”
December 7, 2024
This daylong, in-person professional development event for K-14 educators and librarians featured a film screening of Home is Somewhere Else, followed by a virtual Q&A with the directors. This event also included presentations by two authors Alexandra Diaz (Santiago’s Road Home) and Adrian Lysenko (Five Stalks of Grain), guided by UW-Madison regional experts, Professors Venkat Mani and Sara McKinnon.
Climate Optimism – Finding Creative Solutions and Making Positive Impacts
June 28, 2024
This virtual workshop provided new ideas for teaching related to climate change to enable more optimistic approaches in the classroom and mitigate the phenomena of doomscrolling and “climate despair.” Featured speakers brought international, regional, and local expertise to our exchange to provide attendees with practical classroom activities, tangible examples of success, and suggestions for incorporating climate optimism outside of the science classroom.
International Children’s Literature Celebration: Folk and Fairy Tales
December 2, 2023
This event, which was designed for adults who teach, sell, or consume children’s literature, featured three award-winning authors of children’s and young adult fiction: Rochelle Hassan, author of The Buried and the Bound, Karla Arenas Valenti, author of Loteria, and Lori Lee, author of Pahua and the Soul Stealer. Resources from the event are available for educators and librarians here.
Refugees, Dehumanization, and Rehumanization: A Practical, Pedagogical Workshop for Community-College Educators
November 4, 2023
This workshop offered ideas and information useful to teaching current students in the context of past and impending global transformations. Experts on international migration discussed the processes that dehumanize refugees, along with ways to re-humanize them and counter dangerous trends that can lead to indifference, fear or violence. The workshop continued conversations from The Growing Crisis of Refugees and Statelessness workshop of 2020, while offering new insights on unfolding events and optimistic perspectives on possibilities for the future.
The Good Life: Global Perspectives on Wellbeing and Happiness
July 24, 2023
This virtual workshop looked at “the good life” and explored related concepts from around the world. We were able to learn from experts on how different cultures define concepts such as “the good life,” wellbeing, or happiness, and how world events, appropriation, and the passage of time have shaped these shared definitions and practices. This workshop was designed for community college educators, but all were welcome to attend.
Colonial Famine and Historical Memory: Perspectives on the Great Hunger (An Gorta Mór) and the Holodomor
February 4, 2023
This 1-day, in person teacher training workshop, designed for Wisconsin middle and high-school teachers, will address the subject of colonial famine and memory, focusing on the two examples of the Great Hunger (An Gorta Mór) in Ireland (1845) and the Holodomor (1932) in Ukraine. Two lectures by regional experts will be bookended with interactive activites to help teachers network and engage with the workshop topics.
Q&A For Teaching About Ukraine: A Webinar for K-12 Educators
May 10, 2022
This virtual event intends to create a space for K-12 educators a space to engage with regional experts, address concerns, and explore ways to talk about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in the classroom. Beginning with short presentations by four UW-Madison panelists, teachers will then have 30 minutes for Q&A/discussion.
2022 Global Learning Summit
April 9, 2022
The Global Learning Summit is for Wisconsin K-12 educators and high school students, with an accompanying teacher. Teachers attend a morning workshop from 9:00-11:30 and are joined by high school learners at 11:45 for an engaging keynote, Q&A with globally engaged citizens, and collaborative action planning time. Review the Global Learning Summit Agenda to learn more!
Empowering Educators to Teach on Genocide
January 15-16, 2022
This workshop was designed to is to help teachers prepare for the implementation of Act 30 by presenting lectures by experts on cases of mass atrocities and genocide in Europe, Rwanda, Cambodia, Argentina, and China in a two day event.
“All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days” Book Discussion
December 14, 2021
In 1986, the Wisconsin State Legislature voted to designate September 16 as Mildred Fish-Harnack Day. During this virtual and casual book discussion, teachers of all grade levels will be able to explore the themes of the book, All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days by Rebecca Donner, and share how they plan to use information from the book, a true story about the life and death of Mildred Harnack, in the classroom.
Global Partitions
May 4, 11, and 18, 2021
During this workshop expert regional scholars will lead teachers through a critical exploration of partitions in Bangladesh, Ireland, and South Africa. Each event will consist of a 45-60 minute presentation by a regional scholar followed by discussion and a Q&A session.
Cyber-Capabilities and Accelerating Global Change
March 13 & 20, 2021
During this virtual professional development workshop for K-14 educators will a) examine the transforming face of international relations on the macro and micro level, b) receive an updated curated e-book of relevant source materials and classroom activities, and c) develop practical exercises that prompt student participation and collaboration.
Your Digital Personality With Visiting Scholar Ekaterina Libova
May 3, 2020
In this free k-12 teacher webinar, Wisconsin teachers will consider the international legal rights to privacy and autonomy of our “digital identities” that are already in place and discover which legal protections maybe lacking.
The End of Democracy? Eastern Europe 30 Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall
March 16, 2019
This workshop will look at post-1989 transitions to a market economy, communist nostalgia, and other drivers behind the rise of populism we see today in countries like Germany, Poland, and Hungary. We will explore this topic with three experts over the course of the morning and afternoon.
Teacher Workshop on Nationalism and Populism in Advanced Democracies
March 10, 2018
The workshop will look at the history and the politics of nationalism in the post-War and Cold War eras, and how populism is coming back into fashion in both Europe and the US since the Fall of the Berlin Wall (1989). We will examine the crises that led to a surge in nationalism (such as globalization and the refugee crisis) and how populist tactics from both the left and right ends of the political spectrum are hampering the day to day workings of political life (Germany, Spain, the US, the Netherlands). We will also look at the history of why certain countries and areas of Europe and the US are more susceptible to nationalist leanings than others.
Understand How the EU Impacts Human Right Regimes
April 1, 2017
Human rights are an essential part of learning about our world. Yet how can it be taught effectively to students in a globally competent manner? Prof. Mert Kartal and Dr. Jess Clayton address the concerns of human rights in the EU context.