Jan. 16, 1998 Contact: Jamie Lawson Reeves (615) 322-2706 jamie.l.reeves@vanderbilt.edu

VU hosts nation's only visiting Fulbright professorship in German studies

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Vanderbilt University continues to be the only university in the nation to host a visiting professorship in German Studies funded by the Fulbright Commission.

The second scholar chosen for the program is political scientist Ursula Hoffmann-Lange, a professor at the University of Bamberg in Germany who is spending the 1997-98 academic year at Vanderbilt. Hoffmann-Lange is based in Vanderbilt's Department of Political Science.

The Fulbright Commission in Bonn, Germany, celebrating 50 years of international scholarship, chose Vanderbilt to host the commemorative professorship, the only one of its kind in the United States. Reiner Pommerin, founding chair and professor of modern and contemporary history at Technical University in Dresden, Germany, was the first Visiting Fulbright Distinguished Professor for German Studies during the 1996-97 academic year.

"We at Vanderbilt are delighted and most grateful to host this distinguished professorship. It provides further impetus to the international aspects of our undergraduate curriculum, stimulates multidisciplinary education and research, and provides a most valuable point of contact for students and faculty with our German counterparts," said College of Arts and Science Dean Ettore F. Infante.

Teaching is the focus of the fellowship and Hoffmann-Lange, who has a background in sociology and political science, taught two courses in European Studies at Vanderbilt last semester - one an interdisciplinary course on 20th century Europe, the other on Germany's political and economic culture.

This semester she is teaching a course on political culture and the national identity in Germany and a course on elites and democracy. The latter course will not focus on Germany, she explained, but "is a more general course on theoretical aspects of the role of elites in the process of democratization" based on empirical evidence from Eastern Europe, Eastern Germany, Southern Europe and Latin America.

In addition to her teaching responsibilities in Nashville and Bamberg, Hoffmann-Lange is writing a book on the political attitudes of young people.

Hoffmann-Lange's ongoing work has three focuses. One is the role of elites in Germany, "and now especially the changes in elite composition and elite outlook as a consequence of German unification," she says.

Her second focus is the political culture of Germany, the differences between East and West Germany, the legacies of the German Democratic Republic and political orientations of the citizens in Eastern Germany.

Lastly, she is focusing on the comparison of the German and American party systems, political culture and electoral behavior.

"In many respects the United States is always a forerunner, so if you study the United States you'll know what you might expect in Europe," Hoffmann-Lange said. Although the political structure is different, she said the problems of the political development of highly industrialized nations are basically the same in many respects.

Hoffmann-Lange's interest in political science stems from her original training as a sociologist. "I think it's a good combination," she said. "I've always been interested in how societies work and how political institutions function, especially the relationship between society and politics. That is why I think the combination of sociology and political science is so valuable."

-VU-

Vanderbilt University is a private research university of approximately 5,900 undergraduates and 4,300 graduate and professional students. Founded in 1873, the University comprises 10 schools, a public policy institute, a distinguished medical center and The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center. Vanderbilt offers undergraduate programs in the liberal arts and sciences, education and human development, engineering and music, and a full range of graduate and professional degrees.

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