Cultural Studies in Literary Interzones

It is my pleasure to announce the formation of Cultural Studies in Literary Interzones, a doctoral program whose purose “is to prepare gifted doctoral students to become the ‘global academics’ which top universities seek out in the fields of European comparative literatures and cultural studies, or high-flying consultants in private business sectors interested in global cultural phenomena”.

As many of you know Prof Dider Girard has been hard at work applying for this grant and I would like to congratulate both him and his team on the sterling effort that enabled them to be the only program selected in the field of humanities, among over 150 applications and 13 awards (the other doctoral programs that were awarded grants include 7 scientific programs, 3 envorinmental science programs and 1 program each in the social sciences and in economics).

Further good news is that the program is set to begin in September of 2010, with 16 doctoral positions who will take up their studies in a even wider variety of universities stretching from India, to Brazil, including universities across Europe. Like the Mundus program the Interzones will award multiple degrees, with students receiving a doctorate from each of their two principal universities, which are selected from a group of five international institutions, including the University of Bergamo in Italy, the Jawaharlal Nehru University in India, the University of Perpignan in France, the Fluminese Federal University in Brazil and the Eberhardkarl University of Tübingen, Germany. The program is structured such that doctoral students being with a semester in Bergamo followed by a year in one of their principal universities, they then proceed to a 4^th university which is selected from a list of partner institutions including the University of Provence Aix-Marseille 1 in France the Hermeneia Group – University of Barcelona in Spain, the Graduate School of Brown University in the USA, the Entre Rios National University in Argentina, the Jagiellonian University in Cracaw Poland, the Iberoamerican University in Mexico, the New Sorbonne University – Paris 3 and the Western University – Paris 10 in France, the European University of Petersburg in Russia, the University of Sydney in Australia and the University of Zurich in Switzerland. It is easily apparent that this is a very exciting program and I will be posting more details about it in the coming days.

Finally, Professor Girard will be leaving Perpignan for Strasbourg at the end of September, he will however remain the coordinator of the Mundus program for the first few months of the new academic year to ensure a smooth transition to the new coordinator. Prof Girard will be working with the Doctoral program and thereby remain closely in touch with the Mundus Masters Program. I’m sure I speak for all when I wish him every success in his new ventures.