Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence

The University of Victoria held a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence (JMCE) grant until December 2014. The JMCE funded teaching and student research at UVic. 

What did the JMCE do?
  • The JMCE sponsored a new 100 level course on European culture and politics. For some time, EUS program only offered 300 level courses, as such this new course is of major importance to the program. With this course we mean to offer students the opportunity to study and engage with European issues as soon as possible, rather than only in third year.
  • The JMCE organized annual EUS graduate student conferences. These conferences provided graduate students an opportunity to showcase their research work. The conferences were the flagship events of the year for the EUS program. Hopefully, seeing the interesting work of graduate students will inspire others to become engaged themselves!
Graduate research grants:

In 2014, the following students received research funding from the JMCE and the EUCE:

  • Bryan Benner (MA Candidate, Department of Sociology)
  • Anastasia Chebakova (PhD Candidate, Department of Political Science)
  • Graham Crouch (PhD Department, Department of Political Science)
  • Ivan Dumka (PhD Candidate, Department of Political Science)
  • Alexander Gunn (PhD Candidate, Department of Political Science)
  • Stephen Fielding (PhD Candidate, Department of History)
  • Tatiana Shaban (PhD Candidate, Department of Political Science)
  • Dylan Trerice (MA Candidate, Department of French)
Graduate Conferences:

The JMCE at UVic also hosted three Graduate conferences. The last one, held in 2014, was entitled "Managing diversity, immigration, and multiculturalism".

2014 JMCE Graduate conference

"Managing diversity, immigration, and multiculturalism"

UVic's European Studies program and JMCE hosted the third, and last, graduate conference on the 20th of November, 2014. The conference was an great opportunity for graduate students to present their work on diversity, immigration, multiculturalism, and European integration. 

The following students presented at the conference:

  • Grace Ballor (PhD, UCLA), The Paradox of Firm-Led European Integration: Pre-Crisis Builders Becoming a Post-Crisis Threat

  • Sangmi Cha (Undergraduate, University of Washington, European Studies), Divisive Residue of the Berlin Wall

  • Alex Gunn (PhD, UVic Political Science), Catalonia’s interculturalism model: At the intersection of immigration, national self-determination and European integration

  • Waged Jafer (PhD, Interdisciplinary Studies, UBC), Examination of a ‘victimized identity’ amongst Shiite Muslim Canadians and ‘misrecognition’ of the Shiite identity within Canada.

  • Marc Woons (FWO Doctoral Fellow, KU Leuven - Institute of Philosophy, Centre for Ethics, Social and Political Philosophy, UVic Visiting Scholar), Social Justice Beyond the Nation-State: Liberal Nationalism in Multinational Contexts

View the full conference program. 

2013 JMCE Graduate conference

"European integration"

On January 17th, 2014, the European Studies program hosted the 2nd annual Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence Graduate conference. 

The conference was organized by Dr. Valerie D'Erman, of the Department of Political Science. 

The call for papers asked applicants to focus on the European Union, and European integration. 

See the agenda for the conference here. 

2012 JMCE Graduate conference

"Beyond crisis: Ways forward for a renewed European Union"

In 2012, the European Studies program held its first Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence Graduate conference. The conference took place at the University of Victoria, on Decemeber 7th, 2012. 

The call for papers sought applications that addressed:

  • New governance instruments in the Eurozone
  • Asymmetrical integration and Eurozone 'ins' and 'outs'
  • The role of the Franco-German partnership
  • Euro adoption in new members; Future enlargement
  • What it means to be 'Europeanized'
  • Treaty change and future directions for European integration
  • The growth or retreat of the 'European identity'

The keynote speaker for the conference was Dr. Alison Johnston, from Oregon State University. 

Audio from the 2012 JMCE Graduate conference

Here are audio clips of the presentations at the 2012 JMCE Graduate conference:

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