American Studies
Organizations, centers and study programs
The Commission for Educational Exchange (CEE/ABL)
Keizerslaan 4 / Boulevard de l'Empereur 4, 1000 Brussels (sixth floor)
Open from 9 am to 1 pm, Monday through Thursday. Closed on Fridays
Tel. 02/519-5772 (from 2 p.m. to 4.30 p.m.) / Fax 02/519-5773
E-Mail fulbright.advising@kbr.be
http://www.kbr.be/fulbright/index.htm
Executive Director: Mrs. Margaret Nicholson
The Commission for Educational Exchange between the United States of America, Belgium and Luxembourg, located in Brussels, administers the Fulbright Program for citizens of Belgium and Luxembourg for academic projects in the U.S. and for U.S. citizens seeking educational opportunities in Belgium or Luxembourg.
The Brussels Fulbright Commission also administers a small Fulbright exchange program in European Union affairs. Under this program, which is co-financed by the Directorate-General for Education and Culture of the European Commission, American professors and advanced graduate students come to the Member States of the EU for study or research on EU topics. At the same time, academics, professionals and policy makers from the EU go to the United States for research on US-EU affairs or for lecturing about the European Union at American colleges and universities.
The Commission for Educational Exchange offers approximately 50 scholarships for study, teaching, and research in the United States for citizens of Belgium/Luxembourg and for EU nationals resident in Belgium and Luxembourg. The Commission also awards approximately 20 grants to U.S. citizens for study, teaching, or research in Belgium or Luxembourg.
Special scholarships are available for study in business, law, pure sciences and journalism. Candidates for the Commission’s grants for the United States must be of Belgian or Luxembourg nationality and hold a post-secondary degree with outstanding academic results. EU nationals resident in Belgium/Luxembourg may also apply. Candidates for the commission’s grants for Belgium or Luxembourg must be citizens of the U.S. and may not be resident in Belgium/Luxembourg at the time of application.
In addition to the Commission's grants, information concerning other sources of funding is available at the Center.
The Belgian American Educational Foundation (BAEF)
Egmontstraat 11 / Rue d’Egmont 11, 1000 Brussels
Director: Emile Boulpaep (resides in the United States)
Tel. 02/513-5955 / Fax 02/672-5381
E-mail: mail@baef.be
http://www.baef.be
The Belgian American Educational Foundation, Inc. (BAEF) is a non-profit organization, funded by the general public under United States law, and engaged in fostering the higher education of deserving Belgians and Americans through its exchange fellowship program.
The organization was instituted in 1920 as the successor to the Commission for Relief in Belgium set up by Herbert Hoover during World War I.
The BAEF offers fellowships to Belgians for study or research in the United States. Fellows are expected to stay in the United States for a full academic year (nine months) to study at a U.S. institution or for one year (twelve months) to do research at a research institution. Candidates who have means of their own to finance their studies or research in the United States may apply for an Honorary Fellowship of the Foundation.
The BAEF also provides fellowships to U.S. citizens for advanced study, research or teaching at a Belgian university or institution of higher learning.
The Belgian Luxembourg American Studies Association (BLASA)
President: Professor William L. Chew III (Vesalius College)
BLASA is a non-profit organization of Americanists based in Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is a member of the European Association of American Studies (EAAS) and participates in annual EAAS functions.
BLASA is governed by a Board of Directors composed of respected academics specialized in various aspects of American Studies. A General Assembly is held on an annual basis.
BLASA’s mission is to further the pursuit of American studies in Belgium and Luxembourg. It does this by organizing lectures, study days, cultural events and regular residential academic conferences, open to BLASA members as well as to the general public.
Candidate members must hold a B.A. or equivalent university degree in any field, and entertain an active interest in American studies. Annual membership is € 15. Students benefit from reduced rates. Members receive, as part of their membership benefits, the EAAS newsletter. They also benefit from reduced rates to conferences organized by the association.
To apply for membership, please write to the Secretary of the Board of Directors at Keizerslaan 4 / Boulevard de l’Empereur 4, 1000 Brussels (tel. 02/519-5770 / fax 02/519-5773)
The Center for American Studies (CAS) at the Royal Library
Keizerslaan 4 / Boulevard de l’Empereur 4, 1000 Brussels
Entrance: Kunstberg/Mont des Arts (3rd floor)
Librarian: Mrs. Myriam Lodeweyckx
Tel. 02/519-5523 / Fax 02/519-5522
E-mail: cas@kbr.be
http://www.kbr.be/cas
Opening hours: from 10 a.m. to 12 and from 2 to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday, or by appointment
The Center for American Studies is a library and a reference desk serving anyone interested in the social sciences and humanities concerning the USA: literature and language, history, politics, the arts, film, music, popular culture, law, religion, etc.
The CAS holds a printed collection of over 30,000 volumes, the Library of American Studies (LAS), as well as the Library of American Civilization (LAC). The LAC is a collection of pre-1914 - mostly out of print - material on ultrafiche, containing 14,000 titles, with printed catalogs.
In addition there are over 50,000 titles pertaining to American studies in the various collections of the Royal Library; some of which date back to the late 15th century. The CAS also holds archives of the New York Times and the Washington Post on microfilm and/or CD-ROM
The Academic Research Library (ARL) has almost 3,000 online periodicals in all fields of science; half of them in full text or real image format; half of them abstracted. ARL can be accessed free-of-charge in the reading room of the Center for American Studies.
The collection is shelved in open stacks. The books can be consulted on the premises or via interlibrary loan. The online catalog of the Royal Library (http://opac.kbr.be) contains all the books of the Library of American Studies and a major part of the Library of American Civilization collection.
In the reading room the readers have free Internet access and a computer at their disposal, as well as copying facilities and microfilm reader-printers. Qualified staff is available to assist students in their research.
The Center for American Studies also houses the M.A. in American Studies, a one-year inter-university program of the study of the United States taught in English (see next item).
The Inter-University MA Program in American Studies
Director: Professor Luc Herman
Administrative Assistant: Anna Wood, Center for American Studies, 02/519-5523
http://www.kbr.be/cas/AmericanStudies/ma_program.html
The M.A. in American Studies is designed to get an intellectual grip on the richness of American society. With a total of 8 courses, ranging from law and economy over history and politics to various expressions of culture, the program allows students to develop an overview and to focus on specific topics. The emphasis is on knowledge that enables the student to maximize his or her chances when applying for a US-related job in the cultural sector (e.g. journalism, higher education), the legal profession, or business at large.
Courses are offered in English by a group of Belgian Americanists. The administrative backbone of the program is a postgraduate program (GGS) jointly organized by the Universities of Ghent (UG), Brussels (VUB) and Antwerp (UIA). Students are required to take 8 thirty-hour courses and to write a final paper. If necessary, the degree can be spread over two years. Classes are taught at the Center for American Studies in Brussels, which is conveniently located in the Royal Library (Keizerslaan 4 / Boulevard de l'Empereur 4, third floor, 1000 Brussels), right next to Central Station.
Admission
The degree is open to everyone (including non-Belgians) who has earned the B.A. (in Belgium: licentiaat or licence) or an equivalent degree, provided he or she passes an initial English test (TOEFL or IELTS plus oral proficiency interview). Are exempted from this obligation: 1. Belgian students who hold a degree in Germanic Languages and Literatures including English; 2. Belgian students who hold a degree in translation or interpreting including English; 3. Native speakers. 4. Further exemptions at the discretion of the program director.
English test
The necessary minimum score is 600 on the paper-based/institutional TOEFL test, or 250 on the external computer-based TOEFL test, or 7.5 on the IELTS. An in-house TOEFL test (followed by the oral proficiency interview) will be held at the Center for American Studies in Brussels on two separate dates in September (please contact Ms. Anna Wood, see above). Earlier TOEFL or IELTS results may be used, but the on-site interview remains compulsory.
American Studies Center, Mons
Director: Alain Piette
Université de Mons-Hainaut
Ecole d'interprètes internationaux
Avenue du Champ de Mars 17
7000 Mons
Tel. 065/37-3608 / 065/37.36.00, 065/37.36.01, 065/37.36.09/
Fax 02/428-9348
e-mail: a.piette.infoni@infonie.be
http://www.umh.ac.be/ASC/
Founded in 1993, the American Studies Center of the Université de Mons-Hainaut, Belgium, is a reference center on American culture in general, and on the possibilities of exchanges, grants, and fellowships for study in the United States, in particular. It is accessible to the entire community of the Mons area and visitors alike, i.e., students, teachers, researchers, or private individuals.
The main objective of the Center is to encourage student and teacher exchange between the United States and Belgium and/or Luxembourg. The Center provides information on study and research programs in the U.S., as well as on grants and fellowships to help fund these programs. It also provides concrete information on life on U.S. campuses.
The Center is also a reference library specializing in American Studies. Its holdings comprise about 3,000 volumes, 30 periodicals, and about 400 audio and video cassettes. A list of the Center's holdings is available upon request.
Finally, the Center organizes seminars and various cultural events. Every year, it invites a number of American lecturers. All these events, as well as the Center's films series, are open to the public.
Post-graduate in American Studies, Liège
Director: Michel Delville
Université de Liège
Département de Langues et Littératures germaniques
Place Cockerill 3 – bât. A2
4000 Liège
Tel. 04/366-5669
http://www2.ulg.ac.be/aacad/prog-cours/
The post-graduate (Diplôme d'études complémentaires de 2e cycle, D.E.C.2) in American Studies provides courses on humanities and social sciences subjects with regard to the U.S. These courses include subjects from three faculties (Philosophy and Literature, Law, and Economy). Students are allowed to focus on particular subjects according to their interests but they cannot limit their selection to courses given by one faculty only.
Duration of the courses is one year, although they can be spread over two years.
Students must have a “licence or doctor’s degree from the Faculty of Philosophy and Literature or the Faculty of Law or an equivalent degree, in addition to appropriate knowledge of English.