Viessman Research Centre on Modern Europe

Director: Dr. Pierre Siklos, ext. 2559
Associate Director: Dr. Alfred Hecht, ext. 2608
Website: info.wlu.ca/~wwwgeog/special/viessman/index.htm

The centre fosters multidisciplinary research on new and dynamic issues facing Europe in the 21st century. Relevant topics of research include European integration, regional development, external linkages, trade and political expansion as well as other overarching socio-economic problems. The centre also focuses on the so-called accession countries, that is, the countries that recently joined the European Community and how they relate to the older established countries.

Over time, there has been a substantial interest in Europe by Laurier faculty and students. The initial start for this centre occurred in 1992 when a number of Laurier professors formed an informal research interest group on Europe, which has worked with a similar interest group at the Phillipps University in Marburg, Germany, a partner institution of Laurier. The group has held a number of symposia over time, hosted guest lectures, and published a discussion paper series on Europe, lately as papers on the Internet.