Thirteen Northwestern students participated in an international conference about nationhood in Metz, France, and Saarbrucken, Germany, from April 24 to May 3.

The conference was a culminating event for students in a multidisciplinary two-quarter seminar called “Nationhood: Past and Future,” which combined elements of political science, history, German and French.

During the conference, students formed groups to work on projects about nationhood they had prepared earlier in the class. They then put together a presentation to share with other groups at the end of the week.

“I think we raised a lot of interesting questions and had a chance to explore them,” said Noora Lori, a Weinberg senior who attended the conference.

“It was exciting to be at an academic conference, because that’s not something many undergraduates have a chance to do,” she said.

Students worked on research projects on topics ranging from the European Union to immigration. All students were required to be fluent in either French or German, and part of the class was aimed at improving language skills.

“The goal was to have academic discussions and meet people from different places,” Lori said.

The course is co-taught by history Prof. Peter Hayes and political science Prof. Michael Loriaux.

Loriaux started the program two years ago. Visitors from a French university and a German university came to NU for the conference in April 2004. The conference now includes five universities – two French universities, two German universities and NU.

“We wanted to take it to the next level,” Loriaux said. “We would like permanent institutional ties with universities in Germany and France.”

Loriaux said the class will not be offered next year. Conference organizers will use the time off to look for ways to improve the program. The next topic under consideration is world cities, Loriaux said.

He said this year’s conference went well and that he hopes to see continued student interest in the program.

“The goal would be to get interested students together to compare ideas and learn,” Loriaux said. “The efforts on the part of the students are at a very high level.”

Hayes said it was important for NU participants to interact with students from other schools, which encouraged them to conduct thorough research and put together more comprehensive projects.

“The task of having to present your findings to other knowledgeable people is always a good educational challenge,” Hayes said. “It means people have to really think through their ideas.”

Although NU students were the only undergraduates at the conference, Hayes said varying levels of experience were not an issue.

“I think it was particularly effective because the students knew they were not just writing papers, but that they would have to present them and explain them to people with the same expertise that they had,” Hayes said.

Grant Whiting, a Weinberg senior, said he did not feel he was at a disadvantage by being an undergraduate student at the conference.

“It was a rigorous academic experience,” Whiting said. “We each got to prepare a thesis, present it to an international audience, and then defend it. It was an exceptional opportunity.”

Weinberg senior Luciana Leopold said the combination of the class and the international conference was a very unique experience.

“I definitely learned a lot more than if I was just in lectures or doing readings in books,” Leopold said.

Leopold said the most beneficial part of the conference was having a dialogue with the students from international schools.

“It wasn’t so much that we talked about nationhood but that we talked to each other,” Leopold said. “I met a lot of really interesting people and we had this shared interest, and that was really the best part.”

Reach Aliza Appelbaum at [email protected].