Department of Psychology and Communication

A faculty member from Germany’s Universität Bielefeld recently visited Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) to discuss future student exchange options for communication majors at the two universities.

Dr. Wilfried Raussert, chair for North American Studies and Inter-American Studies at Universität Bielefeld also presented several lectures to communications students during his visit, including one titled, “Fandango sin Fronteras: Music Flows and Diaspora Community Building.”

Dr. Raussert and Dr. J. Carlos Lozano, chair of the College of Arts and Sciences’ department of Psychology and Communication, are exploring the possibility of starting a semester student exchange program in Fall 2015 that will allow students from both universities to study and explore the interconnectedness between two aspects of American Studies, one which focuses on North America and the other, on Latin America.

The two faculty members are also exploring the possibility of develog in the future a binational doctoral degree program that would serve as the continuation of the newly launched MA in Communication program, said Dr. Lozano.

Dr. Raussert, whose university offers classes both in English and Spanish under the Inter-American Studies program, said TAMIU is located in a strategic point where two worlds, North America and Latin America, converge.

By studying one semester at TAMIU, Universität Bielefeld students will be able to experience what it’s like to live in a border town that’s influenced daily by North American and Latin American cultures, politics, and economic systems, Raussert said. TAMIU students, on the other hand, will enjoy the opportunity to study the German and European perspective of their inter-American approach to the humanities and the social sciences, he added.

Universität Bielefeld founded in 1969, is located in Bielefeld, Germany, the economic and cultural metropolis of East-Westphalia-Lippe. With about 22,000 students in 108 degree courses, the university encompasses 13 faculties covering a broad spectrum of disciplines in the humanities, natural sciences, social sciences and technology. Currently, the university is the only center of Inter-American Studies in Germany.