The significant increase in refugee immigration to Germany in 2015 led policymakers and civil-society actors to question how best to include and integrate new arrivals into German society. At the same time, the United States, a nation built largely by immigrants, is facing its own questions about historical migrations and the political and humanitarian ramifications of new migration. In both countries, the arts and sciences have provided important platforms for integration, expediting social and cultural inclusion. This discussion, hosted in cooperation with the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, will examine these two catalysts of integration in two panels:

Panel I: ARTS

Moderator: Pamela Rosenberg, Arts Advisor, American Academy in Berlin

Participants: Josh Kun, Professor of Communication and American Studies and Ethnicity, University of Southern California; Raven Chacon, Composer, Performer, and Installation Artist; Helmut Oehring, Composer; Julia Grosse, Co-Publisher and Editor-in Chief, Contemporary And (C&); Jörg Heiser, Director, Insitut Kunst im Kontext, Universität der Kunste Berlin

Panel II: Academia

Moderator: Michael P. Steinberg, President, American Academy in Berlin

Participants: Keith Watenpaugh, Professor and Director, Human Rights Studies, University of California, Davis; and Director, Article 26 Backpack™ – The Human Rights Tool for Universal Academic Mobility; Kerry Bystrom, Associate Dean, Bard College; Rajshri Jayaraman, Associate Professor of Economics and Faculty Lead of the Full-time MBA Program, ESMT Berlin; Zaher Alshamy, PhD Candidate, Freie Universität Berlin

In cooperation with the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz