Since its very beginnings in 1947 as the Salzburg Seminar in American Civilization, Salzburg Global has reserved a dedicated place for American studies in its programming. Once our sole focus before the organization started to expand its reach and impact in the 1960s and 1970s, the field of American studies continued to feature prominently with different supporters and partners.
In these uncertain times, we believe there is no more trusted and important setting than Salzburg Global to address critical issues confronting the United States and the future of the liberal international order. It is imperative to deepen global understanding of American culture, society and politics and to stimulate vibrant debate about the political, economic and social changes taking place in the United States and how these influence, and are influenced by, the rest of the world.
In 2019, the Chair Emerita of Salzburg Global's Board of Directors, Heather Sturt Haaga, and her husband Paul Haaga Jr., made a 10-year endowed contribution to support the future of American studies at Salzburg Global.
This incredibly generous gift provides a long-term foundation for bold programming that fully integrates American studies in Salzburg Global’s core impact goals, starting with a new three-year series starting during the pandemic that looked at the future of democracy, both in the US and beyond. This major significant three-year collaboration appeared to help shape a future vision for the United States and American studies in a radically changing world and culminated in a special program to mark the 75th anniversary of Salzburg Global in 2022.
American studies at Salzburg Global has long attracted academics in diverse fields such as history, literature, cultural studies, the dramatic arts and political science, as well as practitioners in the fields of journalism, diplomacy, and advocacy. Salzburg Global's American Studies Program seeks to broaden this diverse international community further.