Foto: Monika Zingl
Siegfried Beer
Siegfried Beer professionally taught and researched at the Department of History at the University of Graz from 1978 to 2013. His venia legendi is for late modern and contemporary history. His main teaching and research areas are international politics and Anglo-American cultures since 1776, Austria in the 20th century and the role of intelligence since 1918. Though now retired, he still teaches occasionally and continues to direct the Austrian Center for Intelligence, Propaganda and Security Studies (ACIPSS) which he founded in 2004 and since 2007 acts as editor of the Journal for Intelligence, Propaganda and Security Studies (JIPSS). He is also director of the Botstiber Institute for Austrian-American Studies (BIAAS) at Media, PA, USA which was also founded in 2007.
Beer began his studies of history and English language/literature at the University of Vienna in 1967/68 and was the recipient of a Fulbright scholarship in 1968/69 at Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, USA. He earned his Mag. phil. and Dr. phil. degrees at the University of Vienna in 1974 and 1983, respectively. In 1984 he was awarded a 6-month- scholarship from the American Council of Learned Societies for research at the US-National Archives in Washington, DC. Extended guest-professorships have taken him to the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (1992), Harvard University (1996/97) and Columbia University in the City of New York (2007). He is a life-time member of the Styrian Historical Commission as well as a member of the Viennese Restitution Commission (Wienmuseum) and of the “North Atlantic Triangle Commission” of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Since 1993 he has been actively involved in 11 externally-funded research projects. He has published widely in his various fields, but most importantly, he is the father of four adult children.
News
- On January 2016 issue 2/2015 of the ACIPSS-periodical Journal for Intelligence, Propaganda and Security Studies (JIPSS) was published. For contents see www.acipss.org/journal.
- Diskutant bei der Podiumsdiskussion “Terrorismus und die Rolle der Geheim- und Nachrichtendienste”, JUS-Club Uni Graz, am 3. März 2016
- Vortrag im SKA-RZ Weyer über „Nachrichten- und Geheimdienste: gestern – heute – morgen“, am 28. April 2016
- Lecture delivered at CMS-Conference on „Determinants of Global History“ on „ Colonialism/Imperialism as Causes for Current Conflicts“ at Uni Graz, on May 11, 2016
- Directing yearly general meeting of the Botstiber Institute for Austrian Studies (BIAAS) at Washington, DC on May 20, 2016
- Vortrag "Obamas Kuba-Politik" für Verein der Freunde Kubas, Afro-Asiatisches Institut Graz, 9. Juni, 18.30 Uhr, im Rahmen des Festes "La Isla - Beziehungsnetzwerk Kuba"
- Am 10. Juni moderierte ich ein Panel am Österreichischen Zeitgeschichtetag in Graz zum Thema “ÖsterreicherInnen und Österreich im Nachrichtengeschehen der 1940er und 1950er Jahre“, bei dem hauptsächlich ACIPSS-Mitarbeiter referierten.
- Vortrag und Lesung mit Elisabeth Schicketanz-Lexer, Robert Boulanger und Siegfried Beer, "Plan B. Fakten und Fiktionen", 15. Juni, 19 Uhr, Kriminalmuseum der Uni Graz, Hauptgebäude, HS. 01.13
- Am 17. Juni 2016 fand die 23. ACIPSS-Arbeitstagung in Graz statt, mit insgesamt sechs Vorträgen. Das genaue Programm kann auf der ACIPSS-Homepage eingesehen werden
- From June 22-24, 2016 I attended the 12th IAFIE-conference in Breda, Netherlands on “Connecting Intelligence Education Communities: Europe, North America and Beyond”. It was also the First Annual Conference of IAFIE-Europe for which I am serving on the board of directors. I represented ACIPSS with a paper on the Journal for Intelligence, Propaganda and Security (JIPSS) asking: “Is there a future for hard copy international intelligence journal publishing?”
- Am 3. August erschien die 19. Nummer von JIPSS, das Heft 10/1 mit insgesamt 15 Beiträgen und einer Rekordlänge von 240 Seiten.
- On August 15, 2016 BBC Radio4 beamed the third episode of „Our Man in Greeneland“ on “The Third Man”. In it I was interviewed on the intelligence element of the film.
- Starting in October I will offer a lecture course (VU) at the Institute of History on “Peacemaking, Security and Espionage in International Politics since 1815”.
- On October 28, 2016 I participated at the 5th Anniversary Conference of the Institute for Advanced Studies at Central European University (CEU), Budapest at a panel on “New Perspectives for 21st Century Advanced Research – views from the foundations”.
- On December 2, 2016 the 24th ACIPSS-Working Conference will take place at the Diplomatic Academy Vienna. Its title: “Austrians in Anglo-American Intelligence. Structures, Cultures, Effects”.
- From December 2-4, 2016 the Austrian Academy of Sciences, under the auspices of its Triangular Commission on Canada, Europe and the U.S. will stage an international conference on “Ideas Crossing the Atlantic: Themes, Normative Conceptions and Cultural Images”. My presentation will be on “Intelligence and Propaganda: Austrian-American Wartime Uses and Postwar Applications, 1942-1947”.
