Welcome to our sixth annual edition of Perspectives. This on-line publication gives TAM students the chance to comment on current events while they are studying in their various locations overseas. Students write about European responses to salient political issues and the way in which these topics are depicted in the European media. This summer we asked students to focus on an issue of their own choosing. The results were provocative and varied.

Emily Pearce, who studied in Prague and Paris, chose to discuss this summer's leadership shift in the UK. Her essay, entitled "Poodle or Patriot: What will be the Nature of the British-American Transatlantic Relationship under Gordon Brown?", examines Prime Minister Brown's early days in office and his approach to US foreign policy in Iraq. Sara Dudley completed her overseas TAM coursework in Siena and Paris. She analyses French 2007 responses to the US and to American policies in Iraq. Sara’s essay, "America Divided, France no longer concerned?" underscores changing French attitudes and perceptions as well as the role of President Sarkozy's new leadership. In addition, Janna Goldberg’s text, entitled "The Spanish Media's Coverage of the 2008 Presidential Election" discusses the ways in which the US presidential candidates have been depicted in the Spanish media. Janna, who studied in Prague and Madrid, emphasizes the early and focused attention Spanish media outlets now accord to next year’s US elections. Finally, Erika Grunnet, currently in Siena, comments on Italian responses to the Virginia Tech campus shootings and underscores what she deems to be the Italian media’s escalating sensationalism and power.

We hope you enjoy reading the essays to follow, and we welcome your comments.