Southeast European Studies

Study of the history, language, and culture of the Balkans has been part of the Indiana University curriculum for East European studies since the early 1950s. The Russian and East European Institute (REEI) and Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures offer:

• Three years of Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian and Modern Greek language training during the academic year and intensive first-year instruction during the summer;
• Elementary Albanian, Macedonian, and Slovene language training during the summer and by arrangement during the academic year; and
• Old Church Slavonic (academic year only).

Faculty

History

Maria Bucur, Director of the Russian & East European Institute, John V. Hill Chair of East European History, has actively maintained the excellent standing of Indiana in this field. Bucur's research and teaching interests focus on the modern period, including social and cultural developments in Eastern Europe, and more specifically Romania. Among her BOOK publications are Eugenics and Modernization in Interwar Romania (Pittsburgh University Press, 2002) and the volumes co-edited with Nancy Wingfield, Gender and War in Twentieth Century Eastern Europe, (forthcoming, Indiana University Press), and Staging the Past: The Politics of Commemoration in Habsburg Central Europe, 1848 to the Present (Purdue University Press, 2001). Most recently she published Heroes and Victims:Remembering War in Twentieth-Century Romania (Indiana University Press, 2009). She has taught courses that include a required colloquium on issues in the historiography of Eastern Europe, as well as Communism and Post-Communism in Comparative Perspective. She has also taught a variety of undergraduate courses: The Idea of Europe; Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century; Nationalism in the Balkans, 1804-1920; Women, Men, and Society in Modern Europe; Opposition, Survival, and Resistance in Communist Eastern Europe; and Film and History.

Anthropology

Frances Trix, is Professor of Linguistics and Anthropology. Professor Trix is a linguistic anthropologist focusing on Islam in the Balkans, specifically Albanian Muslim communities in America, Turkey and the Balkans. She is also a well-known authority on Bektashism, a 700-year old Sufi or Muslim mystic order that has been prominent among Albanians. Professor Trix conducted ethnographic research in Kosova before and after the war; she has studied local and international organizations in Kosova in the UNMIK period. She currently teaches courses on Islam in the Balkans, and a seminar on Discourse Analysis, as well as courses on Sufism, Language and Gender, and Language in Disasters. Her recent publications include: The Sufi Journey of Baba Rexheb (2009), Muslim Voices and Lives in the Contemporary World (2008), "Contesting Immigrant Voice in Istanbul: Mass Media, Verbal Play, Immigrant Channels" (2010), "Growing Up Muslim in America" (2008), "Kosovar Albanians between a Rock and a Hard Place" (2005), "Exploring the Color of Glass: Letters of Recommendation for Female and Male Medical Faculty" (2003), "Reframing the Forced Migration and Rapid Return of Kosovar Albanians," (2000), and many others.

Slavic Languages and Literatures

Steven L. Franks, Chair and Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures, is also a Professor of linguistics, and an Adjunct Professor of Speech and Hearing Sciences. His main research interests are Comparative Slavic morphosyntax, syntactic theory, Slavic phonology and first-language acquisition. His classes include the Structure of Russian, Comparative Slavic morphosyntax, Syntax, and Advanced Syntax. Recently, he taught a new advanced graduate colloquium on Sociolinguistic Issues in Post-Yugoslavia. Professor Franks is also the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Slavic Linguistics.

West European Studies

Frank Hess, Coordinator of the Modern Greek program at Indiana University and a lecturer in West European Studies. His scholarly work examines 20th- and 21st-Century Greek popular culture-cinema, television, and popular music - exploring the economic, geopolitical, and geocultural contexts of its production. He has published on topics including early Greek cinema, the role of popular culture in Modern Greek Studies, and Greek rap music. Other scholarly interests include the pedagogy of Modern Greek, the cinematic representation of violence, and immigration. For the past four years, Hess has been a member of the Executive Board of the Modern Greek Studies Association. He currently serves as the organization's secretary. In his spare time, he enjoys playing and teaching tennis and cooking.

School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation

Bryan McCormick Professor and Associate Chair for Research and Graduate Education in the Department of Recreation & Park Administration. He has provided international training in psychiatric rehabilitation with the International Organization for Migration in Kosovo (2002) and as a Fulbright Scholar with the Medical Faculty of the University of Kragujevac, Serbia (2010). His ongoing research focuses on the social functioning of people with severe mental illnesses in community mental-health settings. His other research interests include therapeutic recreation for people with psychiatric and substance-abuse problems. Professor McCormick teaches "Mental Health and Mental Illness in Communist and Post-Communist Contexts," an exploration of mental illness as social phenomenon, considered from the perspectives of economic structures and social attitudes toward acceptance. He is the main faculty advisor for the new Master of Russian and East European Area Studies and Master of Public Health dual degree progam. (http://www.indiana.edu/~reeiweb/academic_programs/IU_REEI_MA_MPH.shtml

School of Law

Timothy William Waters, Associate Professor of Law. His scholarly interests include the structure of the interstate system, (M.I.A., Columbia University Harriman Institute, in East Central Europe, international law; J.D., Harvard Law School) scholarly interests include the structure of the inter-state system, ethnic conflict, human rights, transitional justice, and comparative law, especially in European and Islamic contexts. His principal research involves re-defining self-determination to devise an effective right of peaceful secession. Waters served as a consultant on legal system reform for the Open Society Institute, UNDP, and the Latvian Ministry of Justice, and on ethnic discrimination for Human Rights Watch. He also monitored implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords in Bosnia for the OSCE. He also helped draft the indictment of Slobodan Milosevic at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal. He regularly teaches courses on international criminal law and the lessons of the Yugoslav crisis.

Several other REEI faculty members specializing in East European studies serve as mentors for students doing research in the South Slavic region.

Jack Bielasiak (Political Science) studies transitions to democracy and post-communist electoral systems;
Owen Johnson (Journalism/History) researches and teaches courses on mass media in East Central Europe;
Michael Alexeev (Economics) studies the economic transformation of former centrally planned economies;
Sarah Phillips (Anthropology) works on the anthropology of post-socialist societies;
Aurelian Craiutu (Political Science) teaches courses on political thought, democracy and its critics, and transition to democracy in Eastern Europe;
Beverly Stoeltje (Folklore) teaches on nationalism, difference, and gender in East Europe;
Halina Goldberg (Musicology) teaches Chopin and the Music and Politics of Eastern Europe;
Jean Robinson (political science) works on family response to state policies in post-socialist societies;

Emeriti

Henry Cooper (Slavic Languages and Literature) was a Professor in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, as well as an Adjunct for the Department of Comparative Literature. He wrote and published extensively on South Slavic languages and literature, especially Slovene and Croatian. His other interests include Olde Russian literature, Slavic Bible translations, and Esperanto.

Ronald Feldstein (Slavic Languages and Literatures) has been at Indiana University since 1976. Professor Feldstein's research interests are in the areas of accentology, morphology, historical phonology and syncretism. His recent papers are on the subjects of Proto-Slavic monophthongization, the morphological predictability of Russian stress, Russian aspectual derivation, and Romanian conjugational syncretism. Dr. Feldstein was recently appointed to the Policy Committee of the new Title VI Language Resource Center for Slavic and Eurasian at Duke University.

Charles Jelavich (History) was a Professor for the Department of History, specializing on the Balkans and the former Yugoslavia. He edited some 20 books along with his late wife, Barbara, on the Balkans and related topics. He also served as president of the Slavic Studies Association.

Academic Program

Indiana University's interdisciplinary program in East European Studies presents students with several options for a course of study on Southeastern Europe. Students may enroll in up to three years of language instruction during the academic year, and summer intensive language instruction is available for the first year of study (second-year Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian is occasionally offered during the summer). Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships are available on a competitive basis for graduate students pursuing Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian language study during both the academic year and summer session.

Undergraduate students pursuing a bachelor's degree in virtually any discipline or professional school can include South Slavic studies in their course work and graduate with a minor from REEI. The Departments of History and Slavic Languages & Literatures offer MA and PhD degrees that can include a focus in South Slavic studies. REEI offers a master’s degree in Russian and East European studies for students seeking professional careers in government, nonprofit organizations, or private business that requires advanced knowledge of the languages and cultures of Southeastern Europe. Students pursuing a PhD in most disciplines and professional-school graduate students (MBA, MPA, MLS, MIS) can also pursue course work in South Slavic studies toward a dual MA degree, Graduate Area Certificate in Russian and East European Studies, or PhD minor. For more about REEI students involved in South Slavic countries, read the most recent issue of REEIfication.

Current Courses

Bryan McCormick
Mental Health & Mental Illness in Communist & Post-communist Contexts
 
Course Description: This course focuses on mental health and mental illness as social and cultural phenomena.  Included in this examination are issues of human rights and mental-health policy, impacts of command economies on current health and mental-health services, as well as social attitudes towards mental health and mental illness.  The course will use a variety of governmental, non-governmental, news media and scholarly sources to explore elements generic to communist contexts as well as those specific to individual countries. Students will be expected to develop in-depth knowledge of a particular communist/post-communist region or country.

Frances Trix
Islam in the Balkans
Course Description: Islam came to the Balkans in the fourteen and the fifteenth centuries with the Ottomans and spread across the peninsula of southeastern Europe. In this class we study the history of Islam in the Balkans, from the gradual conversions of local people, the political and cultural heights of the Ottoman Empire, to the decline of the Ottoman Empire, the growth of ethnically based nation-states, and the relegation of most Muslim communities to minority status. This history is best understood through study of the cities of Edirne, Salonika, and Sarajevo, and the place of Balkan Muslims in the Ottoman Empire. We also study the forced migrations and expulsions of Muslims from the Balkans in the 19th and 20th centuries, culminating in the wars in Bosnia and Kosova in the 1990s. Finally, we draw on anthropological studies of Muslims in the Balkans in recent times for questions relating to gender and the ongoing negotiation of Muslim identities.

Steven Franks
Sociolinguistic Issues in Post-Yugoslavia

Course Description: This course will examine the function of language as a symbol of national identity and the politics of language with an emphasis on S.E. Europe, e.g. the former Yugoslavia, both before and after its disintegration. We will discuss theoretical aspects of language policy and language planning, as well as the role of language in the construction of national identities in general. We will apply these concepts and principles to a study of language policies in the former Yugoslavia, the role of language in the conflicts accompanying the breakup of the Yugoslav state, and the ongoing construction of separate linguistic identities in the various successor states. Special attention will be paid to the role of the government, media, and other institutions in formulating and implementing language policies. The course is given in English.

Timothy William Waters

International Law: The Milošević Trial

Course Description: Through close study of the most prominent war-crimes trial of the modern era, students will learn about the processes and politics of investigating and trying senior political figures, the changing field of war crimes, and the impact of trials on reconciliation and transitional justice.

Jagoda Malbasa teaches Elementary Serbian/Croatian, Intermediate Serbian/Croatian, Advanced Intermediate Serbian/Croatian, and Topics in Slavic Studies (4th year Serbian/Croatian).

Alumni

Government

Andrew Burton (MA, REEI, 2009) initially worked as the REEI Academic Advisor, and now utilizes his linguistic and area knowledge working for the US Government.

Jill Byrnes (MA, History and REEI Graduate Area Certificate in Russian and East European Studies, 1973) is a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. State Department and has served much of her career in Zagreb and Belgrade.

Richard Blackwell (MA, REEI, 2006) is an analyst for the Government Accountability Office.

Ted Donosky (MA, REEI, 1998) spent some time as the Publications Manager for Overseas Strategic Consulting, and then moved on to become an analyst for the US Government.

Robert Gates (MA, History, 1966; PhD, Humane Letters, 2009) has worked for the CIA and the National Security Council, as well as in the US Air Force. He has also served as the president of Texas A & M University. He is the 22nd and current US Secretary of Defence, a post he has held since 2006.

Viktor Jackovich (MA, Slavic Languages and Literatures, 1971) was the first US Ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina, appointed in 1993. He has specialized in East European, Russian and Balkan affairs. In 1999, Jackovich assumed a newly created State Department position of Associate Director at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch, Germany.

Richard Miles (MA, Political Science, 1964) most recently served as U.S. Ambassador to Georgia. He entered the Foreign Service in 1967 and has served abroad in Oslo, Moscow, Belgrade, as Consul General in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), and as Principal Officer of the U.S. Embassy Office in Berlin. Ambassador Miles served as Ambassador to Azerbaijan from 1992 to 1993, as Chief of Mission to Belgrade from 1996 to 1999, and as Ambassador to Bulgaria from 1999 to 2001. He is now the Executive Director of the Open World Leadership Center, located in the Library of Congress.

Non-Government

Lauren Butt (MA, REEI, 2010) is the Assistant Training Content Coordinator for Peace Operations Training Institute.

Alex Dunlop (MA/MPA, REEI/SPEA, 2004) was working for the Business Development Unit of The Service Group, INC, but has transitioned to become the Proposal Coordinator for Creative Associates International Incorporated.

Kelly Moore (MA, REEI/Journalism, 1994) initially worked for US News and World Report. Since then, she has moved to become a naturopath, yoga instructor, and Quantum Touch Practitioner in Washington, DC.

Patrick Moore (MA, History, 1975) worked Coordinator for Balkan analysis for Radio Free Europe for a number of years. He is current an independent Balkan affairs analyst, living in Bonn, Germany.

Elizabeth Raible (MA/MPA, REEI/SPEA, 2008) was a Program Assistant for American Councils for International Education in Belgrade, Serbia. After two years, she returned to the US, and worked as a Public Affairs Coordinator for Lesley University,and is currently a Consulting Associate for Synecticsworld.

Renee Traicova (MA/MPA, REEI and Public Affairs, 2002) is Program Manager for Macedonia at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs.

Annisa Wanat (MA/MPA, REEI/SPEA, 2002) was a Senior Program Assistant for the National Democratic Institute, and then became the Field Director for the One Campaign.

Academic

Melissa Bokovoy (PhD, History, 1991) is an Associate Professor of History at the University of New Mexico.

Megan Call (MA/MPA, REEI/SPEA, 2007) was a Foreign Service Officer for the State Department. After completing two years of service there, she moved to become the International Student Services Coordinator at the University of Miami. Currently, she is back at IU to pursue a PhD in Education.

John Cox (PhD, History, 1995) is a professor and the Head of the History Department of North Dakota State University. He teaches courses on the Holocaust, modern political ideology, and history through literature and film. His recently published books include:The History of Serbia (2002), Slovenia: Evolving Loyalties (2005), and a translation of Mansarda by Danilo Kis (2008).

Stephen Dickey (PhD, Slavic Languages and Literatures, 1997) is Assistant Professor of Slavic Languages & Literatures at the University of Kansas. He also works as a translator for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

Sarah Kent (PhD, History, 1988) is a professor in the history department at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. She also serves as their Coordinator of International Studies. She teaches courses on Russian and East European history and is the author of several books and articles on the area, as well as the co-author of A Reader's Guide to Croatia.

Nick Miller (PhD, History, 1991) is a professor and Chair of the Department of History at Boise State University. He teaches courses on Central and Eastern European history. His research focus is the lands of the former Yugoslavia. He wrote, "Between Nation and State: Serbian Politics in Croatia Before the First World War," University of Pittsburgh Press, 1997 and "The Nonconformists: Culture, Politics, and Nationalism in a Serbian Cultral Circle, 1944-1991," Central European Univeristy Press, 2007.

Gale Stokes (Phd, History, 1970) is a Professor Emeritus of History at Rice University in Houston, Texas.

Jennifer Paustenbaugh (PhD, SLIS, 1999; MA, REEI, 1993; MA, SLIS, 1986) is the Associate Dean of Libraries, Planning and Assessment for Oklahoma State University.

Summer Language Program

Indiana University has an intensive summer language program open to IU students, students from other universities, upper-level high school students, nondegree students, and members of the community. The Summer Workshop in Slavic and East European Languages (SWSEEL) annually offers a full year of beginning Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian and Macedonian language training in a single eight-week, intensive summer session, mid-June to mid-August each year. By special agreement with the Indiana State legislature, all summer intensive language students pay tuition at the in-state rate ($2919.70 for 10 credit hours in 2011). Fellowship awards for tuition and a stipend are available on a competitive basis. During most summers, IU receives funding from the American Council for Learned Societies to offer instruction in both languages tuition-free to graduate students working in any field related to Eastern Europe. In addition, the program offers instruction in Slovene, Albanian, and Modern Greek on a more occasional basis but with similar support. More information on the language program and financial aid is available at the Summer Language Program website.

Study Abroad

Indiana University is proud to offer two recently-approved study abroad programs that allow students to travel to Croatia to combine language study with cultural exploration:

Zagreb Program

A one-semester program at the University of Zagreb for students in the second or third year of Serbian & Croatian. Local costs are covered by the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education, and Sport; IU will charge tuition and fees and IU credit will be awarded (undergraduate credit only, but graduate students may also take part in the program). Spring semester only.

Croaticum Program

A two-week intensive study of Croatian language and culture at the Zagreb Summer Slavistics School in Dubrovnik (typically the last week of August and the first week of September). A language and culture program on various levels of linguistic ability in the ideal setting of medieval and Renaissance Dubrovnik. Drill sections, optional courses, and mandatory lectures on a variety of Croatian literary-cultural topics in Croatian. Local expenses are covered by the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education, and Sport; IU will charge tuition and fees and IU credit will be awarded (undergraduate only, but graduate students may also take part in the program).

Library

The Wells Library holds the Albanian collection and the Slovene, Serbian, and Croatian collection. The Albanian collection totals just over 1,000 volumes, about 700 of which are in Albanian, and the rest in Western languages and Russian. There are long runs of the major history and philology journals (Studime Filologjike, 1964-1990; Jeta e Re, 1949-1972; Studime Historike, 1964-1991). The collection for Slovene, Serbian, and Croatian stands at 42,000 volumes, about 5,300 of which are in Western languages or in Russian. The University was a depository for the Yugoslav PL-480 Program, a cooperative acquisitions program, until the early 1990s. During the past seven years, special efforts have been made to make the Slovene collection a research collection for the Midwest libraries. For this reason, the library has the newspaper Delo and subscriptions to some 40 other Slovene journals. The Slovene collection currently has approximately 4,300 volumes.

Russian & East European Institute Audiovisual Library
Items from the Indiana University Russian and East European Institute are available for loan without charge to instructors and students for use in the classroom, research, or for curriculum development. The user is responsible for paying return postage and insurance.  The collection includes over 70 feature films and documentaries related to Southeast Europe. You may view a list of available materials here.

Prominent Guest Lectures

REEI regularly brings private-sector, non-profit and government practitioners with expertise in Southeast Europe to speak on campus. A sample of recent speakers include:

Svetlana Broz, granddaughter of Josip Broz Tito, visited campus to acknowledge those who chose nonviolent responses to the war in Bosnia. She is part of a group that plans a “Garden of the Righteous” in Sarajevo dedicated to those people.

Shaun and Jill Byrnes, both active Foreign Service Officers who have served much of their careers in Southeast Europe, spoke about the changing political situation in Kosovo and advised students on career options with the federal government, including the Foreign Service.

Slavenka Drakulic, noted author, gave a talk titled "Europe 20 years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall." She also held a book signing for her recently released Guided Tour Through the Museum of Communism, and introduced the film adaptation of her book, S, "As If I am not There."

Michael Finkenthal of Johns Hopkins University gave a lecture on Sesto Pals, titled "A Poet (Almost) Losst in the Labyrinth of History."

James William Gow, a visiting Woodrow Wilson Center scholar, spoke on "The Yugoslav War Through Film."

Ms. Zorica Matkovic, Consul General for the Croatian Consulate in Chicago, visited Serbian/Croatian language class and also gave a public lecture entitled “Croatia and the European Union.”

Mihaela Miroiu, professor of Political Science at the National Scholl for Political Science and Public Administration in Bucharest, Romania, spoke on Romanian politics in her lecture, "The Vicious Circle of Electoralism. Reflections on Democracy and Populism in Romania."

Dr. Sabrina Ramet, professor of Political Scince at Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway, spoke on the basic challenges that Bosnia-Herzegovina has faced in her lecture, "Bosnia-Herzegovina Since Dayton."

Chuck Sudetic, former New York Times correspondent in Bosnia and an IU Serbian and Croatian language program graduate, presented “Origins of the Bosnian Conflict and the Folly of Dealing with Milosevic.”

Mario Susko, a Bosnian Croat poet, visited the campus to read his poetry and speak to students about the siege of Sarajevo.

Cultural Activities

The South Slavic Language Group provides an informal setting for students to practice their language and conversation skills. All of the meetings are conducted with conversation in Serbian/Croatian/Bosnian, Slovene, Bulgarian and/or Macedonian, depending on attendance. Please view the Calendar of Events for more information.

Meetings are initiated by the visiting Serbian/Croatian instructor in the Slavics department. At times the group will watch a film from the region, or students will meet in a coffeeshop in town. Many members of the group have research interests in the region. All have studied a language of the region, and many have education, business or travel experience in the region. Members of the general community are also welcome to attend the meetings.

The South Slavic Language Group welcomes international students from the region to its meetings. The opportunity for American students of the region to practice their language skills with native speakers is invaluable. This group is inclusive, and welcomes students of all ethnic backgrounds and from all regions of south-eastern Europe. The meetings are of general interest, without an agenda, which allows the conversation to develop on a broad range of issues.

The McCloskey Annual Lecture was inaugurated in the spring of 2011 to feature prominent scholars, intellectuals, and policy makers focusing on the Balkans. The first McCloskey Lecture was given by Slavenka Drakulic. For future events, please contact the office or our calendar of events.

Frank McCloskey Fellowship Program

The McCloskey Fellowship Program was initiated in 2005 through the efforts of former congressman Frank McCloskey's late wife Roberta and the McCloskeys' friends and colleagues. Supported by the generous gifts of more than one hundred donors from across the United States and overseas, the program funds an exchange between the United States and countries of the former Yugoslavia of scholars and civil activitists committed to McCloskey’s vision of peace and freedom in the Balkans.

For more information and a list of past awardees please visit: http://www.iub.edu/~reeiweb/giving/mccloskey.shtml