Southeast European Studies

About Southeast European Studies at the University of Michigan

The Center for Russian and East European Studies (CREES) and International Institute jointly inaugurated the Southeast European studies program and fundraising effort in 1995 with support from an alumnus specializing on the region. The initiative assures the preservation and strengthening of the study of Yugoslavia, its successor states, and the region's other former communist countries at the University of Michigan.

Housed at CREES, the program and its endowment have supported a range of public events, including conferences, lectures, panel discussions, and film screenings. It has undertaken projects to assist libraries in Bosnia and awarded Fred Cuny Fellowships in Southeast European Studies to incoming U-M graduate students focusing their studies on the region. The program has also supported topical mini-courses, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian language instruction and student research visits and internships in the region.

For more information about Southeast European studies at the University of Michigan, contact:

Donna Parmelee
Program Officer Intermediate
Center for Russian and East European Studies
University of Michigan
1080 South University Ave., Suite 4668
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106
Phone: 734.647.2238
Fax: 734.763.4765
Email: parmelee@umich.edu

People

The following CREES-affiliated faculty, research associates, and staff contribute to the University of Michigan's training, research, and outreach activities in Southeast European studies. For more information, see CREES People.

University of Michigan Faculty

Aleksic, Tatjana: Slavic Languages & Literatures, Comparative Literature
Branch, John: Business
Eagle, Herbert J.: Slavic Languages & Literatures, Residential College
Fine, John V. A.: History
Hagen, Gottfried: Near Eastern Studies
Hart, Janet: Anthropology
Herscher, Andrew: Architecture & Urban Planning, Slavic Languages & Literatures
Lambropoulos, Vassilios: Classics, Comparative Literature
Leontis, Artemis: Classical Studies, Modern Greek
Levitsky, Melvyn: Public Policy
Mirel, Jeffrey: Education, History
Poskovic, Endi: Art & Design
Rosic, Marija: Slavic Languages & Literatures
Svejnar, Jan: Business, Economics, Public Policy
Trandafirescu, Anca: Architecture
Whallon, Robert: Anthropology, Museum of Anthropology
Zimmerman, William: Political Science, Center for Political Studies

CREES Research Associates

Berglund, Bruce R.: History, Calvin College
Donia, Robert J.: CREES, U-M
Deegan-Krause, Kevin: Political Science, Wayne State University
Schwartz, Ellen: Art, Eastern Michigan University
Vujacic, Veljko: Sociology, Oberlin College

Library Staff: Slavic and East European Division

Crayne, Janet

CES-EUC Staff

Gruden-Alajbegovic, Natasa

CREES Staff

Parmelee, Donna E.

Academics

Students can specialize on all or part of the region of Southeast Europe within interdisciplinary bachelor's, master's, and graduate certificate programs in Russian and East European studies. They may also emphasize the region in bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs in anthropology, business, comparative literature, economics, history, law, natural resources, political science, public policy, Slavic languages and literatures, and sociology.

Courses

The University of Michigan offers an array of courses addressing Southeast European culture, history, language, politics, and society (see below). For offerings in specific terms, see CREES course lists.

AAPTIS 491 - An Islamic City in the Balkans
First and Second Year Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian
BCS 439 - Directed Reading of Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian Literature
History 318 - Europe in the Era of Total War, 1870-1945
History 430 - History of the Balkans from the 6th Century to 1878
History 431 - History of the Balkans Since 1878
History 408 - Byzantine Empire, 284-867
History 409 - Byzantine Empire, 867-1453
History 625 - Studies in Balkan History
History 626 - Studies in Byzantine History
REES 396 - Survey of East Central Europe
Slavic 151 - Myth and History in Contemporary Balkan Literature
Slavic 470 - Topics in the Cultural Studies of Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe (e.g., Urbicide: Violence against the City; Colonialism of the Imagination: Greece and the Balkans)

Mini-Courses in Southeast European Studies

2007: Ethnicity and Violence in Former Yugoslavia, Herbert J. Eagle
2005: The Bosnian War and the Dayton Agreement, Robert J. Donia
2005: Psychosocial Consequences of War: A Bosnia Case Study, Bonnie Miller

Fred Cuny Fellowships

From 2000-07, CREES awarded Fred Cuny Fellowships to incoming doctoral or master's level students at the University of Michigan who expected to focus their graduate work on the region of southeastern Europe. The award was named in honor of disaster relief specialist Fred Cuny (1944-95), who used his engineering and organizational skills to do humanitarian work around the world including reconstruction of Sarajevo's water filtration system in 1993.

Cuny Fellowship Recipients

2007: Milena Todorova (REES/Public Policy)
2004: Alexander Angelov (History)
2002: Oana Mateescu (Anthropology/History)
2001: Michelle Kelso (Sociology)
2000: Edin Hajdarpasic (History), Emil Kerenji (History)

Events

With support from the Southeast European Studies Endowment, CREES organizes lectures, conferences, film screenings, and other programs on the region (see selected past events listed below).

For complete information about Southeast European studies events, please visit the CREES Events Calendar. You may also sign up for our email or U.S. mail notifications.

Selected Major Southeast European Studies Events

Focus: Romania, A Series of Lectures and Performances (Fall 2009) (PDF)
Tribute and Symposium Honoring John V.A. Fine, Jr. (September 28-29, 2007) (PDF)
Revisiting Yugoslavia's Dissolution (Winter 2007) (PDF) (related interview with Natasa Kandic)
Reintegrating Bosnia: Ten Years after the Dayton Agreement (Fall 2005) (PDF)
Balkan Film Series (Fall 2002)
What After NATO'S Battle for Kosovo/a? (October 9, 1999)
Doing History in the Shadow of the Balkan Wars (January 17-18, 1997)
Making War and Peace in the Balkans: The Role of Media (October 19-20, 1995)

Supporting Southeast European Studies at the University of Michigan

Gifts to the CREES Endowment will support Southeast European-focused courses, lectures, conferences, film screenings, and other programs, as well as student awards for research visits and internships in the region. Please review the various options for making a gift.

For more information, contact Marysia Ostafin by email (mostafin@umich.edu) or phone (734.647.2237).

Internet Resources

The following websites offer a starting place for information on Southeast Europe or Southeast European studies.

University of Michigan Resources

Selected Organizational Links

Curriculum Materials

Bosnia: War, History, Nationality - a secondary-level curricular unit developed for CREES by Steven Boyce (PDF)
European Stability Initiative Interactive Map of the Balkans (2007)
Why Bosnia? Why Kosovo? The U.S., the U.N., and the Balkan Wars: Stanford University Teachers' Workshop Series 2001
Children of War: Fighting, Dying, Surviving
Outreach World - an online source for instructional materials prepared by U.S Department of Education-funded National Resource Centers