The Undergraduate Research Symposium is an annual event since 2002 designed to provide undergraduate students, from the University of Pittsburgh and other colleges and universities, with advanced research experiences and opportunities to develop presentation skills. The event is open to undergraduates from all majors and institutions who have written a research paper from a social science, humanities, or business perspective focusing on the study of Eastern, Western, or Central Europe, the European Union, Russia, or Central Eurasia.

After the initial submission of papers, selected participants are grouped into panels according to their research topics. The participants then give 10- to 15-minute presentations based on their research to a panel of faculty and graduate students. The presentations are open to the public.

Applications are due by January 07, 2024. Limited travel grants are available to help defray travel expenses for accepted participants located outside the Pittsburgh region.

Symposium: Friday, March 22, 2024.
Questions? Contact: Zita Tóth-Shawgo at zita.toth-shawgo@pitt.edu.

University Resource Fair

Date: Monday, January 8th

Timeframe: 11am – 1pm

Location: William Pitt Union Assembly Room and Ballroom

Moderator:
Randall Halle, University of Pittsburgh

Panelist: TBD

Are you looking to gain experience that will help prepare you for a globally-connected job market? Stop by Drop-In Hours to learn more about getting the Global Distinction added to your academic transcript, receiving special recognition at graduation, and standing out to prospective employers!

Spring 2024 Global Distinction Drop-In Hours: Tuesdays at 3:30-4:30 pm.

Reading and Writing London (and Pitt in London) Info Session
Wednesday, January 10th from 1pm - 3pm
Global Hub
Drop by the Global Hub to learn more about the Summer 2024 Reading and Writing London program! Meet the faculty teaching on this Pitt in London track program, Dr. Dan Kubis, and get your all of your questions answered. Pitt GEO staff will also be available to answer questions about the general Pitt in London program and help with your last-minute application-related questions.

Pitt in Rome Info Session for Summer 2024 applications. Stop by the Global Hub in Posvar Hall to ask your questions about the program and apply!

Mangia con noi! Bring your lunch and chat with us! Pitt students only, all levels welcome!

Considering the war in Gaza, this seminar will explore other possibilities for regional engagement than those being pursued by the United States. The session will be led by Prof. Khaled Al Hroub who has spent the last two decades studying Hamas. As preparation for the discussion with Prof. Al Hroub, participants in the seminar will read an article available upon registration.

About the Speaker:
Professor of Middle Eastern Studies and Arab Media Studies at Northwestern University in Qatar; former fellow of the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge, where he lectured on the history and politics of the contemporary Middle East, and was the founder and director of the Cambridge Arab Media Project between 2003 and 2012. He published numerous books and studies on Palestinian, Arab and international affairs in including Gaza Tunnels: Dying for life, dicing with death (forthcoming, 2024); Hamas: Political Thought and Practice (2000); Political Islam: Context versus Ideology (2011); and Religious Broadcasting in the Middle East (2012). In Arabic he published In Praise of Revolution (2012); The Anxious Intellectual versus the Certain Intellectual (2018); and Soft Critique of Zionism in Ruhi Khaldi’s Book “Le Sionisme” (2021). Hroub holds a Ph.D. in international relations from the University of Cambridge.

Limited seating is available.
Last day to register: Jan 9, 2024
For more information, please contact us at europeanstudies@pitt.edu

Himalayan Health Information Session
Dr. Joseph Alter
Posvar Hall Room 3106
Thursday, January 11, 7pm-8:30pm

Learn about the Himlayan Health Global Experience program where students spend five and a half weeks during the early summer in North India to learn about the challenges of emergency medicine, public health and medical care and can choose to learn more about Yoga and Mindfulness in the Himalayas, one of the most spectacular mountain ranges on earth.

This is a hybrid event; students may attend in Posvar Hall Room 3106 or virtually on Zoom.

Learn more about the International Internship Program with the Global Experiences Office on 1/12 from 2:00-3:00pm in the Global Hub.

Join Addverse Poesia, an international and multilingual poetry group that discusses, reads and translates poems in at least 4 languages, for their weekly meetings!

Pitt in Greece info session for Summer 2024 program on 1/16 from 11:00am-2:00pm.

Are you looking to gain experience that will help prepare you for a globally-connected job market? Stop by Drop-In Hours to learn more about getting the Global Distinction added to your academic transcript, receiving special recognition at graduation, and standing out to prospective employers!

Spring 2024 Global Distinction Drop-In Hours: Tuesdays at 3:30-4:30 pm.

Join Dr. Amber McAlister in a virtual info session Tuesday, January 16 4:00 PM, to learn more about the Exploring Art in Florence summer 2024 program. There’s still time to apply!

Join German Club at Pitt’s weekly meetings, on Tuesdays at 6-7 pm during Spring 2024, to converse in German and learn German culture!

The Foreign Language & Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship program is a prestigious and competitive federal award from the U.S. Department of Education that allows select Pitt undergraduate and graduate students to devote full time attention to their chosen modern foreign language and area studies specialty. There are separate competitions for the Academic Year FLAS Fellowship and the Summer FLAS Fellowship. Advanced doctoral students conducting field or archival research in a supported world language may also be eligible.

Fellowships available to support study of Amharic, Arabic, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Chinese, Czech, Farsi, French*, Irish (Gaelic), German*, Greek (Modern), Haitian Creole, Hebrew (Modern), Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Quechua, Russian, Slovak, Spanish*, Swahili, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, and more! *with certain restrictions

Stop by to learn more! Pizza and refreshments will be served.

Hin Ming Frankie Chick is currently a Visiting Lecturer of Pre-modern Chinese Literature at the University of Pittsburgh. He studies primarily Chinese thought and history, and also works in related areas such as the religious history of China and the reception history of pre-modern Chinese literature. He is now working on his monograph, in which he examines how "approaching correctness" was used as a principle to promote the idea of Confucian cultural assimilation in ancient China.

Come practice your conversational Hungarian with students of all levels!

Come join mini lessons for Spanish!

Join Spring 2024 Kya Baat Hai weekly conversation hours, on Wednesdays from 7-8 pm, for students to practice speaking in Hindi and Urdu and connect over shared cultural experiences!

Join weekly Turkish Language Table meetings, on Wednesdays at 7-8 pm during Spring 2024, for an opportunity for students to practice Turkish and celebrate Turkish culture.

Mangia con noi! Bring your lunch and chat with us! Pitt students only, all levels welcome!

Pitt in Rome Info Session for Summer 2024 applications. Stop by the Global Hub in Posvar Hall to ask your questions about the program and apply!

Join Billie Lozano Scholar, Carolina de Souza Martins, for 2024's first CLAS Speaker Series! Carolina will present her research in "Afro-Indigenous Relations in the Brazilian Amazon". This event will be presented in Portuguese. Light lunch provided! Please register!

Pitt in Romania Info Session
Thursday, January 18th from 1pm - 3pm
Global Hub
Drop by the Global Hub for information on the Summer 2024 Pitt in Romania program with faculty director Dr. Horia Dijmarescu and Pitt GEO staff. Get all of your questions about the program and application process answered before the application deadline!

This is the third installment of the Global Issues Through Literature Series (GILS). Educators will convene to discuss Halal if You Hear Me: The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 3 by Fatimah Asghar and Safia Elhillo. The discussion will be facilitated by Yasmine Flodin-Ali, an Islamic Studies PhD Candidate in the Religious Studies department at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and is co-sponsored by the Consortium for Educational Resources on Islamic Studies (CERIS).

This year's theme is: Marginalized Voices in Global Context: Centering Overlooked Narratives in Literature

This reading group for K-16 educators explores literary texts from a global perspective. Content specialists present the work and its context, and participants brainstorm innovative pedagogical practices for incorporating the text and its themes into the curriculum. Sessions this year will take place in a hybrid format, with virtual and in-person discussions taking place on Thursday evenings from 5-8 PM (EST). A copy of the book and 3 Act 48 credit hours are provided for each session.

Pitt TRIO SSS and the Global Experiences Office present a global trivia game to welcome students back to the spring term!

The impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine can be felt far outside the actual battlefield. Modern war disproportionately affects gender and sexual minorities, something we are seeing in Ukraine even as Putin's anti-LGBTQ+ agenda seeks to relentlessly drive support for the war at home. How can a queer-studies focus advance conversations about decolonization in East European and Eurasian Studies? To address this question, Queer Focus will have six virtual panels featuring speakers from various disciplines and institutions. Panelists and participants will explore how gendered regimes were constitutive of Russo-centric relationships of power, defining the region and how we study it, as we collectively grapple with what it means to re-examine our current research, teaching, and institutional practices.

During the past century, the world has experienced nearly incessant violence and persecution in which religion is a significant factor. Tens of millions of people have been forced to migrate because they are minority populations of states that define belonging by ancestry and faith. Today, hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya refugees fleeing violence in Myanmar are living in Bangladeshi refugee camps. The partitions of Greece and Turkey, India and Pakistan, Israel and Palestine, and Protestant and Catholic Ireland still reverberate through collective memory and geopolitics.

Students may arrive in our classrooms with these events seared into their personal and collective memories. Intergenerational trauma and rage may make it challenging for them to question what they have learned about injury and responsibility. They may be asked to engage with classmates and teachers whom they identify with the perpetrators of unspeakable acts.

This interdisciplinary roundtable panel offers an opportunity for scholars whose teaching touches on these anguishing histories to share strategies for fostering generative and constructive classroom experiences. Panelists: Yasmine Flodin-Ali (Religious Studies), Calum Matheson (Communications), Tony Novosel (History), Mina Rajagopalan (History of Art & Architecture), Ana Sekulic (History), and Adam Shear (Religious Studies).

Join this Hybrid Panel Discussion Event to learn more about what U.S. Feminists can learn from LGBTQ+ Activists and their resistance in Eastern Europe.

Lunch will be provided for in-person attendees.

COUNTRY: Czech Republic
Director: Adam Rybanský

Director and Screenwriter Adam Rybanský’s debut film points to a fantastic career ahead. This humorous parody about misinformation, fear, and prejudices was screened in the Panorama section of the 72nd Berlin Film Festival. Rybanský says about his film, "This is a story about good people being victims of conspiracy theories and their own fears." Clumsy Standa and recently widowed Bronya are volunteer firefighters in a small village where they enjoy a quiet and peaceful life. Things begin to change when a van crashes into a crowd of people during the Easter Fair. Before anyone notices, the driver runs away from the car crash. People believe it is a terrorist attack, and the festive mood is replaced by an atmosphere of fear, hatred, and misinformation. Soon, the fire brigade becomes a militia.

HARRIS THEATER
809 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
https://trustarts.org/pct_home/visit/facilities/harris-theater

Faculty, Staff, and students of the University of Pittsburgh may attend for free by showing a Pitt University ID at the door.

Join Addverse Poesia, an international and multilingual poetry group that discusses, reads and translates poems in at least 4 languages, for their weekly meetings!

COUNTRY: France
DIRECTOR: Bruno Dumont

France de Meurs, played by the amazing Léa Seydoux, is a seemingly unflappable superstar TV journalist. She is a newscasting influencer loved by all but then her career, home life, and psychological stability are shaken after she carelessly drives into a young delivery man on a busy Paris Street. The film’s biting humor takes on the state of news and the state of the state right from her first over-the-top interaction with President Emanual Macron. Her name symbolizes it all; her first name, of course, stands in for France, the country, but in a play on words, her last name suggests both home and death. Is it reality TV, ego performance, or sincere reportage? What is the role of the established media in France? Dumont’s close-ups of beautiful France, the person, and the place invite us to do a long take.

HARRIS THEATER
809 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
https://trustarts.org/pct_home/visit/facilities/harris-theater

Faculty, Staff, and students of the University of Pittsburgh may attend for free by showing a Pitt University ID at the door.

Attendance
Public: 12
University Affiliates: 8

COUNTRY: Netherlands
DIRECTOR: Kaweh Modiri

Iranian-Dutch director Kaweh Modiri hits it home with his second feature film. This thriller is an adaptation of his novel by the same name. Is it her? Scientist Haleh isn’t certain. Still suffering from the trauma of her daughter’s execution in Iran 37 years ago, Haleh has never actually seen Leyla, the woman who betrayed her daughter, but that voice... Opportunity arises for Haleh to avenge her daughter’s execution. How reliable are memories of traumatic events? And how sweet or useful is revenge? Modiri sows doubt in viewers while stubborn Haleh is convinced, she is right. Played by the acclaimed actress Jasmin Tabatabai, will Haleh find the truth and resolution? Mitra is based on Mordiri’s own life: his sister Mitra was executed before he was born.

HARRIS THEATER
809 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
https://trustarts.org/pct_home/visit/facilities/harris-theater

Faculty, staff, and students of the University of Pittsburgh may attend for free by showing a Pitt University ID at the door.

Attendance
Public: 6
University Affiliates: 11

COUNTRY: Germany
DIRECTORS: Fabiana Fragale, Kilian Kuhlendahl, Jens Mühlhoff

A documentary highlighting success in the fight against climate change. The film, based on 360-camera footage by journalist Steffen Meyn, follows the struggle to save the ancient Hambach Forest from big coal's bulldozers. It begins with tragedy but culminates in triumph. The setting is an activist community thirty meters above the ground in the treetops of the Hambach Forest. Meyn documented these activists in their successful struggle against the destruction of nature over a period of two years. When he fell from a tree during a police eviction and died Meyn’s friends Fabiana Fragale, Kilian Kuhlendahl and Jens Mühlhoff took up his footage. The film is a testimony that also includes interviews with activists who talk about how the experiences in “Hambi” have left their mark. How far, they ask, does activism need to go? And how far should it go? Questions we need to ask for our future.

HARRIS THEATER
809 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
https://trustarts.org/pct_home/visit/facilities/harris-theater

Faculty, staff, and students of the University of Pittsburgh may attend for free by showing a Pitt University ID at the door.

Attendance
Public: 9
University Affiliates: 5

COUNTRY: German
DIRECTOR: Cristian Mungiu

The latest film by Cristian Mungiu is another fantastic example of the much-celebrated Romanian New Wave. In this drama set in a multi-ethnic Transylvanian village, Mungiu proves himself again a world class director able to entertain with humor that spares no one. Romania’s region of Transylvania is historically an ethnically diverse community but now it is hard to keep the village life going because everyone who can is working as migrants in Western Europe. When the local bakery hires migrant workers from Sri Lanka to stay open, the village is gripped by anti-migrant protest. R.M.N. is Romanian for M.R.I., the medical procedure that one of the figures needs. But R.M.N. clearly stands in for Romania itself as well as a diagnosis of social conditions all too familiar outside the Carpathians.

HARRIS THEATER
809 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
https://trustarts.org/pct_home/visit/facilities/harris-theater

Faculty, staff, and students of the University of Pittsburgh may attend for free by showing a Pitt University ID at the door.

Attendance
Public: 16
University Affiliates: 21

COUNTRY: Italy
DIRECTORS: Orso Miyakawa and Peter Miyakawa

In their debut film brothers Orso and Peter Miyakawa tell us an engaging tale about a small seaside town on the border between France and Italy. Born in Monaco and raised in Italy, the directors know this region and its class and culture differences well. The story focuses on Don, an oddball American tennis teacher who dreams of being a painter, Camilla, a college student who smuggles medicines, alcohol, and cigarettes across the border, and Brando her 14yo brother. Their lives take a turn when they meet Elvis, an undocumented immigrant trying to sneak across the border to catch up with his wife in Paris. Will the border stand against their friendship? A comedy, a drama, a human story.

HARRIS THEATER
809 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
https://trustarts.org/pct_home/visit/facilities/harris-theater

Faculty, staff, and students of the University of Pittsburgh may attend for free by showing a Pitt University ID at the door.

Attendance
Public: 7
University Affiliates: 4

COUNTRY: Spain
DIRECTOR: Andrea Bagney

Andrea Bagney’s sparkling debut feature, largely shot in black and white in a stylistic nod to the French New Wave of the 1960s, is a romantic comedy with a difference. After living abroad for several years, Ramona and her boyfriend Nico return to Madrid where she hopes to restart her film acting career. Anxious on the evening before her first audition, Ramona walks the streets of Madrid where she encounters a charismatic older man named Bruno. They walk together and head to a bar where, over a few drinks, they talk about the state of the planet, climate change, and where the world is headed. Certainly, fast friends, could they also be falling in love? It’s entirely possible, but what will really complicate the answer is Ramona’s discovery that Bruno is directing the very same film for which she’ll be auditioning.

HARRIS THEATER
809 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
https://trustarts.org/pct_home/visit/facilities/harris-theater

Faculty, staff, and students of the University of Pittsburgh may attend for free by showing a Pitt University ID at the door.

Attendance
Public: 11
University Affiliates: 2

COUNTRY: Poland
DIRECTOR: Agnieszka Holland

Acclaimed director Agnieszka Holland's latest documentary follows a family of Syrian refugees, an English teacher from Afghanistan, and a border guard, all converging on the Polish-Belarusian border amidst a humanitarian crisis. The film's release in Poland is said to have impacted the recent elections. This harrowing, urgent drama from the veteran Polish director Agnieszka Holland constructs an intricate account of the contemporary global humanitarian crisis, expanding out to encompass the interconnected lives of security patrol officers, activist lawyers, and civilians who put themselves on the line for strangers. With the sobering and sometimes shocking Green Border, Holland reaffirms both her unyielding commitment to political filmmaking and the ability of immersive storytelling to illuminate the darkest corners of the world.

HARRIS THEATER
809 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
https://trustarts.org/pct_home/visit/facilities/harris-theater

Faculty, staff, and students of the University of Pittsburgh may attend for free by showing a Pitt University ID at the door.

Attendance
Public: 5
University Affiliates: 6

Through the Center for Latin American Studies' interactions with the various clubs on campus, we've seen the need to create a space where student groups can discuss common issues, collaborate on finding solutions, and achieve mutual goals. The purpose of the Student Club Coalition is to give clubs related to Latin America, the Caribbean, and the diasporas, an opportunity to be officially related to and involved with CLAS, providing mutual support for student engagement. The Student Club Coalition is designed to help students develop a voice for what's important to them, to assist them in that endeavor, and to help them acquire funding for those projects and goals. The member clubs work together to support each other and their goals, and to build friendships and community along the way.

Come meet international students, make friends, practice conversational English, and have fun together, during these weekly discussion groups coordinated by the English Language Institute. Feel free to bring your lunch :)

COUNTRY: Germany
DIRECTORS: Fabiana Fragale, Kilian Kuhlendahl, Jens Mühlhoff

A documentary highlighting success in the fight against climate change. The film, based on 360-camera footage by journalist Steffen Meyn, follows the struggle to save the ancient Hambach Forest from big coal's bulldozers. It begins with tragedy but culminates in triumph. The setting is an activist community thirty meters above the ground in the treetops of the Hambach Forest. Meyn documented these activists in their successful struggle against the destruction of nature over a period of two years. When he fell from a tree during a police eviction and died Meyn’s friends Fabiana Fragale, Kilian Kuhlendahl and Jens Mühlhoff took up his footage. The film is a testimony that also includes interviews with activists who talk about how the experiences in “Hambi” have left their mark. How far, they ask, does activism need to go? And how far should it go? Questions we need to ask for our future.

HARRIS THEATER
809 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
https://trustarts.org/pct_home/visit/facilities/harris-theater

Faculty, staff, and students of the University of Pittsburgh may attend for free by showing a Pitt University ID at the door.

Attendance
Public: 5
University Affiliates: 2

Join the French Club for conversation hours, on Mondays & Thursday at 5-6 pm during Spring 2024, for French speaking individuals of varying levels to practice the French language.

COUNTRY: Netherlands
DIRECTOR: Kaweh Modiri

Iranian-Dutch director Kaweh Modiri hits it home with his second feature film. This thriller is an adaptation of his novel by the same name. Is it her? Scientist Haleh isn’t certain. Still suffering from the trauma of her daughter’s execution in Iran 37 years ago, Haleh has never actually seen Leyla, the woman who betrayed her daughter, but that voice... Opportunity arises for Haleh to avenge her daughter’s execution. How reliable are memories of traumatic events? And how sweet or useful is revenge? Modiri sows doubt in viewers while stubborn Haleh is convinced, she is right. Played by the acclaimed actress Jasmin Tabatabai, will Haleh find the truth and resolution? Mitra is based on Mordiri’s own life: his sister Mitra was executed before he was born.

HARRIS THEATER
809 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
https://trustarts.org/pct_home/visit/facilities/harris-theater

Faculty, staff, and students of the University of Pittsburgh may attend for free by showing a Pitt University ID at the door.

Attendance
Public: 6
University Affiliates: 3

UPDATE: THE LECTURE DATE HAS BEEN CHANGED TO Jan 23rd at 12:30 ET.

EU ENLARGEMENT LECTURE SERIES: 20th Anniversary of the EU Enlargement

As part of our continued efforts to bring together experts with diverse perspectives to discuss contemporary issues facing Europe, the European Studies Center/European Union Center of Excellence (ESC/EUCE) along with the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (REEES) offers a new lecture series to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the EU Enlargement. This virtual lecture series will be held on the last Thursday of each month. 

2024 marks the 20th anniversary of the biggest enlargement of the European Union in its history. Ten countries, mainly former socialist Eastern European states, almost doubled the EU from 15 to 25 member states. May 1, 2004, was the triumphal return to the European Family for many. But for some, it initiated a process of disenchantment with the EU and the West.

Each month, the ESC/EUCE, together with REEES at the University of Pittsburgh, will focus our attention on a specific country or a group of countries in the EU by inviting experts and eyewitnesses to discuss the hopes and realities of the EU integration before and after expansion to address what hopes were fulfilled and what new hopes exist for the Union in the present.

Each session is recorded and later posted on the internet with suggested additional readings and further resources. Please check out our webpage for more details and mark the last Thursday of the month to attend this event.

Panelist:

Simona Kukovič, School of Advanced Social Studies

Miro Haček, University of Ljubljana

Are you looking to gain experience that will help prepare you for a globally-connected job market? Stop by Drop-In Hours to learn more about getting the Global Distinction added to your academic transcript, receiving special recognition at graduation, and standing out to prospective employers!

Spring 2024 Global Distinction Drop-In Hours: Tuesdays at 3:30-4:30 pm.

COUNTRY: German
DIRECTOR: Cristian Mungiu

The latest film by Cristian Mungiu is another fantastic example of the much-celebrated Romanian New Wave. In this drama set in a multi-ethnic Transylvanian village, Mungiu proves himself again a world-class director able to entertain with humor that spares no one. Romania’s region of Transylvania is historically an ethnically diverse community, but now it is hard to keep the village life going because everyone who can is working as migrants in Western Europe. When the local bakery hires migrant workers from Sri Lanka to stay open, the village is gripped by anti-migrant protest. R.M.N. is Romanian for M.R.I., the medical procedure that one of the figures needs. But R.M.N. clearly stands in for Romania itself as well as a diagnosis of social conditions all too familiar outside the Carpathians.

HARRIS THEATER
809 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
https://trustarts.org/pct_home/visit/facilities/harris-theater

Faculty, staff, and students of the University of Pittsburgh may attend for free by showing a Pitt University ID at the door.

Attendance
Public: 6
University Affiliates: 4

Join German Club at Pitt’s weekly meetings, on Tuesdays at 6-7 pm during Spring 2024, to converse in German and learn German culture!

COUNTRY: Italy
DIRECTORS: Orso Miyakawa and Peter Miyakawa

In their debut film, brothers Orso and Peter Miyakawa tell us an engaging tale about a small seaside town on the border between France and Italy. Born in Monaco and raised in Italy, the directors know this region and its class and culture differences well. The story focuses on Don, an oddball American tennis teacher who dreams of being a painter, Camilla, a college student who smuggles medicines, alcohol, and cigarettes across the border, and Brando her 14yo brother. Their lives take a turn when they meet Elvis, an undocumented immigrant trying to sneak across the border to catch up with his wife in Paris. Will the border stand against their friendship? A comedy, a drama, a human story.

HARRIS THEATER
809 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
https://trustarts.org/pct_home/visit/facilities/harris-theater

Faculty, staff, and students of the University of Pittsburgh may attend for free by showing a Pitt University ID at the door.

Attendance
Public: 6
University Affiliates: 2

Come practice your conversational Hungarian with students of all levels!

COUNTRY: Czech Republic
Director: Adam Rybanský

Director and Screenwriter Adam Rybanský’s debut film points to a fantastic career ahead. This humorous parody about misinformation, fear and prejudices screened in the Panorama section of the 72nd Berlin Film Festival. Rybanský says about his film, "This is a story about good people being victims of conspiracy theories and their own fears." Clumsy Standa and recently widowed Bronya are volunteer firefighters in a small village where they enjoy a quiet and peaceful life. Things begin to change when a van crashes into a crowd of people during the Easter Fair. Before anyone notices, the driver runs away from the car crash. People believe it is a terrorist attack and the festive mood is replaced by an atmosphere of fear, hatred, and misinformation. Soon the fire brigade becomes a militia.

HARRIS THEATER
809 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
https://trustarts.org/pct_home/visit/facilities/harris-theater

Faculty, staff, and students of the University of Pittsburgh may attend for free by showing a Pitt University ID at the door.

Attendance
Public: 5
University Affiliates: 0

Join us for our mini Spanish lesson series! No prior language experience is necessary. We can't wait to see you there!

Join weekly Bate-Papo Portuguese conversation practice for all levels, from brand-new beginners to advanced or heritage speakers!

COUNTRY: Spain
DIRECTOR: Andrea Bagney

Andrea Bagney’s sparkling debut feature, largely shot in black and white in a stylistic nod to the French New Wave of the 1960s, is a romantic comedy with a difference. After living abroad for several years, Ramona and her boyfriend Nico return to Madrid where she hopes to restart her film acting career. Anxious on the evening before her first audition, Ramona walks the streets of Madrid where she encounters a charismatic older man named Bruno. They walk together and head to a bar where, over a few drinks, they talk about the state of the planet, climate change, and where the world is headed. Certainly fast friends, could they also be falling in love? It’s entirely possible, but what will really complicate the answer is Ramona’s discovery that Bruno is directing the very same film for which she’ll be auditioning.

HARRIS THEATER
809 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
https://trustarts.org/pct_home/visit/facilities/harris-theater

Faculty, staff, and students of the University of Pittsburgh may attend for free by showing a Pitt University ID at the door.

Attendance
Public: 6
University Affiliates: 0

Join Spring 2024 Kya Baat Hai weekly conversation hours, on Wednesdays from 7-8 pm, for students to practice speaking in Hindi and Urdu and connect over shared cultural experiences!

Join weekly Turkish Language Table meetings, on Wednesdays at 7-8 pm during Spring 2024, for an opportunity for students to practice Turkish and celebrate Turkish culture.

Mangia con noi! Bring your lunch and chat with us! Pitt students only, all levels welcome!

Students graduating in Spring 2024 are encouraged to attend one or all of the following workshops to perfect their digital portfolios! No sign-up is necessary.

A Digital Portfolio (ePortfolio) is required for all students completing area or global studies certificates. The ePortfolio will help you synthesize your experiences inside and outside the classroom to demonstrate your understanding of world regions and global issues. You will also learn how to use the ePortfolio in future job and graduate school applications!

This seminar will explore the realm of European emerging technologies governance, with a specific emphasis on the European Union. Furthermore, the session will consider the EU's policies regarding civilian and military AI through precise case studies. As preparation for the discussion with Mahmoud Javadi, participants in the seminar will read two articles available upon registration.

About the Speaker/Presenter:
Mahmoud Javadi holds the position of AI Governance Researcher at Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), The Netherlands, where he contributes to an EU-funded research project focused on reigniting multilateralism via emerging technologies. Prior to his current role, Mahmoud was affiliated with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he conducted research on EU external relations.
He also represents EUR at the EU Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Consortium. Educational credentials encompass a Doctorate in European external politics and a Master of Arts in transnational security governance from the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence, Italy. His upcoming book on the defense artificial Intelligence (AI) ecosystem in Europe is scheduled for release by Springer in August 2024.

Limited seating is available.
Open to Faculty and Graduate Students
Last day to register: Jan 23, 2024
For more information, please contact us at europeanstudies@pitt.edu.

Join us for an informal panel discussion on decolonizing global education as we collectively examine the question, "Is the world yours to explore?" During this discussion, we will highlight the crucial role of students in the University Center for International Studies’ mission to embrace the word and prepare global-ready graduates. Refreshments will be provided.

Moderator:
César Briones, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Manager, University Center for International Studies (UCIS)

Panelists:
Molly McSweeney, Assistant Director for Student and Community Engagement, Global Hub, UCIS
Oksana Stalczynski, Assistant Director of Study Abroad, Pitt Global Experiences Office, UCIS
Meg Williams, Associate Director, Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs, UCIS

COUNTRY: France
DIRECTOR: Bruno Dumont

France de Meurs, played by the amazing Léa Seydoux, is a seemingly unflappable superstar TV journalist. She is a newscasting influencer loved by all, but then her career, home life, and psychological stability are shaken after she carelessly drives into a young delivery man on a busy Paris Street. The film’s biting humor takes on the state of news and the state of the state right from her first over-the-top interaction with President Emanual Macron. Her name symbolizes it all; her first name of course stands in for France the country, but in a play on words her last name suggests both home and death. Is it reality TV, ego performance, or sincere reportage? What is the role of the established media in France? Dumont’s close-ups of beautiful France, the person, and the place invite us to do a long take.

HARRIS THEATER
809 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
https://trustarts.org/pct_home/visit/facilities/harris-theater

Faculty, staff, and students of the University of Pittsburgh may attend for free by showing a Pitt University ID at the door.

Attendance
Public: 11
University Affiliates: 2

Join the French Club for conversation hours, on Mondays & Thursday at 5-6 pm during Spring 2024, for French speaking individuals of varying levels to practice the French language.

Join the Persian Language Table every other Thursday during Spring 2024 to practice language, celebrate culture, and meet new people!

COUNTRY: Poland
DIRECTOR: Agnieszka Holland

A Syrian family leaves the violence of their country behind, hoping to cross from Belarus into Poland and then onto the safe haven of Sweden. But, like so many lost souls, they end up caught in a political maelstrom, demonized by the Polish government, and press and used as pawns in an inhumane, deadly border game. This harrowing, urgent drama from the veteran Polish director Agnieszka Holland constructs an intricate account of the contemporary global humanitarian crisis, expanding out to encompass the interconnected lives of security patrol officers, activist lawyers, and civilians who put themselves on the line for strangers. With the sobering and sometimes shocking Green Border, Holland reaffirms both her unyielding commitment to political filmmaking and the ability of immersive storytelling to illuminate the darkest corners of the world.

HARRIS THEATER
809 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
https://trustarts.org/pct_home/visit/facilities/harris-theater

Faculty, staff, and students of the University of Pittsburgh may attend for free by showing a Pitt University ID at the door.

Attendance
Public: 10
University Affiliates: 6

This is a 1 credit course. Please contact Luis G Van Fossen Bravo if you are interested.

The impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine can be felt far outside the actual battlefield. Modern war disproportionately affects gender and sexual minorities, something we are seeing in Ukraine even as Putin's anti-LGBTQ+ agenda seeks to relentlessly drive support for the war at home. How can a queer-studies focus advance conversations about decolonization in East European and Eurasian Studies? To address this question, Queer Focus will have six virtual panels featuring speakers from various disciplines and institutions. Panelists and participants will explore how gendered regimes were constitutive of Russo-centric relationships of power, defining the region and how we study it, as we collectively grapple with what it means to re-examine our current research, teaching, and institutional practices.

David Greene, award-winning journalist and former co-host of NPR’s Morning Edition, Shannon Reed, author and frequent contributor for The New Yorker, and Sean Guillory, host of The Eurasian Knot weekly podcast and producer of the award nominated Teddy Goes to the USSR podcast, will co-teach this hands-on course where students will work as a team to research, write, and produce a broadcast-quality audio narrative telling the stories of people around the world who have come to the University of Pittsburgh with the support of the Pittsburgh Network for Threatened Scholars. The focus of the course will be production of an audio narrative, but along the way, students will gain meaningful experience in collaboration and communication, archival research, interviewing and oral histories, script writing, sound editing, and other skills. Course enrollment is limited. No previous experience with interviewing or podcasting required, but students with demonstrated interest in the topic (Threatened scholars/human rights) or who participated in the Fall 2023 Art of the Interview Masterclass are particularly encouraged to sign up for the course.

Join us for this special event, moderated by Ariel Armony, Pitt's Vice Chancellor for Global Affairs, as we discuss Argentina's recent elections. Armony, an expert in international relations, will lead the conversation with our presenters - Anibal Pérez-Liñán and Gisela Sin - on the election's key aspects, political players, and global implications. This event will be presented in English.

Join Addverse Poesia, an international and multilingual poetry group that discusses, reads and translates poems in at least 4 languages, for their weekly meetings!

David Greene, award-winning journalist and former co-host of NPR’s Morning Edition, Shannon Reed, author and frequent contributor for The New Yorker, and Sean Guillory, host of The Eurasian Knot weekly podcast and producer of the award nominated Teddy Goes to the USSR podcast, will co-teach this hands-on course where students will work as a team to research, write, and produce a broadcast-quality audio narrative telling the stories of people around the world who have come to the University of Pittsburgh with the support of the Pittsburgh Network for Threatened Scholars. The focus of the course will be production of an audio narrative, but along the way, students will gain meaningful experience in collaboration and communication, archival research, interviewing and oral histories, script writing, sound editing, and other skills. Course enrollment is limited. No previous experience with interviewing or podcasting required, but students with demonstrated interest in the topic (Threatened scholars/human rights) or who participated in the Fall 2023 Art of the Interview Masterclass are particularly encouraged to sign up for the course.

Come meet international students, make friends, practice conversational English, and have fun together, during these weekly discussion groups coordinated by the English Language Institute. Feel free to bring your lunch :)

Join the French Club for conversation hours, on Mondays & Thursday at 5-6 pm during Spring 2024, for French speaking individuals of varying levels to practice the French language.

IES Study Abroad Drop-In Advising

Interested in studying abroad with IES? Join us to learn more about IES study abroad programs and get your questions answered.

Date: Tuesday, January 30th
Time: 10am-12pm, 2pm-3pm
Location: Global Experiences Office, 810 William Pitt Union

This talk from Pitt's Graduate School of Public and International Affair's Center for Governance and Markets presents a political theory of governance of cultural diversity developed in Sadr's book, Negotiating Cultural Diversity. It argues that a pluralistic society should forge a balance between three key elements: individual autonomy, counter-homogenization measures, and intercultural dialogue.

Contemporary societies are increasingly facing a tremendous challenge in terms of finding social cohesion. A major challenge comes from disagreement over the issues related to social justice and other fundamental principles and ethical issues that should govern our societies. The challenge compounds when these disagreements intertwine with group and cultural identities such as race, ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation. This leads to a conflict between individual rights such as freedom of speech, freedom to practice religion, or equal opportunity with group or community preferences. A theory of governance of diversity should not only present a solution on how to peacefully accommodate deep differences, but should also present a way out on how to adjudicate disagreement between universal values and particularistic aspirations.

Join this workshop that is part of the Balkan Culture (SLAV 1850) class, where you will learn how to prepare Balkan coffee!

Are you looking to gain experience that will help prepare you for a globally-connected job market? Stop by Drop-In Hours to learn more about getting the Global Distinction added to your academic transcript, receiving special recognition at graduation, and standing out to prospective employers!

Spring 2024 Global Distinction Drop-In Hours: Tuesdays at 3:30-4:30 pm.

Yun-Oh Whang's opening Keynote for the Identity, Inclusion, and Information: The AANHPI Experience Conference.

The University of Pittsburgh observes AAPI month during January (instead of May), this conference seeks to celebrate and acknowledge what it means to be a person of AANHPI heritage at Pitt. An examination at the challenges people of AAPI descent face in Pittsburgh and a recognition of their 'belonging'.

A panel discussion on 'belonging' for AAPI members of the University of Pittsburgh, and the general Pittsburgh community.

Moderated by Katelan Hudson, this panel will discuss the effects a lack of sense of belonging has had on their mental health and experiences with a goal of moving forward with proposed solutions. From this panel, participants will develop an understanding of the AAPI experience in higher education, the importance of targeted efforts towards cultivating belonging for AAPI students, and how to be an ally to these efforts.

Join German Club at Pitt’s weekly meetings, on Tuesdays at 6-7 pm during Spring 2024, to converse in German and learn German culture!

Mai Khôi is an award-winning singer, composer, and activist. She rose to stardom in 2010 after winning the Vietnam Television Song and Album of the Year awards as one of the first female songwriters in Vietnam. As a pop star, Khôi released seven albums in genres of Vietnamese pop and dance, and made regular nationally televised performances. Several years later she became increasingly uncomfortable having to submit her work to government censors and, thinking she could reform the system from within, nominated herself to run in the National Assembly elections on a pro-democracy platform. Her campaign sparked a nationwide debate about political participation and culminated in a meeting with Barack Obama in May 2016. Her activism came at a high price, however: she had her concerts raided, was evicted from multiple residences, and was detained and interrogated by the police.

Khôi’s artistic transformation is evident in Mai Khôi Chém Gió, a genre-splicing dissident trio she founded in 2016 that combines protest music with free jazz and lost musical traditions of Vietnam’s hill tribes. She also went on to participate in Seaphony, a project that aims to create the first pan-Southeast Asian orchestra comprised of ethnic minority musicians, as a conductor, arranger, and composer. Her current project, Mai Khôi and the Dissidents, is an eclectic and experimental jazz-ish quintet that’s as likely to launch into a noisy protest song or collective improvisation as a lullaby or love ballad. She is also developing an autobiographical multimedia stage show called “Bad Activist” that combines original music, projections, archival footage, and storytelling to fiercely advocate for democracy and freedom of expression in Vietnam and around the world.

Since 2019, Mai Khôi has lived in exile in the USA. In 2019, she was a resident artist at SHIM:NYC, and in 2020, she was awarded an Artist Protection Fund Fellowship in cooperation with the University of Pittsburgh, City of Asylum, and the International Free Expression Project. Mai Khôi was an Exiled Writer and Artist in Residence at City of Asylum in Pittsburgh from 2020-2023; she has continued to reside in Pittsburgh after the conclusion of this residency.

In recognition of her work at the intersection of art and activism, Khôi has been awarded the 2018 Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent and the 2022 Four Freedoms Award for Freedom of Speech.

Join weekly Tavolina (a separate gathering from Tavola Italiana) to practice Italian. This is an Italian conversation table aimed for beginner and intermediate speakers.

In the spring of 2024, the World History Center’s Global Appalachia working group and the Global Studies Center will host a series of book discussions focusing on the region of Appalachia from a global perspective. The series theme is Interdisciplinary Perspectives on a Region in Motion. Participation in all three events in the series is not required but encouraged. All events will take place from 1:00-2:30pm (EST). Copies of the books will be available for those planning to attend the event.

In Ramp Hollow, Steven Stoll offers a fresh, provocative account of Appalachia, and why it matters. His investigation, ranging widely from history to literature, art, and economics, questions our assumptions about progress and development and exposes the devastating legacy of dispossession and its repercussions today.

Join weekly Swahili Class 2 students for weekly conversation hours this Spring semester, to practice Swahili outside of the classroom.

International Education is an exciting and growing professional field to pursue regardless of your area of study! Join our panelists to discuss their unique career paths, the diverse opportunities available in International Education, and the work happening in the field. There will be a Q&A following the panel.

Panelists:

Tiffany Martin: Events & Travel Manager, Duolingo

Leslie Ann Smedley: Senior Advisor & Program Manager, Pitt’s Global Experience Office

Vanessa Sterling: Director of Health & Safety, CET Academic Programs

Jeff Whitehead: Executive Director of Global Engagement, Pitt’s University Center for International Studies

Molly McSweeney, moderator, Assistant Director for Student and Community Engagement, Pitt's Global Hub.

Come practice your conversational Hungarian with students of all levels!

Human Rights Amid Violent Conflict: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Events in Israel and Gaza is a panel discussion that will try to provide an academic space and context for those seeking to think and learn, as we are all witnessing heart-breaking violence and response in Israel and Gaza. Our goal is to offer academic contexts and input for thinking about the current moment, asking each forum participant to speak about: What sets of academic knowledge and frameworks are you drawing on as you follow the news from afar? What scholarly expertise can help us understand better the complexity of actors, institutions, interests, and international structures shaping events on the ground and what happens next?

Join weekly Bate-Papo Portuguese conversation practice for all levels, from brand-new beginners to advanced or heritage speakers!

Screening of Out of State (2017), Ciara Lacy, a documentary focusing on the lives of several Native Hawai'ian inmates of a private for-profit Arizona prison. It's an intimate look at tradition, home, and self.

Shipped thousands of miles away from the tropical islands of Hawaii to a private prison in the Arizona desert, two native Hawaiians discover their indigenous traditions from a fellow inmate serving a life sentence. It's from this unlikely setting that David and Hale finish their terms and return to Hawaii, hoping for a fresh start. Eager to prove to themselves and to their families that this experience has changed them forever, David and Hale struggle with the hurdles of life as formerly incarcerated men, asking the question: can you really go home again?

Join Spring 2024 Kya Baat Hai weekly conversation hours, on Wednesdays from 7-8 pm, for students to practice speaking in Hindi and Urdu and connect over shared cultural experiences!