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