Events


View a comprehensive calendar of events.

Monday, September 8

Let's Play Perestroika!
Three video games from the end of the Soviet Union
Time:
4:30 pm to 6:00 pm
Presenter:
Daniil Leiderman
Location:
4130 Posvar Hall
Sponsored by:
Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies
Contact:
Angel Cramer
Contact Email:
crees@pitt.edu

The collapse of the USSR and the cultural revolution called "Perestroika" were reflected in numerous contemporaneous films, books and surprisingly even in video games. Games were just entering the mainstream, invisible to censorship and inaccessible to most of the public, and nevertheless multiple games trying to represent the historical moment appeared in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This talk looks at three video games made in different parts of the Soviet Union during the Perestroika as relics testifying to the confusion, anxiety and optimism of the Post-Soviet 1990s.

Tuesday, September 9 to Tuesday, December 9

Fall 2025 Global Distinction Drop-In Hours
Time:
3:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Presenter:
Molly McSweeney
Location:
Global Hub
Sponsored by:
Asian Studies Center, Center for Ethnic Studies Research, Center for African Studies, Center for Latin American Studies, Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies, Director's Office, European Studies Center, Global Studies Center, Global Hub, Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs, Office of International Services and Global Experiences Office
Contact:
Molly McSweeney
Contact Email:
mcm206@pitt.edu

Attention: Undergraduate students! 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!

Tuesday, September 9

Ukrainian Culture Club--Welcome Meeting
Time:
8:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Presenter:
Andrew Romanchik
Location:
Global Hub
Sponsored by:
Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies, Global Hub and University of Pittsburgh Peace Corps Recruiter along with Ukrainian Culture Club
Contact:
Andrew Romanchik
Contact Email:
ANR431@pitt.edu

Learn about Ukrainian opportunities here at Pitt -- Language, Culture, Advocacy, Community, and More!

Tuesday, September 16 to Tuesday, December 16

Fall 2025 Global Distinction Drop-In Hours
Time:
3:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Presenter:
Molly McSweeney
Location:
Global Hub
Sponsored by:
Asian Studies Center, Center for Ethnic Studies Research, Center for African Studies, Center for Latin American Studies, Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies, Director's Office, European Studies Center, Global Studies Center, Global Hub, Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs, Office of International Services and Global Experiences Office
Contact:
Molly McSweeney
Contact Email:
mcm206@pitt.edu

Attention: Undergraduate students! 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!

Tuesday, September 23 to Tuesday, December 23

Fall 2025 Global Distinction Drop-In Hours
Time:
3:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Presenter:
Molly McSweeney
Location:
Global Hub
Sponsored by:
Asian Studies Center, Center for Ethnic Studies Research, Center for African Studies, Center for Latin American Studies, Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies, Director's Office, European Studies Center, Global Studies Center, Global Hub, Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs, Office of International Services and Global Experiences Office
Contact:
Molly McSweeney
Contact Email:
mcm206@pitt.edu

Attention: Undergraduate students! 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!

Friday, September 26

Extractive Empire: Bricks, Cement, and Soviet Material Movements after WWII
Time:
4:00 pm
Presenter:
Katherine Zubovich (SUNY Buffalo)
Location:
Baker Hall 246A, Carnegie Mellon University
Sponsored by:
Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies
Contact:
Alissa Klots
Contact Email:
alissaklots@pitt.edu

After World War II, the USSR's leaders relied heavily on construction materials mined and produced in recently liberated territories to rebuild the country's ruined cities. This paper traces the material networks linking Soviet cities to forests, quarries, and factories supplying the wood, marble, brick, and cement integral to Soviet rebuilding. Focusing on the Aseri Brickworks and Kunda Cement Factory, both located along Estonia's northern coast, the paper examines the interplay between Soviet occupation and materials extraction. Part of the Socialist Studies Seminar series.

Tuesday, September 30 to Tuesday, December 30

Fall 2025 Global Distinction Drop-In Hours
Time:
3:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Presenter:
Molly McSweeney
Location:
Global Hub
Sponsored by:
Asian Studies Center, Center for Ethnic Studies Research, Center for African Studies, Center for Latin American Studies, Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies, Director's Office, European Studies Center, Global Studies Center, Global Hub, Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs, Office of International Services and Global Experiences Office
Contact:
Molly McSweeney
Contact Email:
mcm206@pitt.edu

Attention: Undergraduate students! 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!

Monday, October 6

Before and after 1989: The Short History of Liberal Democracy in Hungary
Time:
4:00 pm
Location:
4130 Posvar Hall
Sponsored by:
Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies and Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs

Victoria Harms, Associate Teaching Professor of History at Johns Hopkins University and author of the book The Making of Dissidents: Hungary’s Democratic Opposition and Its Western Friends, 1973-1998 (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2024) in conversation with Gregor Thum, Associate Professor of History at the University of Pittsburgh. Introduction by Kati R. Csoman, Director of the Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs.

Co-sponsors to list are: Hungarian Room Committee of the Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs, the History Department, World History Center, European Studies Center, Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies.

Where: 4130 Posvar Hall

When: 4pm - 5pm October 6th

What: Interview followed by a Q&A segment

Tuesday, October 7 to Tuesday, January 6

Fall 2025 Global Distinction Drop-In Hours
Time:
3:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Presenter:
Molly McSweeney
Location:
Global Hub
Sponsored by:
Asian Studies Center, Center for Ethnic Studies Research, Center for African Studies, Center for Latin American Studies, Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies, Director's Office, European Studies Center, Global Studies Center, Global Hub, Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs, Office of International Services and Global Experiences Office
Contact:
Molly McSweeney
Contact Email:
mcm206@pitt.edu

Attention: Undergraduate students! 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!

Friday, October 10

Phonographic Paleontology: Excavating the Sounds of Georgian Nationality, 1935
Time:
4:00 pm
Presenter:
Brian Fairley (UCIS/REEES Postdoctoral Fellow)
Location:
Baker Hall 246A, Carnegie Mellon University
Sponsored by:
Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies along with Department of History and Carnegie Mellon University Department of History
Contact:
Alissa Klots
Contact Email:
alissaklots@pitt.edu

Part of the Socialist Studies Seminar series.

Tuesday, October 14 to Tuesday, January 13

Fall 2025 Global Distinction Drop-In Hours
Time:
3:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Presenter:
Molly McSweeney
Location:
Global Hub
Sponsored by:
Asian Studies Center, Center for Ethnic Studies Research, Center for African Studies, Center for Latin American Studies, Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies, Director's Office, European Studies Center, Global Studies Center, Global Hub, Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs, Office of International Services and Global Experiences Office
Contact:
Molly McSweeney
Contact Email:
mcm206@pitt.edu

Attention: Undergraduate students! 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!

Tuesday, October 21 to Tuesday, January 20

Fall 2025 Global Distinction Drop-In Hours
Time:
3:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Presenter:
Molly McSweeney
Location:
Global Hub
Sponsored by:
Asian Studies Center, Center for Ethnic Studies Research, Center for African Studies, Center for Latin American Studies, Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies, Director's Office, European Studies Center, Global Studies Center, Global Hub, Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs, Office of International Services and Global Experiences Office
Contact:
Molly McSweeney
Contact Email:
mcm206@pitt.edu

Attention: Undergraduate students! 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!

Tuesday, October 28

Pitt Model United Nations 2025
High School Conference
Logo of Pitt MUN
Time:
8:00 am to 4:00 pm
Location:
William Pitt Union and O'Hara Student Center, Pitt-Oakland Campus
Sponsored by:
Asian Studies Center, Center for African Studies, Center for Latin American Studies, Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies, European Studies Center, European Union Center of Excellence, Global Studies Center and UCIS Engagement along with PittMUN Club
Contact:
UCIS Engagement
Contact Email:
ucisengage@pitt.edu

Through experiential learning, high school students engage directly with global issues by assuming the role of world leaders and negotiating responses to timely topics.

Tuesday, October 28 to Tuesday, January 27

Fall 2025 Global Distinction Drop-In Hours
Time:
3:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Presenter:
Molly McSweeney
Location:
Global Hub
Sponsored by:
Asian Studies Center, Center for Ethnic Studies Research, Center for African Studies, Center for Latin American Studies, Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies, Director's Office, European Studies Center, Global Studies Center, Global Hub, Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs, Office of International Services and Global Experiences Office
Contact:
Molly McSweeney
Contact Email:
mcm206@pitt.edu

Attention: Undergraduate students! 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!

Tuesday, November 4 to Tuesday, February 3

Fall 2025 Global Distinction Drop-In Hours
Time:
3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Presenter:
Molly McSweeney
Location:
Global Hub
Sponsored by:
Asian Studies Center, Center for Ethnic Studies Research, Center for African Studies, Center for Latin American Studies, Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies, Director's Office, European Studies Center, Global Studies Center, Global Hub, Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs, Office of International Services and Global Experiences Office
Contact:
Molly McSweeney
Contact Email:
mcm206@pitt.edu

Attention: Undergraduate students! 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!

Tuesday, November 11 to Tuesday, February 10

Fall 2025 Global Distinction Drop-In Hours
Time:
3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Presenter:
Molly McSweeney
Location:
Global Hub
Sponsored by:
Asian Studies Center, Center for Ethnic Studies Research, Center for African Studies, Center for Latin American Studies, Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies, Director's Office, European Studies Center, Global Studies Center, Global Hub, Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs, Office of International Services and Global Experiences Office
Contact:
Molly McSweeney
Contact Email:
mcm206@pitt.edu

Attention: Undergraduate students! 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!

Friday, November 14

Our Town Is Now a Cemetery: Soviet Yiddish Amateur Songs and the Rituals of Holocaust Commemoration, 1945–1947
Time:
4:00 pm
Presenter:
Anna Shternshis (University of Toronto)
Location:
Baker Hall 246A, Carnegie Mellon University
Sponsored by:
Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies along with Department of History and Carnegie Mellon University Department of History
Contact:
Alissa Klots
Contact Email:
alissaklots@pitt.edu

Part of the Socialist Studies Seminar series.

Tuesday, November 18 to Tuesday, February 17

Fall 2025 Global Distinction Drop-In Hours
Time:
3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Presenter:
Molly McSweeney
Location:
Global Hub
Sponsored by:
Asian Studies Center, Center for Ethnic Studies Research, Center for African Studies, Center for Latin American Studies, Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies, Director's Office, European Studies Center, Global Studies Center, Global Hub, Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs, Office of International Services and Global Experiences Office
Contact:
Molly McSweeney
Contact Email:
mcm206@pitt.edu

Attention: Undergraduate students! 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!

Wednesday, November 19

21st Annual High School Model European Union
Time:
8:00 am to 4:00 pm
Location:
William Pitt Union
Sponsored by:
Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies, European Studies Center, European Union Center of Excellence and Global Studies Center
Contact Email:
europeanstudies@pitt.edu

The High School Model European Union is an annual event for area high school students. The goal of the Model EU is to give high school students a chance to learn about the workings of the European Union through a hands-on simulation. Playing the roles of presidents and prime ministers, students spend a day engaged in intense negotiations over conflicting issues about the EU. The objective is to simulate a specific European Council meeting that focuses on recent current events impacting the EU. Model EU enhances students’ understanding of classroom learning and gives them a real sense of the challenges involved in the decision-making process of the European Union.

Tuesday, December 2 to Tuesday, March 3

Fall 2025 Global Distinction Drop-In Hours
Time:
3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Presenter:
Molly McSweeney
Location:
Global Hub
Sponsored by:
Asian Studies Center, Center for Ethnic Studies Research, Center for African Studies, Center for Latin American Studies, Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies, Director's Office, European Studies Center, Global Studies Center, Global Hub, Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs, Office of International Services and Global Experiences Office
Contact:
Molly McSweeney
Contact Email:
mcm206@pitt.edu

Attention: Undergraduate students! 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!

Tuesday, December 9 to Tuesday, March 10

Fall 2025 Global Distinction Drop-In Hours
Time:
3:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Presenter:
Molly McSweeney
Location:
Global Hub
Sponsored by:
Asian Studies Center, Center for Ethnic Studies Research, Center for African Studies, Center for Latin American Studies, Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies, Director's Office, European Studies Center, Global Studies Center, Global Hub, Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs, Office of International Services and Global Experiences Office
Contact:
Molly McSweeney
Contact Email:
mcm206@pitt.edu

Attention: Undergraduate students! 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!

Thursday, January 22

Global Issues Through Literature: The U.S. in the World
"Forty Autumns," by Nina Willner
Time:
6:00 pm to 7:30 pm
Location:
via Zoom
Sponsored by:
Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies and Global Studies Center

This professional development workshop series is designed for K-12 educators seeking to deepen their understanding of global issues through literature. This year, we will explore the theme of “The U.S. in the World.” Through global and regional perspectives, we will discuss narratives of a “Global United States,” where the U.S. role in the world and its relationship with other countries and regions is informed by transnational narratives and dialogues shaped by global trends such as migration, environmental issues, human rights, and human conditions. By exploring compelling stories from diverse cultural perspectives, educators will gain insights into the complexities of this theme, its impact on individuals and communities, and how to engage students in meaningful discussions around these topics.

Each session features a carefully selected book, paired with historically contextualized presentations, interactive discussions, teaching strategies, and cross-disciplinary activities to inspire classroom implementation.

The January 22, 2026 workshop will focus on the book, "Forty Autumns," by Nina Willner.

Sessions this year will take place virtually on Thursday evenings from 6:00-7:30 p.m. (ET). Three Act 48 credit hours (for PA educators) and a copy of the book are provided for each session.

For more information and to register, please go to: https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/global/GILS .

Friday, February 6 to Saturday, February 7

Revolutions in Sound: Auditory Cultures of Global Socialism
Time:
8:00 am to 5:00 pm
Presenter:
Varies
Location:
TBD
Sponsored by:
Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies