Central European Studies is dedicated to exploring Europe’s most diverse and most dynamic region since 1800. Close to twenty nations exist today between the rivers Rhine and Dnepr, between the Baltic and the Aegean Seas. It is the place where all European language groups and religions intersect with each other. The region made its mark on European and global history through its enormous cultural and intellectual creativity in the past 200 years, but also as the focal point of two world wars and ethnic violence of an unprecedented scale. It is the place the Cold War divided into east and west and where the two halves of Europe are growing together again ever since. Last but not least, Central Europe is the place where most people came from who built Pittsburgh in the 19th and 20th century. “Central Europe” is a growing field of study, with its own journals, conferences, and academic programs.
The Central European Studies Certificate targets students who are interested in exploring the specific experiences of Central European societies during the 19th and 20th centuries. This includes the formation and transformation of regional identifications in places of ethnic and religious diversity, mythmaking and collective memory, migration and its effects on societies, democracy and authoritarianism, empires and nation-states, war and mass violence, Europe's Cold War division but also the peaceful revolutions of 1989. Central Europe is the lens to study many of the most important global processes of the last two centuries, such as imperialism and imperial expansion and competition, the emergence of the nation-states, nationalism and genocide, industrialization, democratization and economic transformation, migration and racism, multiculturalism and language diversity. Central Europe is often marked as peripheral, but the region shows that it is was and is closely entangled with the wider world and shaped both European and global political, economic, social and cultural dynamics. Given that these processes play out in a great variety of forms – be it in politics, social movements, literature, art, architecture, or in music – the interdisciplinary nature of a certificate anchored in the area studies centers provides the appropriate intellectual and academic framework.
Academic Requirements Certificate requirements have three components: Language proficiency, West European Studies courses, and an electronic portfolio.
LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY
Two years (four semesters), or equivalent, of any language relevant to the Central Europe, including Albanian, Belorusian, Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian, Bulgarian, Czech, Estonian, German, Greek, Hungarian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Polish, Romani, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Ukrainian and Yiddish.
CENTRAL EUROPEAN STUDIES COURSES
A minimum of five (15 credits) Central European Studies content courses is required. Two of the courses may overlap with the student’s major or other credentials. The remaining courses must be from at least two departments outside the student’s major. Two of the courses must be at the 1000 level and students must earn a C or better in classes counting towards the certificate. Courses must be thematically relevant to each other.
- HIST 0200 Between Kafka and Hitler: How Central Europe Shaped the Modern World is a core course for the certificate program, and will count towards the 15-credit total.
This program is self-designed. View suggested themes. A list of the approved courses will be available soon.
DIGITAL PORTFOLIO
Students will develop a brief digital portfolio where they can reflect on their studies, explain the connection between the classes used to complete the requirements, and present examples of their work. Students may include papers or projects developed as class assignments, observations from study abroad, insights gained from pre-professional experiences such as work internships, extra-curricular activities, and exceptional coursework to highlight their expertise in West European Studies. The portfolio can also serve as part of an online resumé, highlighting a student’s experiences, skills and interests.
Certificate Advising:
This program is administered by both the European Studies Center and the Center for Russian, East European, & Eurasian Studies. Depending on their interests in Central Europe, and the focus of their studies, students may seek advising in either center.
EUROPEAN STUDIES CENTER:
Steve Lund | Assistant Director | slund@pitt.edu
CENTER FOR RUSSIAN, EAST EUROPEAN, AND EURASIAN STUDIES:
Thomas Dyne | Visiting Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Slavic Languages & Literatures | thd29@pitt.edu