Monday, September 22nd, 2025
German Club at Pitt
Presenter: Claire Meachen
Join German Club at Pitt weekly meetings to improve language skills and cultural knowledge of German speaking regions!
German Club will meet in the Global Hub every Monday during Fall 2025 semester, starting September 8 and ending December 1, EXCEPT on November 24.
Friday, September 19th, 2025
Celebrate Africa Fashion Show
Location: Ground Floor, Posvar Hall
Join us for an African fashion show to kick off our Celebrate Africa Festival!
Thursday, September 18th, 2025
Tavola Italiana
Presenter: Chiara Montera
Mangia con noi! Bring your lunch and chat with us! Pitt students only, all levels welcome!
Tavola Italiana will meet on Thursdays during Fall 2025, EXCEPT on November 27.
Thursday, September 18th, 2025 to Saturday, September 20th, 2025
Celebrate Africa Festival
Presenter: Center for African Studies
The Celebrate Africa Festival brings students, faculty, and staff together with the vibrant African diaspora community in Pittsburgh. There is food, song & dance, artisans, children's activities, and more! It is a wonderful opportunity to engage with the diversity of Africa and the Pittsburgh community, as well as network with local African organizations and businesses.
Wednesday, September 17th, 2025
Liebe, D-Mark_und Tod (Love, Deutschmarks and Death)
Location: 4130 Posvar Hall
As part of the "German Pop and Pittsburgh N'at: Cool Culture, Crass Cultivation and Cosmopolitan Connections"
Documentary, 96 min, Germany 2022
Directed by Cem Kaya
LOVE, DEUTSCHMARKS AND DEATH tells the story of the independent and largely unknown music of immigrants from Turkey and their children and grandchildren in Germany in a very lively way, full of rhythm. In the form of a documentary essay, director Cem Kaya takes his viewers into a dazzling universe of musical diversity. In a cinematic experience of the highest sound quality, he brings the energy and spirit of those years to life.
French Club Conversation Hour
Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Fall semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!
UPDATE: On September 10 (only), the French Club and the French Department will have a joint event in the Global Hub, from 5:30 to 7 pm.
The French Club will meet twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, during Fall 2025, EXCEPT on November 25 and November 26.
Tuesday, September 16th, 2025
French Club Conversation Hour
Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Fall semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!
UPDATE: On September 10 (only), the French Club and the French Department will have a joint event in the Global Hub, from 5:30 to 7 pm.
The French Club will meet twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, during Fall 2025, EXCEPT on November 25 and November 26.
Fall 2025 Global Distinction Drop-In Hours
Presenter: Molly McSweeney
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, September 15th, 2025
German Club at Pitt
Presenter: Claire Meachen
Join German Club at Pitt weekly meetings to improve language skills and cultural knowledge of German speaking regions!
German Club will meet in the Global Hub every Monday during Fall 2025 semester, starting September 8 and ending December 1, EXCEPT on November 24.
Shaping Global Citizens: Experiential Learning for Career and Community Impact
Presenter: Molly McSweeney
Join us for a panel discussion to hear how experiential learning can help prepare you for a rapidly evolving workforce and equip you with critical skillsets to be an engaged global citizen ready to make a positive impact in the local community. Hear from professionals with a wealth of experience in career development, service learning, and global engagement, as well as from Pitt students themselves who have navigated these transformative experiences and are excited to share their stories with you, too. A networking opportunity will follow the panel discussion. Light refreshments will be served.
This event is part of the UCIS International Career Toolkit Series, and Pitt undergraduate students can earn Global Distinction credit for attending.
Panelists:
- Brandon Blache-Cohen, Executive Director of AllPeopleBeHappy (formerly Amizade)
- Katie Boyes, Undergraduate student, B.A. in Environmental Studies, Minor in Secondary Education, certificates in Global Studies & African Studies
- Rianne Elsadig, Masters student, MID in International Development, Social Policy concentration, certificates in Global Studies & African Studies
- Marie Newkirk, Assistant Director for Experiential Learning, Pitt Career Center
- Rachel Vandevort, Program Manager, Pitt Global Experiences Office
Moderator:
- Molly McSweeney, Assistant Director for Student and Community Engagement, Global Hub, University Center for International Studies
Co-Sponsors:
- University Center for International Studies
- Pitt Global Hub
- Pitt Global Experiences
- Pitt Career Center
- AllPeopleBeHappy
- David C. Frederick Honors College
- Office of PittServes
- Office of Engagement and Community Affairs
Thursday, September 11th, 2025
Tavola Italiana
Presenter: Chiara Montera
Mangia con noi! Bring your lunch and chat with us! Pitt students only, all levels welcome!
Tavola Italiana will meet on Thursdays during Fall 2025, EXCEPT on November 27.
Wednesday, September 10th, 2025
French Club Conversation Hour
Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Fall semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!
UPDATE: On September 10 (only), the French Club and the French Department will have a joint event in the Global Hub, from 5:30 to 7 pm.
The French Club will meet twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, during Fall 2025, EXCEPT on November 25 and November 26.
Tuesday, September 9th, 2025
French Club Conversation Hour
Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Fall semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!
UPDATE: On September 10 (only), the French Club and the French Department will have a joint event in the Global Hub, from 5:30 to 7 pm.
The French Club will meet twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, during Fall 2025, EXCEPT on November 25 and November 26.
Fall 2025 Global Distinction Drop-In Hours
Presenter: Molly McSweeney
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!
In the Shadow of Kung Fu: The Afterlife of Colonialist Stereotypes on German Public Television
Time: 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm
Presenter: Sabine von Dirke, German Department
Location: 4217 Posvar Hall
European Studies Center Brown Bag Lunch and Learn Series
This “lunch and learn” session will present the preliminary results of Dr. von Dirke research for her upcoming book titled "East Asian Diaspora in Germany Today."
Dr. von Dirke will discuss how images of minoritized populations shape perception in today’s highly differentiated media societies. Her research aims to map the circulation of Asian clichés and stereotypes in public discourse. These stereotypes, clichés and tropes are, of course, rooted in the German colonialist project. She uses the 1970s ABC television series, Kung Fu, to analyze how these colonialist images are refracted through US-American popular media, such as television shows, in the case of West Germany since 1945.
Bio:
Sabine von Dirke is Associate Professor in the German Department at Pitt and focuses on the political and cultural developments of Germany since 1945 within a European context. Previous scholarship analyzed sub- and counter-cultural developments in (West) Germany (1960s student movement 1960s, politically motivated violence of the Red Army Faction; the politics of popular culture (Neue Deutsche Welle, German Hip Hop, Pop Literature of the 1990s). Her current research explores the politics of representation with respect to Germans of Color, mostly Asian Germans, within Germany’s public television and digital media landscape, with a focus on the 2nd generation’s self-articulation. A second project explores the ideological labor televisual entertainment formats perform in maintaining the political and economic status quo.
Monday, September 8th, 2025
German Club at Pitt
Presenter: Claire Meachen
Join German Club at Pitt weekly meetings to improve language skills and cultural knowledge of German speaking regions!
German Club will meet in the Global Hub every Monday during Fall 2025 semester, starting September 8 and ending December 1, EXCEPT on November 24.
Thursday, September 4th, 2025
2025 Eurovision Watch Party
Join us as we revisit the top Eurovision contestants of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest.
We will review the top 10 songs/videos from across Europe, and you will have the chance to cast your vote.
Our MC for this event will be hosted by Miss Georgia Bea Cummings, 2024 Gay East Coast Beauty Icon.
Please come and celebrate!
Light refreshments will be provided.
Tavola Italiana
Presenter: Chiara Montera
Mangia con noi! Bring your lunch and chat with us! Pitt students only, all levels welcome!
Tavola Italiana will meet on Thursdays during Fall 2025, EXCEPT on November 27.
Tuesday, September 2nd, 2025
French Club Conversation Hour
Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Fall semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!
UPDATE: On September 10 (only), the French Club and the French Department will have a joint event in the Global Hub, from 5:30 to 7 pm.
The French Club will meet twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, during Fall 2025, EXCEPT on November 25 and November 26.
Sunday, June 15th, 2025 to Saturday, June 21st, 2025
Brussels Summer Study Tour for Educators 2025
Location: Brussels, Belgium
The annual Brussels Study Tour is a week-long opportunity for educators across the U.S. to learn more about the European Union. With funding from the EU Delegation and the U.S. Department of Education, K-12 educators and faculty at community colleges and minority-serving institutions (Title III- or Title V-eligible) are able to gain first-hand knowledge and experiences to further their understanding of Europe and the European Union. Visits to the EU institutions and other organizations provide an inside look at the issues facing Europe and the EU.
Thursday, May 8th, 2025 to Saturday, May 10th, 2025
New East Film Symposium
Location: David Lawrence Hall 104
The New East Film Symposium is a non-commercial academic event organized by Pitt graduate students since 1999. This year’s focus is documentary cinema from Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia. The screenings explore the unstable borders and volatile experiences of “home” in war’s aftermath and of ethno-national violence in the region.
Thursday, May 1st, 2025
UCIS Graduation Ceremony & Reception
Location: Charity Randall Theatre
The University Center for International Studies cordially invites students graduating in Spring and Summer 2025 to celebrate their academic achievements and receive their credentials at the University Center for International Studies’ Graduation Ceremony in the Charity Randall Theater followed by a reception in the Schenley Plaza Tent.
Graduating students should look for their personal email invitations from the University Center for International Studies to RSVP and contact their UCIS academic advisor with any questions about the event. For additional details, please contact Laura Daversa at Laura.Daversa@pitt.edu
Reception to follow the ceremony at 2:30pm in the Schenley Plaza Tent.
Friday, April 25th, 2025
Global Perspectives Workshop at Environmental Charter High School
Time: 12:21 pm to 3:22 pm
Presenter: Susan Ngbabare, Diana Waruguru, Meghan Boit, Dzifa Gertrude, Faraja Ngogo
The Center for African Studies (CAS), in collaboration with five other Title VI centers under the University Center for International Studies (UCIS), coordinated a dynamic in-school workshop program for 187 students at Environmental Charter High School. Themed “Global Perspectives: Exploring Traditions, Celebrations, and Cultural Understanding,” the event featured five interactive, concurrent sessions, each offered twice to allow students to engage with multiple cultural experiences.
The Center for African Studies led an immersive session on African languages, culture, music, and dance. Students learned greetings in various African languages, explored cultural traditions, and participated in vibrant African dance activities. The session encouraged cultural pride, active participation, and a deeper appreciation for Africa’s rich heritage.
Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025
French Conversation Hour
Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!
The French Club will meet twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, during Spring 2025, EXCEPT on January 22, February 5, March 4, and March 5.
Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025
French Conversation Hour
Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!
The French Club will meet twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, during Spring 2025, EXCEPT on January 22, February 5, March 4, and March 5.
Spring 2025 Global Distinction Drop-In Hours
Presenter: Molly McSweeney
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, April 21st, 2025
Documenting Cultural and Social Protests and Resistance: Focus on Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine
International conference on the various forms of protest in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine,
Location: Humanities Center, Cathedral of Learning
Join us for the international conference “Protest and Dissent: Cultural and Political Resistance in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine” on April 21, 2025, at the Humanities Center, the University of Pittsburgh, with a Zoom option available. The program features leading scholars from Bard College, Brown University, Fordham University, Indiana University Bloomington, University of California Santa Barbara, University of Pittsburgh, and Yale University. This event brings together scholars and community members to explore how culture shapes resistance across borders.
The conference will conclude with a screening of The Accidental President (Mike Lerner, Martin Herring, 2024), a powerful documentary about the personal and political journey of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the president-elect of Belarus. Join us on Monday, April 21, 2025, from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. for the film, followed by a virtual discussion with the filmmakers, with an introduction and Q&A moderated by Andrei Kureichyk (Yale University).
Protest and Dissent: Cultureal and Political Resistance in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine
Location: Humanities Center
This international conference will discuss the various forms of protest in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine, with a particular focus on forms of protest in art and media. All forums will take place in the Humanities Center, followed by a screening of The Accidental President (dir. Mike Lerner and Martin Herring, 2024) in the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium.
Thursday, April 17th, 2025
Tavola Italiana
Time: 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Presenter: Chiara Montera
Mangia con noi! Bring your lunch and chat with us! Pitt students only, all levels welcome!
Wednesday, April 16th, 2025
French Conversation Hour
Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!
The French Club will meet twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, during Spring 2025, EXCEPT on January 22, February 5, March 4, and March 5.
German Club at Pitt
Presenter: Riley Hesbacher
Join the German Club on Wednesdays during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice German speaking and listening skills.
The German Club will meet on Wednesdays during Spring 2025, EXCEPT on January 22, February 5, and March 5.
Tuesday, April 15th, 2025
French Conversation Hour
Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!
The French Club will meet twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, during Spring 2025, EXCEPT on January 22, February 5, March 4, and March 5.
Spring 2025 Global Distinction Drop-In Hours
Presenter: Molly McSweeney
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, April 10th, 2025
Språkcafé (Swedish Conversation Club)
Presenter: Anna Sukhanova
Swedish Speaking Club is a space for practicing Swedish and deepening cultural understanding alongside others who are learning.
Tavola Italiana
Time: 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Presenter: Chiara Montera
Mangia con noi! Bring your lunch and chat with us! Pitt students only, all levels welcome!
Wednesday, April 9th, 2025
French Conversation Hour
Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!
The French Club will meet twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, during Spring 2025, EXCEPT on January 22, February 5, March 4, and March 5.
German Club at Pitt
Presenter: Riley Hesbacher
Join the German Club on Wednesdays during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice German speaking and listening skills.
The German Club will meet on Wednesdays during Spring 2025, EXCEPT on January 22, February 5, and March 5.
Tuesday, April 8th, 2025
French Conversation Hour
Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!
The French Club will meet twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, during Spring 2025, EXCEPT on January 22, February 5, March 4, and March 5.
Spring 2025 Global Distinction Drop-In Hours
Presenter: Molly McSweeney
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!
Saturday, April 5th, 2025
Poppies, Power and Profit: the Opium Wars and its Global Legacies. A Mini Course for K-12 Educators Day 2 of 2
Location: 4130 Posvar Hall, University of Pittsburgh and Virtually
This two-day K-12 mini course explores the Opium Wars of the 19th century, their causes, and far-reaching consequences, connecting historical events with modern global issues. Through examining the relationship between imperialism, trade, and culture, participants will gain insight into how the Opium Wars reshaped international dynamics, especially between China and Western powers, including the emerging empire of the United States. Sessions include presentations, activities and teacher-led strategies for curricular development.
Friday, April 4th, 2025
Poppies, Power and Profit: the Opium Wars and its Global Legacies. A Mini Course for K-12 Educators Day 1 of 2
Location: 4130 Posvar Hall, University of Pittsburgh and Virtually
This two-day K-12 mini course explores the Opium Wars of the 19th century, their causes, and far-reaching consequences, connecting historical events with modern global issues. Through examining the relationship between imperialism, trade, and culture, participants will gain insight into how the Opium Wars reshaped international dynamics, especially between China and Western powers, including the emerging empire of the United States. Sessions include presentations, activities and teacher-led strategies for curricular development.
Infuturarsi: Imagining and Depicting the Future
Presenter: Dr. Julia Frengs
Location: William Pitt Union 540
By examining how French and Italian cultures have imagined and depicted the future across various time periods and media forms, this conference seeks to contribute to our understanding of how societies conceptualize change, progress, and new possibilities.
Speaker: Dr. Julia Frengs
She is an Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her past research has focused on representations of the body, Indigenous epistemologies, and environmental engagement in women’s literature from Kanaky/New Caledonia and Te Ao Mā’ohi/French Polynesia. Her monograph, Corporeal Archipelagos: Writing the Body in Francophone Oceanian Women’s Literature, was published by Lexington Books in 2018. Her current and future research projects investigate environmental engagement in Oceanian and Indian Ocean literatures. She served as guest co-editor of a double issue of Contemporary French and Francophone Studies: SITES, entitled “Parler la terre/Speaking the Earth,” which appears in fall 2021 in issues 25.3 and 25.4. Her most recent article, “Anticolonial Ecofeminisms: Women’s Environmental Literature in French-speaking Oceania” appears in French Cultural Studies
Thursday, April 3rd, 2025
Språkcafé (Swedish Conversation Club)
Presenter: Anna Sukhanova
Swedish Speaking Club is a space for practicing Swedish and deepening cultural understanding alongside others who are learning.
Yellow Peril in Vladivostok: The Chinese Diaspora in Russia and the Soviet Union
Time: 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm
Location: 4217 Posvar Hall
Sören Urbansky, Ruhr University Bochum Chair, Eastern European History
Dr. Urbansky discusses the challenges faced by Chinese immigrants during the late Tsarist Empire and early Soviet Union, highlighting the racial and cultural prejudices that fueled hostilities in urban settings. His analysis explores how these early interactions shaped the experiences and perceptions of Chinese communities in a rapidly changing socio-political landscape.
Tavola Italiana
Time: 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Presenter: Chiara Montera
Mangia con noi! Bring your lunch and chat with us! Pitt students only, all levels welcome!
Wednesday, April 2nd, 2025
French Conversation Hour
Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!
German Club at Pitt
Presenter: Riley Hesbacher
Join the German Club on Wednesdays during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice German speaking and listening skills.
From Secularism to Public Order: Identity Politics and the Idea of Muslim Solidarity in France
Presenter: Kirsten Wesselhoeft, Vassar College
Location: 4303 Posvar Hall
As part of the Unmasking Prejudice: Confronting Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and Racism Across Europe
Spring Lecture Series
Lecture Summary: TBD
About the Speaker:
Kirsten Wesselhoeft is associate professor of religion at Vassar College. She is a scholar of contemporary Islam, drawing on ethnography and political analysis to study Muslim thought and culture in contexts shaped by colonial encounters and secular liberalism. Her first book, Fraternal Critique: The Politics of Muslim Community in France (Chicago, 2025), shows how young engaged Muslims use disagreement and dissent to cultivate community, a value that is in turn stigmatized by political elites. Her scholarly writing has
appeared in Political Theology, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, and Sociology of Islam, among other journals.
Please note a change in room
Inventing Racial Whiteness: Early Modern Playbooks of Racial Triangulation
Location: William Pitt Union Ballroom
Join us for an event featuring Noémie Ndiaye, Associate Professor of English Literature at the University of Chicago, whose research focuses on early modern English, French, and Spanish theater with an emphasis on race. Ndiaye will discuss her award-winning book, Scripts of Blackness: Early Modern Performance Culture and the Making of Race (2022), which explores how performance culture influenced the construction of race in early modern Europe. Her book has received multiple prestigious awards, including the 2023 Bevington Award and the 2023 Rose Mary Crawshay Prize. Ndiaye is also the co-editor of Seeing Race Before Race (2023), which won the 2024 PROSE Award for Art Exhibitions. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from a leading scholar in the field!
Refreshments after the lecture
Tuesday, April 1st, 2025
French Conversation Hour
Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!
Transmediating Blackness in Early Modern France
Location: Humanities Center, 602 Cathedral of Learning
Join us for a workshop with Noémie Ndiaye, Associate Professor of English Literature at the University of Chicago, focusing on early modern English, French, and Spanish theater with an emphasis on race. Her monograph, Scripts of Blackness: Early Modern Performance Culture and the Making of Race (2022), explores how performance culture shaped the racialization of Blackness across Western Europe. Ndiaye's work has won numerous awards, including the 2023 Bevington Award and the 2023 Rose Mary Crawshay Prize.
The workshop will be conducted in English, and pre-circulated readings are available upon request from Chloé Hogg at hoggca@pitt.edu.
Spring 2025 Global Distinction Drop-In Hours
Presenter: Molly McSweeney
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!
Financial Wellness Tabling
Presenter: Janet McLaughlin
Stop by the Global Hub to learn more about financial wellness!
Chats with Zharia
Are you an international student at Pitt looking to connect, or interested in connecting with international students? Stop by the Nook in the Global Hub on Tuesdays, between 2 and 4 pm during Spring semester, to chat with OIS Outreach Coordinator Zharia White from the Office of International Services!
Friday, March 28th, 2025
Experiments in Clean Living? Group Houses as Radical Activism in 1970s West Germany
Presenter: Belinda Davis, Rutgers University
Location: Wesley Posvar, Room 5601
Please note a change of time:
Keynote Speaker for the Undergraduate Research Symposium:
The Discussion will explore one of the means by which primarily young people in West Germany attempted to “revolutionize” everyday life and beyond, through new, explicitly political forms of cohabitation designated Wohngemeinschaften (WGs). WGs served as critical hubs of more conventional popular politics of the era, but also housed intense experiments in remaking the self and relations with others, transcending the nuclear family and the centrality of the couples relationship, and working through ideas and convictions across populations often conceived as incompatible. Part of broader efforts to remake German society from the bottom up, these experiments mark one site of successful youth efforts to transform the world around them.
About the Speaker:
Belinda Davis is a professor of history at Rutgers University and director of the Rutgers Center for European Studies. She is author or co-editor of five books, including the coedited Social Movements After ’68: Selves and Solidarities in West Germany and Beyond (2022); The Internal Life of Politics: Extraparliamentary Opposition in West Germany, 1962-1983 (forthcoming with Cambridge). She is currently completing work on Voices of the Organized Poor: Learning from the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign’s Everyday Struggles for Survival and Alternative Futures; and working on an environmental history of modern Europe for Cambridge University Press. She is a member of the Rutgers team participating in the Jean Monnet-funded ValEUs grant, of which the University of Pittsburgh is also a consortium member.
Keynote Address: Russian Orthodox Sacred Objects in Central Asia: A Legacy of Imperialism?
Presenter: Daniel Scarborough
Location: 5601 Posvar Hall
Orthodox Christianity first came to Central Asia along with the Russian conquest in the 19th century. Along with Slavic settlers came Orthodox sacred objects, such as miraculous icons and the relics of saints. Churches, monasteries, and parish communities were build around these objects. During the colonisation process, control over Orthodox sacred objects was contested by the imperial regime, settler communities, and the native population. These objects ultimately became targets of violent conflict during the anti-colonial uprising of 1916, and the revolutionary violence and terror of the following decade. The physical survival of the Orthodoxy in Central Asia was possible due to the collaborative efforts of both settlers and natives, despite the efforts of the colonial regime to utilise the Church for the consolidation of Russian rule. The Orthodox objects and spaces that dot the landscape today comprise part of Central Asia's shared cultural heritage.
European and Eurasian Undergraduate Research Symposium 2025
The European and Eurasian 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.
SYMPOSIUM: Friday, March 28, 2025
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Friday, January 10, 2025
https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/creees/urs
QUESTIONS? Contact Zita Tóth-Shawgo
SPONSORS
Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies
Consortium for Educational Resources on Islamic Studies
European Studies Center
University Center for International Studies
Graduate Organization for the Study of Europe and Central Asia
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Thursday, March 27th, 2025
Global Issues through Literature: Global Labor (Session 2)
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. Session 2 book is Hope against Hope by Sheena Wilkinson.
We Were Here: The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe
Location: 125 Frick Fine Arts Building
As part of the Unmasking Prejudice: Confronting Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and Racism Across Europe
Spring Lecture Series
FILM: We Were Here - The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe, exhibited in the Central Pavilion directed by Adriano Pedrosa at the 60ᵗʰ International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, sheds light on the overlooked presence of African and Black individuals in Renaissance Europe, highlighting their depiction in masterpieces by some of the era’s most celebrated artists. How did they come to Europe? Why were they portrayed? Were they truly all servants or slaves? If the Black faces portrayed in these Renaissance masterpieces could speak, what would they tell us? More Info: https://www.wewereherethefilm.com
Meet and Greet with Fred Kudjo Kuwornu
We Were Here: The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe
Meet and Greet with filmmaker:
Fred Kudjo Kuwornu is an Afro-Italian and U.S. multi-hyphenate socially engaged artist, filmmaker and scholar based in New York. His work bridges past and present, exploring identity and race through historical remixing of archival materials. Kuwornu's films have been exhibited at the 60ᵗʰ Venice Art Biennale (2024), Museum of Moving Image (NY), Library of Congress, and international film festivals. More info: https://www.fredkuwornu.com
Light Refreshments will be served.
Språkcafé (Swedish Conversation Club)
Presenter: Anna Sukhanova
Swedish Speaking Club is a space for practicing Swedish and deepening cultural understanding alongside others who are learning.
Front-Line Issues: War, Climate, and Refugees
Presenter: Daniel Briggs, Lauren Herzer Risi
Location: 4130 Posvar Hall
The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently predicted that global average temperatures will rise 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels in the mid-2030s. Over the last decades, a global network of scholars, policy makers, activists, and others have organized to offer ways to mitigate and even reverse the effects of climate change. What offramps can these solutions and movements offer our collective humanity?
“Eurasian Environments” seeks to provide some reflections to mark the UN’s 2024 Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan. This series will examine social justice and sustainability efforts to address climate change by putting scholars of Eurasia in conversation with their peers specializing on Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. The series will comprise six events that will illuminate the challenges and possible solutions to climate change in Eurasia in regional and global contexts.
This event is part of the Eurasian Environments: Climate Justice and Sustainability in Global Context series.
Tavola Italiana
Time: 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Presenter: Chiara Montera
Mangia con noi! Bring your lunch and chat with us! Pitt students only, all levels welcome!
Wednesday, March 26th, 2025
French Conversation Hour
Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!
German Club at Pitt
Presenter: Riley Hesbacher
Join the German Club on Wednesdays during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice German speaking and listening skills.
Serving Polish Pittsburgh: The Sztark Family, 1930s-1940s
Location: 4130 Posvar Hall
In the interwar period, a Polish Consulate served Pittsburgh's sizeable population with Polish roots. The last consul before the Second World War was Heliodor Sztark, who came to Pittsburgh in 1938, together with his wife, Aniela and their younger daughter Nina. All three became active public figures within the Polish community, the city of Pittsburgh, and Pitt. After the war, Heliodor resigned from his post because he did not agree with the new Polish government.
The family settled in Texas, where they started a new life under very difficult conditions. Their older daughter remained in Poland, but stayed in close contact with the US branch of the family.
The talk will focus on the Sztark family's trajectory before, during, and after their stay in Pittsburgh. Based on material from the Pittsburgh Polish newspaper "Pittsburczanin," interviews with descendants, and documents from archives in the US, Poland, and Germany, Professor Jan Musekamp will demonstrate how an East Central European family navigated realities in independent and wartime Poland, and the Cold War United States.
Linkedin and 30-Seconds Elevator Pitch
Location: 4310 Posvar Hall (CUE)
Whether you're a seasoned professional or a Freshman just starting out, having a concise and compelling elevator pitch is essential in today's fast-paced world. An elevator pitch is a brief overview of your background, experience, and goals that you can deliver in the time it might take to ride an elevator - typically 30 seconds or less.
Tuesday, March 25th, 2025
French Conversation Hour
Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!
Studying Frank Lloyd Wright's Architectural Drawings
Presenter: Cosimo Monteleone
Location: 202 Frick Fine Arts
Frank Lloyd Wright imposed his work to international prominence as a paragon of cutting-edge architecture, becoming a symbol of an entire nation: the United States. In the same way Wright established a new graphic style, an eloquent way to represent architecture that can be considered as an exclusive expression of American culture. This study analyses Wright’s architectural drawings as a specific production that, even if complementary to his better-known design, radiates its own artistic and architectural value.
Cosimo Monteleone is currently an Associate Professor in Representation of Architecture and Descriptive Geometry at the University of Padua (IT). He has been awarded a Fulbright Distinguished Lecturer at the University of Pittsburgh (PA, USA). He is the author of a site-specific anamorphic installation entitled Rainbow at the Museo della Città, Palazzo dei Pio, Carpi (IT). He is a member of international research Visualizing Cities and Digital Bomarzo; indeed, his interest focuses also on digital humanities, stereotomy, geometrical analysis and virtual reconstruction of architecture, digital survey (lidar and photogrammetry), 3D modeling (CAD, BIM), virtual reality and augmented reality, 3D prototyping, file to factory processes, and parametric surfaces for design. He is also author of some books such as Riflessi. Specchi d’anima e d’immagine; Frank Lloyd Wright. Geometria e astrazione nel Guggenheim Museum; La prospettiva di Daniele Barbaro. Note critiche e trascrizione del manoscritto It. IV, 39=5446; Daniele Barbaro’s Perspective of 1568.
Spring 2025 Global Distinction Drop-In Hours
Presenter: Molly McSweeney
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!
Chat with Zharia
Are you an international student at Pitt looking to connect, or interested in connecting with international students? Stop by the Nook in the Global Hub on Tuesdays, between 2 and 4 pm during Spring semester, to chat with OIS Outreach Coordinator Zharia White from the Office of International Services!
Friday, March 21st, 2025
Qissa Pitt International Storytelling & Open Mic Night
Presenter: Molly McSweeney
The University Center for International Studies is excited to hold its first annual Qissa (story in Arabic), a celebration of heritage, culture, and personal experiences through storytelling. We invite all Pitt students to share your internationally-focused story using various creative forms and listen to others in this unique performance setting.
Expression and Empowerment in Contemporary German-Speaking Europe: Student Poster Presentations
Location: Alcoa Room (Barco 229)
Following the keynote address, the German students will present their original research that they conducted as part of completing their capstone seminar.
There will be food and light refreshments
Thursday, March 20th, 2025
Expression and Empowerment In Contemporary German-Speaking Europe: Kick-Off/Film Night
Location: Frick Fine Arts Auditorium
Film: ELBOW Ellbogen
Film is about a girl named Hazal, who is 17 and lives in Berlin. Her biggest wish is to be given a chance. For her 18th birthday she wants to escape the everyday grind and party with her friends. But a fatal incident changes everything. Hazal is forced to flee.
Asli Ozarslan-Kroenlein
Profession: Writer, Director
Country: Germany
Director ASLI ÖZARSLAN (*1986, Berlin) studied theatre and media at the University of Bayreuth, philosophy at the Université Sorbonne IV in Paris and documentary film directing at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. INSEL 36 (2014) and her diploma film DIL LEYLA (2016) won numerous awards. With her current debut film project ELLBOGEN she was part of the Torino Film Lab and the mentoring programme Into The Wild.