This session focuses on the ancient tradition of pysanky (decorated eggs) in Ukraine. It discusses the history and process of making pysanky as well as the fascinating symbolism in the designs, tracing the change pysanky symbolism throughout cultural shifts in Ukraine. The session also introduces participants to digital resources on pysanky including sample lesson plans that show educators how they can use pysanky in a variety of classroom contexts.

This webinar is the fourth in a six-part webinar series, The Arts of Eastern Europe and Eurasia, designed to support K-14 educators in bringing the vibrant and diverse artistic traditions of Russia, Eastern Europe, and Eurasia into the classroom. Each 90-minute session will spotlight a different art form—including music, dance, literature, visual arts, cultural artifacts, and theater/film—offering both historical and cultural context as well as practical classroom strategies. Use the registration form to register for one or more of these events.

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

Hosted by the French Club

Are you interested in studying abroad in Greece this summer? Stop by the Posvar Global Hub on Wednesday, January 14th between 12pm and 1pm to meet with faculty and staff and discuss this amazing Panther Program opportunity!

Learn about the Nationality Room Scholarships and how to apply to support your global experiences this summer! Applications for graduate students are due February 15, 2026.

Learn more at www.nationalityrooms.pitt.edu/opportunities/scholarships.

Speakers include Kati Csoman, Director of the Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Programs, and Natasha Garrett, PhD, Assistant Director of Student Success and Global Readiness.

Lunch is provided.

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

Hosted by the French Club

Are you interested in learning more about Health & Culture in Bolivia, a Panther Program running in Summer 2026? Join us on Zoom for a virtual information session, where you can learn more about studying abroad in Bolivia, meet program leaders, ask your questions, and more! Zoom Link https://pitt.zoom.us/j/93999713566

Mangia con noi! Bring your lunch to the Global Hub every Thursday to chat with the Department of French and Italian and practice Italian!

Tavola Italiana will meet every Thursday during Spring semester, from January 15 to April 23, EXCEPT on January 29, February 5, February 12, and March 12.

Hosted by the Department of French and Italian

Are you interested in studying environmental sustainability and Native American culture and history this summer? Come by our virtual information session, where you can meet program faculty and staff, learn more, and ask all your questions about this amazing opportunity at the Pine Ridge Reservation in May 2026! Zoom Link: https://pitt.zoom.us/j/96545833295

Program in Film and Media Studies Spring 2026 Colloquium Series

This talk outlines an approach to writing a new history of early cinema in the Russian Empire, one that moves beyond the familiar canon, incorporates newly accessible archival materials, and draws on current film and media studies methods to revisit a body of work that remains understudied. Unlike many other early cinema traditions, early Russsian cinema still alcks a comprehensive history in English, and existing narrative depned heavily on a small group of canonical films by Evgeny Bauer and Piotr Chardynin, whiile many surviving titles and the much larger lost corpus receive very little or no attention. Using new archival findings alongside the recently launched Daydreams database, which brings together production data, plot summaries, personnel networks, and censorship records, I employ large-scale analysis of narrative patterns ("distant viewing") to trace broader trends, reconsider transnational contexts, and highlight the often-overlooked contributions of women in the industry. The goal is not the offer a definiitve account, but to suggest how reent evidence and methods may support a revised and more inclusive history of this period.

Join the Persian Table for its first meeting of the semester in the Global Hub, when students will have the chance to introduce themselves and get to know one another.

Hosted by the Persian Table

Hoping to study abroad this summer? Learn if/how you can use financial aid for your program before the January 20th application deadline! Hosted by Pitt Global Experiences & Office of Admissions & Financial Aid.

Join us for our weekly Global Distinction Drop-In Hours on Tuesdays from 3-4 pm in the Global Hub! Come learn how to gain experience that will help prepare you for a globally-connected job market, get the Global Distinction added to your academic transcript, receive special recognition at graduation, and stand out to prospective employers.

Join us for a follow-up conversation on how policies, displacement, and community response have shifted in 2025. Together, we'll reflect on what has changed since January, what has been unexpected or impactful, and what challenges and opportunities lie ahead.

This event will also explore how allies from all backgrounds can offer meaningful, sustained support. Whether you are directly affected or standing in solidarity, this is a space for reflection, connection, and collective support.

Sheila Vélez Martínez, Jack and Lovell Olender Professor of Asylum, Refugee and Immigration Law/Pitt
Mónica Méndez, Director of Programs, Latino Community Center
Nathan Harper, Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs Manager, City of Pittsburgh
Michael Goodhart, Professor, Political Science, University of Pittsburgh
Jaime Martinez, Community Defense Organizer, Casa San José
Moderator: Scott Morgenstern, Professor, Political Science, University of Pittsburgh

To register: https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/clas/content/clas-event-registration. This will be a hybrid event.
The Zoom link will be provided to registered online participants at a later date.
For in-person participants, refreshments will be provided.

Sponsors: The Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS), the Center for Ethnic Studies Research (CESR), the Global Studies Center (GSC) at the University of Pittsburgh, the Latin American Cultural Center (LACC), and the Center for Applied Research on Targeted Violence (Pitt/CMU).

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

Hosted by the French Club

The Global Appalachian Reading Group for Spring 2026 examines the complex intersections of regional identity, connectedness and disconnectedness to lived spaces, and environmental justice as they pertain to Appalachia and its connections to the wider world. Through thoughtful engagement with The Appalachian Trail by Philip D'Anieri, No Last Place to Rest by Dineo Skosana, and Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver, participants will explore the spaces that comprise and define Appalachia, reflect on the theme of dispossession within the context of Appalachia, and discuss global climate change through displaced species that find a home in Appalachia. This reading group invites participants to connect local narratives with global contexts, fostering deeper understanding and critical conversations about place, space, identity, sustainability, and the future of Appalachian communities.

The series theme is Spaces. Participation in all three events in the series is not required but encouraged. All events will take place from (please see dates below) 1:30-3:00pm (EST) in 4217 Posvar Hall. Copies of the books will be available in the Global Studies Center for local registrants to pick up. Please contact Veronica Dristas at dristas@pitt.edu with questions.

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

Hosted by the French Club

Join the Ukrainian Culture Club for a meeting in the Global Hub as they welcome new members and invite fellow students to join the club and embrace Ukrainian culture, language, and advocacy!

Mangia con noi! Bring your lunch to the Global Hub every Thursday to chat with the Department of French and Italian and practice Italian!

Tavola Italiana will meet every Thursday during Spring semester, from January 15 to April 23, EXCEPT on January 29, February 5, February 12, and March 12.

Hosted by the Department of French and Italian

Thinking about studying abroad? Interested in IES Abroad programs? Come by 810 William Pitt Union, meet an IES representative, and ask all your questions about studying abroad with IES!

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 .

Join Brazil Nuts in the Global Hub for weekly Bate-Papo Conversation Hours to meet other students and to practice Portuguese of all levels!

Bate-Papo Conversation Hours are every Monday during Spring semester, starting January 26 and ending April 20.

Hosted by Brazil Nuts

UPDATE: Bate-Papo's meeting on January 26 has been postponed due to weather.

Join the German Club for weekly meetings on Mondays in the Global Hub to practice German and share about German culture! 

Hosted by the German Club

Join us for our weekly Global Distinction Drop-In Hours on Tuesdays from 3-4 pm in the Global Hub! Come learn how to gain experience that will help prepare you for a globally-connected job market, get the Global Distinction added to your academic transcript, receive special recognition at graduation, and stand out to prospective employers.

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

Hosted by the French Club

This marks the beginning of our 2026 EU Film Festival. This year's theme: "Democracy, Community and (Space) Aliens!"

Spain
2024
Director: Dir. Albert Solé
Documentary, 54 MIN

A rare, behind-the-scenes look at how the EU navigates an increasingly chaotic geopolitical landscape. This documentary follows Josep Borrell through real-time diplomatic crises, revealing how global policy actually gets made.

A discussion after the documentary.

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

Hosted by the French Club

Join the Arabic Club in the Global Hub every other Wednesday during Spring semester, starting January 28, to practice Arabic language, structured by varying geographic dialects and level of speaker proficiency!

Hosted by the Arabic Club

Part of the Socialist Studies Seminar series 

During the Socialist Education campaign and Cultural Revolution, Communist Party in Xinjiang broke the previous promise of “No Struggle, No Division, No Classification of Classes” made to the pastoral regions in the early 1950s. Mao’s anti-capitalism, anti-Soviet revisionism, and Learn from Dazhai movement in combination led to a rapid pace of landscape transformation through constructing infrastructures such as water conservation, permanent stalls, and artificial grassland forage bases. Based on oral history interviews with the individuals and Party historical materials, Guldana Salimjan examines how land and labor transformation led to a second dismantlement of the Kazakh political structures and an emergence of grassland degradation on the steppe.

The Socialist Studies Seminar is co-sponsored by the Carnegie Mellon University Department of History and the University of Pittsburgh Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies. For further information, contact Wendy Goldman (goldman@andrew.cmu.edu) or Alissa Klots (alissaklots@pitt.edu).

Ukraine. Gaza. Venezuela. Greenland. NATO.

Discussions of the state of the international legal order fill our headlines and newsfeeds. They compel us to ask: what is happening to our world? The transatlantic relationship has provided the foundation of the International Legal Order for decades, but at this moment, that foundation seems to be crumbling.
Pause your podcasts and join in for a live discussion of where we are and where we are headed!

Ruth Bajada, Deputy Ambassador of the EU Delegation to the United States

Joined by:
Prof. Ronald Brand, Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg University Professor and Director of the Center for International Legal Education
Prof. Randall Halle, Klaus W. Jonas Professor and Director of the Jean Monnet EU Center of Excellence
Prof. Carissa Slotterback, Dean of the School of Public and International Affairs, Moderator

This event is part of the European Studies Center's lecture series The International Legal Order.

Ukraine. Gaza. Venezuela. Greenland. NATO.

Discussions of the state of the international legal order fill our headlines and newsfeeds. They compel us to ask: what is happening to our world? The transatlantic relationship has provided the foundation of the International Legal Order for decades, but at this moment, that foundation seems to be crumbling.
Pause your podcasts and join in for a live discussion of where we are and where we are headed!

Ruth Bajada, Deputy Ambassador, Head of the EU Delegation in Washington

Joined by:
Prof. Ronald Brand, Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg University Professor and Director of the Center for International Legal Education
Prof. Randall Halle, Klaus W. Jonas Professor and Director of the Jean Monnet EU Center of Excellence
Prof. Carissa Slotterback, Dean of the School of Public and International Affairs, Moderator

This event is part of the European Studies Center's lecture series The International Legal Order.

Pitt students: Join Kya Baat Hai, a Hindi-Urdu conversational club that practices language and celebrates South Asian culture, for weekly conversation hours!

2026 EU Film Festival: Democracy, Community and (Space) Aliens!

Czech Republic
2024
Director: Rudolf Havlik
Sci-Fi, 109 MIN

Strange happenings in a quiet Moravian village spark an offbeat alien mystery no one is prepared for. Campy, charming, and deeply European, this sci-fi romp asks what happens when your weirdest neighbor might actually be from space. Come to our feature screening for your space alien swag!

This talk examines how Islamic lifeworlds are governed, reshaped, and sustained on the Sino–Kazakh borderland. Drawing on ethnography, Kazakh oral histories, Han settler literature, and state gazetteers, I show that state governance in its western borderland has relied on settlement, enclosure, and racialized control across ideologically distinct eras. I also trace how Kazakh religiosity—lived through embodied rituals, ancestral relations, and active remembering of sacred landscapes—shifts and persists despite secular developmental regimes. By foregrounding these contested memory politics over land and belonging, this talk extends the critical scholarship on religious governance in China to global histories of settler colonialism, secular power, and cosmological dispossession.

Guldana Salimjan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Historical and Cultural Studies and the Department for the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto. She is an interdisciplinary scholar of East and Inner Asia who uses historical and anthropological method to study the intersection of borderland, religion, memory, gender, and environment.

2026 EU Film Festival: Democracy, Community and [Space] Aliens!

France
2024
Director: Julie Delpy
Comedy/Drama, 101 MIN

When a French village accidentally welcomes the “wrong” refugee family, their assumptions get turned upside down. Julie Delpy’s warm, funny dramedy asks who the real barbarians are when fear meets humanity.

*Free Admission with University and College ID
*Free to Pitt ID for Faculty and Staff

2026 EU Film Festival: Democracy, Community and (Space) Aliens!

Latvia
2024
Director: Dāvis Sīmanis
Historical Drama, 104 MIN

A Latvian actress enters Stalin’s USSR seeking her grandchild and finds herself trapped inside a machinery of terror. This gripping historical drama exposes the everyday innocence shattered by ideology and violence.

2026 European Film Festival (EUFF): Democracy, Community and (Space) Aliens!

Poland
2025
Director: Bartek Paduch
Drama, 97 MIN

A Polish cop uncovers a disturbing case that pulls him into a web of secrets uncomfortably close to home. Tense and tightly wound, it’s a European thriller with emotional stakes that hit universally.

Free Admission with University and College ID
Free to Pitt ID for Faculty and Staff

2026 EU Film Festival: Democracy, Community and (Space) Aliens!

Germany
2024
Director: Doris Metz
Documentary, 104 MIN

Looking for a politician of stature in a moment of dramatic political change? As a founding member of the Green Party, Petra Kelly played a decisive part in shaping political discourse in West Germany in the 1980s.

*Free Admission with University and College ID
*Free to Pitt ID for Faculty and Staff

2026 European Film Festival (EUFF): Democracy, Community and (Space) Aliens!

Hungary
2023
Director: Katalin Moldovia
Drama, 105 MIN

A Hungarian literature teacher faces a moral and political firestorm after recommending a film about queer poets. This timely drama captures the pressure of censorship, fear, and courage in a community on edge.

*Free Admission with University and College ID
*Free to Pitt ID for Faculty and Staff

Join Hindi instructor Vibha Shetiya from the Less-Commonly-Taught-Languages Center to discuss Hindi language books.

Hosted by the Less-Commonly-Taught-Languages Center

Join Brazil Nuts in the Global Hub for weekly Bate-Papo Conversation Hours to meet other students and to practice Portuguese of all levels!

Bate-Papo Conversation Hours are every Monday during Spring semester, starting January 26 and ending April 20.

Hosted by Brazil Nuts

UPDATE: Bate-Papo's meeting on January 26 has been postponed due to weather.

Join the German Club for weekly meetings on Mondays in the Global Hub to practice German and share about German culture! 

Hosted by the German Club

Are you interested in a Pitt-Recognized Program this summer? Come by the Global Experiences Office to meet with a representative from AIFS and ask all your questions about their programs!

Join us for our weekly Global Distinction Drop-In Hours on Tuesdays from 3-4 pm in the Global Hub! Come learn how to gain experience that will help prepare you for a globally-connected job market, get the Global Distinction added to your academic transcript, receive special recognition at graduation, and stand out to prospective employers.

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

Hosted by the French Club

This webinar is the fifth in a six-part series, The Arts of Eastern Europe and Eurasia, designed to help K-14 educators integrate Russian, Eurasian, and Eastern European arts into their classrooms. It explores the influential and enduring role of theater in this region, where theatergoing remains an ordinary, affordable, and deeply valued cultural practice. From the collapse of empires during World War I to the repressions of the Communist era, and from the transformations of a globalized Europe to Russia’s ongoing war against a NATO- and EU-aligned neighbor, theater has consistently served as a resilient artistic and political force. Led by Dr. Alisa Ballard Lin, the session highlights several theatrical productions that reveal the dynamic intersection of art and politics over the past century. Each production has been selected for its accessibility and pedagogical value, with translated plays, photographs, video materials, and scholarly commentary readily available for classroom use.

Please join us for an engaging and practical session filled with insights, resources, and inspiration for bringing the rich theatrical traditions of Eastern Europe into your teaching.

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

Hosted by the French Club

Join the Ukrainian Culture Club for a meeting in the Global Hub as they welcome new members and invite fellow students to join the club and embrace Ukrainian culture, language, and advocacy!

2026 EU Film Festival: Democracy, Community and (Space) Aliens!

A bold selection of experimental works exploring how cinema, the internet, and memory collide. These shorts push the boundaries of the video essay form, inviting viewers into an inventive new mode of storytelling.

About the Director: https://lehogalibertlaine.com/

Pitt students: Join Kya Baat Hai, a Hindi-Urdu conversational club that practices language and celebrates South Asian culture, for weekly conversation hours!

This two-day symposium will forge new lines of inquiry and dialogue in the study of sound and society under state socialism. Scholars from history, music, literature, film, and media studies will share recent work on regions of the globe from the Caribbean to East Asia where the revolutionary reshaping of political and social relations has had far-reaching effects on the way people hear the world around them. In the course of the conference, we will ask: how are political ideologies made audible? What are the material conditions, media networks, and sensory attunements that underpin state control of the means of sound production? And what might a “socialist sound studies” look or sound like? 

Recent decades have witnessed a “sonic turn” across the humanities and social sciences, as sound is increasingly recognized as a generative resource for historical, aesthetic, and ethnographic research. In keeping with sound’s unruly capacity for bleeding through walls and bridging distances between people and places, this gathering will encourage conversations across regional and disciplinary boundaries. While the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China continue to play outsize roles in our understanding of state-socialist political formations, there is much to be heard in the transnational, peripheral, and intermedial spaces in which socialist ideas have flourished. 

The symposium will include panels featuring eight invited speakers, commentary from University of Pittsburgh faculty, and a keynote address by Andrea Bohlman, Associate Professor of Music at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Co-sponsored by:

Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies | Department of Music | Department of History | Department of Slavic Languages & Literatures | World History Center | European Studies Center | Global Studies Center | Asian Studies Center | Center for African Studies | Department of History of Art & Architecture | Department of English

2026 EU Film Festival: Democracy, Community and (Space) Aliens!

France, Benin, and Senegal
2024
Director: Mati Diop
Documentary, 68 MIN

As 26 stolen royal treasures finally return home from France to Benin, the objects themselves narrate a story of colonialism and reclamation. Mati Diop’s Golden Bear–winning documentary sparks a vibrant debate about history, democracy, and the future of cultural memory.

Group Discussion to follow the screening of the film.

Keynote Address for Auditory Cultures of World Socialism Symposium

Festivals of international friendship with their eroticized and racialized soundscapes, bootleg recordings of music from abroad, oral histories and testimonies—these are canonic sites for socialist worldmaking through sound, familiar vehicles for articulating or contesting visions of global collectivity. Yet they all cast listening and sound as vectors of thinking big. In this talk, I turn to the sound archives of world socialism with an ear for the intimate, small-scale, and particular. How can we attune ourselves to the global inequalities, insurgencies of class politics, and moments of transnational (im)mobility that complicate the media narratives inherited from the Cold War? Drawing on anthropologist Marina Peterson’s “glitch methodology” for the study of audio recording, I suggest modes for thinking of literal broken records, erased tapes, and quiet in the archive as constitutive elements of world socialisms’ sonic commons.

An associate professor of music at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Andrea Bohlman studies the political stakes of music making and sound in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Much of Bohlman’s work builds on her expertise in music in East Central Europe, cultures of protest, and everyday histories of sound recording. Her 2020 monograph, Musical Solidarities: Political Action and Music in Late Twentieth-Century Poland, grows out of a decade of research on the work of sound and music for the opposition to state socialism in Poland. Bohlman is currently writing a book, provisionally titled Rewind: Tape Recording, Sound Knowledge, and the Threads of History, 2020–1936, that is in many senses a backwards history of tape recording. The book unspools a constellation of tape archives to query histories of unstable listening.

Final Day of the 2026 EU Film Festival: Democracy, Community and [Space] Aliens!

First Film:
Teen Angst
Ukraine
2025
Director: Inga Pylypchuk
Documentary, 37 MIN
Nine young Ukrainian women document life in a war zone with honesty, humor, fear, and resilience. Their collaborative desktop film captures what coming-of-age looks like when the world is on fire.

2nd Film: Kyiv Theater, Island of Hope
France/Ukraine
2024
Director: Duccio Bellugi-Vannuccini & Thomas Briat
Documentary, 110 MIN

A legendary French theater director brings a workshop to wartime Kyiv, igniting a creative refuge amid destruction. The film celebrates the power of performance and the unshakeable spirit of Ukrainian artists.

Final Day of the 2026 EU Film Festival: Democracy, Community and [Space] Aliens!

Teen Angst
Ukraine/Germany
2025
Director: Inga Pylypchuk
Documentary, 37 MIN
Nine young Ukrainian women document life in a war zone with honesty, humor, fear, and resilience. Their collaborative desktop film captures what coming-of-age looks like when the world is on fire.

2nd Film: Kyiv Theater, Island of Hope
France/Ukraine
2024
Director: Duccio Bellugi-Vannuccini & Thomas Briat
Documentary, 110 MIN

A legendary French theater director brings a workshop to wartime Kyiv, igniting a creative refuge amid destruction. The film celebrates the power of performance and the unshakeable spirit of Ukrainian artists.

Join Brazil Nuts in the Global Hub for weekly Bate-Papo Conversation Hours to meet other students and to practice Portuguese of all levels!

Bate-Papo Conversation Hours are every Monday during Spring semester, starting January 26 and ending April 20.

Hosted by Brazil Nuts

UPDATE: Bate-Papo's meeting on January 26 has been postponed due to weather.

Join the German Club for weekly meetings on Mondays in the Global Hub to practice German and share about German culture! 

Hosted by the German Club

Join the Persian Table for a game night in the Global Hub!

In 2020, a wave of protests broke out in Thailand. Calling for political and royal reform, the youth-led movements challenged the status quo with open criticism of the monarchy and popular mobilization against the military-backed government. Among the masses of protesters, saffron robes became a distinct part of the movement as monks and novices, lovingly dubbed the "carrot gang", joined the rallies, raising a defiant slogan “Give Back Our Brows” to critique state and social interference into the code of monastic discipline. In doing so, the carrot gang made a case that political and monastic reform are inseparable, breaking with longstanding expectations that position monastics above the “polluted” realm of politics. This talk attends to the political participation and practices of these monastic youths, exploring the tension between institutional demands for obedience and emerging monastic political consciousness, the ways these young monastics resisted mechanisms of both religious and state control, and the state's response to their transgression of expected political neutrality. I argue that the activism undertaken by monastic youths is not an isolated moment of defiance but an instance of monastic ungovernability, the persistent forms of resistance that challenge state control over the sangha in Thailand. While the sangha has been subordinated under state control through legal and political mechanisms since the early twentieth century, there remains enduring political consciousness and spaces of disobedience within the sangha regarding questions of autonomy, status, and representation. By examining this youth activism as a form of monastic ungovernability, this talk demonstrates how the sangha has always been a contested site of political authority rather than a sphere insulated from political struggle. Such attention reveals a longer history of politically engaged Thai Buddhism that disrupts assumptions framing Buddhism as inherently apolitical and rigidly separating the worldly from the otherworldly.

Biography: Prakirati Satasut is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Thammasat University, where he specializes in anthropology of religion and Thai politics. He received his Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2019), where his dissertation examined monastic activism and state-sangha relations in post-coup Thailand. His research explores how Buddhism intersects with law, politics, and state power, with particular attention to questions of religious authority, political participation, and legal control of the sangha. As a 2025-2026 Visiting Scholar at the Harvard-Yenching Institute, he is conducting research on Buddhist protectionism in Thailand, tracing its historical development and analyzing its contemporary expressions through debates over monastic autonomy and whose responsibility it is to safeguard Buddhism, as well as through ethnographic fieldwork on monastic political mobilization.

Join us for our weekly Global Distinction Drop-In Hours on Tuesdays from 3-4 pm in the Global Hub! Come learn how to gain experience that will help prepare you for a globally-connected job market, get the Global Distinction added to your academic transcript, receive special recognition at graduation, and stand out to prospective employers.

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

Hosted by the French Club

Join the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures for an information session about scholarship opportunities to support Pitt undergraduate students' study abroad at NTNU.

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

Hosted by the French Club

Join the Arabic Club in the Global Hub every other Wednesday during Spring semester, starting January 28, to practice Arabic language, structured by varying geographic dialects and level of speaker proficiency!

Hosted by the Arabic Club

Join the Center for African Studies on Thursdays to practice conversational Swahili in a social environment.

Pitt students: Join Kya Baat Hai, a Hindi-Urdu conversational club that practices language and celebrates South Asian culture, for weekly conversation hours!

Black history? A bake off? What could be better!? Join us for Douglass Day at the University of Pittsburgh on Friday, February 13th from 12-4 PM in the Digital Scholarship Lab (Hillman Library G30). Douglass Day celebrates Frederick Douglass’s chosen birthday (Valentine’s Day) and represents an opportunity to discover and contribute to Black history by transcribing historical documents. This year, we will virtually join the national Douglass Day broadcast from and collaborate to transcribe material from the Colored Conventions Project!

All materials necessary for transcription will be provided by Pitt’s Douglass Day, though you are welcome to bring your own laptop!

If you wish to compete in the Douglass Day Bake Off, bring sweets to share or post a photo on social media using #DouglassDay! Ultimately, Douglass Day serves as a reminder that Black history is American history, so join us on February 13th to transcribe documents, learn about our history, and become part of it by participating in Douglass Day at Pitt!

For more information on Douglass Day or to participate virtually, visit douglassday.org

Join Pitt's Asian Studies Center in celebrating the Lunar New Year! We will welcome in the year of the Fire Horse with dumplings and a thematic craft! All are welcome and we hope to see you there!

Ryka Aoki, author of Hugo Award nominated Light from Uncommon Stars, is a Japanese American writer and teacher from Southern California. Her works also include poetry collections like Seasonal Velocities and Why Dust Shall Never Settle Upon This Soul. With a degree in chemistry, Aoki spent a year working in a lab before pursuing her master's degree in creative writing at Cornell University. As a transgender woman she is also an incredible advocate, often engaging in activities to create safe spaces within the performance arts for transgender people.

She will be joining Aquarias on Feburary 15th to answer questions and talk about her experiences in writing and in life! This event is co-sponsored with the Asian Studies Center and the University Library System.

Join Hindi instructor Vibha Shetiya from the Less-Commonly-Taught-Languages Center to discuss Hindi language books.

Hosted by the Less-Commonly-Taught-Languages Center

Join Brazil Nuts in the Global Hub for weekly Bate-Papo Conversation Hours to meet other students and to practice Portuguese of all levels!

Bate-Papo Conversation Hours are every Monday during Spring semester, starting January 26 and ending April 20.

Hosted by Brazil Nuts

UPDATE: Bate-Papo's meeting on January 26 has been postponed due to weather.

Join the German Club for weekly meetings on Mondays in the Global Hub to practice German and share about German culture! 

Hosted by the German Club

Join us for our weekly Global Distinction Drop-In Hours on Tuesdays from 3-4 pm in the Global Hub! Come learn how to gain experience that will help prepare you for a globally-connected job market, get the Global Distinction added to your academic transcript, receive special recognition at graduation, and stand out to prospective employers.

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

Hosted by the French Club

The Global Appalachian Reading Group for Spring 2026 examines the complex intersections of regional identity, connectedness and disconnectedness to lived spaces, and environmental justice as they pertain to Appalachia and its connections to the wider world. Through thoughtful engagement with The Appalachian Trail by Philip D'Anieri, No Last Place to Rest by Dineo Skosana, and Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver, participants will explore the spaces that comprise and define Appalachia, reflect on the theme of dispossession within the context of Appalachia, and discuss global climate change through displaced species that find a home in Appalachia. This reading group invites participants to connect local narratives with global contexts, fostering deeper understanding and critical conversations about place, space, identity, sustainability, and the future of Appalachian communities.

The series theme is Spaces. Participation in all three events in the series is not required but encouraged. All events will take place from (please see dates below) 1:30-3:00pm (EST) in 4217 Posvar Hall. Copies of the books will be available in the Global Studies Center for local registrants to pick up. Please contact Veronica Dristas at dristas@pitt.edu with questions.

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

Hosted by the French Club

Join the Ukrainian Culture Club for a meeting in the Global Hub as they welcome new members and invite fellow students to join the club and embrace Ukrainian culture, language, and advocacy!

Ten Pitt Model African Union members will represent Algeria at the 2026 International Model African Union conference and visit the Embassies of Algeria and Mozambique in Washington, DC.

Mangia con noi! Bring your lunch to the Global Hub every Thursday to chat with the Department of French and Italian and practice Italian!

Tavola Italiana will meet every Thursday during Spring semester, from January 15 to April 23, EXCEPT on January 29, February 5, February 12, and March 12.

Hosted by the Department of French and Italian

Join the Center for African Studies on Thursdays to practice conversational Swahili in a social environment.

**This event was originally scheduled for January 29, but it has been postponed to February 19 due to weather.**

Join us for a conversation with Pitt students who have participated in diverse experiential learning opportunities. Hear what inspired them, how these experiences helped internationalize their degrees, and the impact on their personal, academic, and professional growth. Facilitated by Dr. Abdesalam Soudi, this session will include audience engagement to share experiences and explore ways to get involved. Students, faculty, and administrators alike are invited to contribute to this dialogue on enriching experiential global learning.

Pitt undergraduate students can earn Global Distinction credit for attending.

A light lunch will be served. Attendees are encouraged to bring a refillable water bottle.

Moderator:
- Dr. Abdesalam Soudi - Teaching Associate Professor, Department of Linguistics; Dean's Fellow for Experiential Learning (ExL @ Pitt), Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences

Panelists:
- Leyla Ahmadova - Undergraduate student double majoring in Economics and Statistics, Global Studies Certificate in Politics and Economy
- Isabella Cicco - Ph.D. student, Civil Engineering
- Alison Gibbons - B.S., Public Health, Class of 2025
- Avni Prabhu - Undergraduate student double majoring in Microbiology and Economics, Chemistry minor

Co-Sponsors:
- University Center for International Studies
- Pitt Global Hub
- Pitt Global Studies Center
- Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation
- Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences

Part of the Socialist Studies Seminar series 

Hirsh Reles, the "last native Yiddish-writer in Belarus," produced a large oeuvre in Yiddish, Belarusian, and Russian. His Yiddish-language works give vivid accounts of the remnants of Jewish life and cutlure in postwar Belarus. Reles tells the stories of those who survived genocide and war and live in a region—the former Pale of Jewish Settlement—that has been shaped by imperial and Soviet natioanlity policies, moderniztaion, and postwar efforts to rebuild. This paper, part of a book project on the legacies of World War II and the Holocaust in Belarus, introduces Reles' work and proposes a reading attentive to the temporal and spatial dimensions of literary production and historical memory. 

The Socialist Studies Seminar is co-sponsored by the Carnegie Mellon University Department of History and the University of Pittsburgh Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies. For further information, contact Wendy Goldman (goldman@andrew.cmu.edu) or Alissa Klots (alissaklots@pitt.edu).

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 workshop for February 19, 2026 will focus on the book, "Messy Roots," by Laura Gao.

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

Pitt students: Join Kya Baat Hai, a Hindi-Urdu conversational club that practices language and celebrates South Asian culture, for weekly conversation hours!

Join Brazil Nuts in the Global Hub for weekly Bate-Papo Conversation Hours to meet other students and to practice Portuguese of all levels!

Bate-Papo Conversation Hours are every Monday during Spring semester, starting January 26 and ending April 20.

Hosted by Brazil Nuts

UPDATE: Bate-Papo's meeting on January 26 has been postponed due to weather.

Join Dr. Maci as she examines live virtual guided tours as an emerging communicative practice in tourism, showing how language and digital technologies intersect to foster interaction, craft compelling storytelling, and engage audiences in new and dynamic ways.

About the speaker:
Dr. Stefania Maci is a full professor of English Language, Linguistics and Translation at the University of Bergamo, where she is also chair of the Master's Degree Course in Text Science and Culture Enhancement in the Digital Age.
Her research focuses on the analysis of English used in academic settings, with particular emphasis on English for tourism, medical English and the construction of (professional) identity in national, international and professional contexts. She also works on AI and LLMs, with an approach based on Corpus Linguistics and Critical Discourse Studies.
Her most recent publications are The Routledge Handbook of Scientific Communication (2022), The Routledge Handbook of Discourse and Disinformation (2023), and Translating Tourism (2025)

This event is part of the SPRING 2026: Transformation of Place

Join the German Club for weekly meetings on Mondays in the Global Hub to practice German and share about German culture! 

Hosted by the German Club

In March 1974, Lt. Onoda Hiroo emerged from the jungle on the Philippine island of Lubang, where he had been hiding for almost three decades after the end of the Pacific War. He immediately became a worldwide media sensation as an exemplar of samurai-like devotion to duty. Moved by his story and the tragedy of a life wasted for a fruitless war, jazz composer Toshiko Akiyoshi dedicated a composition to him. Entitled “Kogun” (lone soldier), the piece drew on thematic and narrative elements of medieval nō theater, situated within a jazz orchestral setting, to highlight this tragedy, thereby bringing to fruition her desire to create a seamless “blend” (yūgō) of Japanese music and the jazz idiom. This presentation also blends conventional cultural historical and musical analysis to argue for the landmark status of “Kogun” within jazz history.

E. Taylor Atkins is Distinguished Teaching Professor of History at Northern Illinois University. His major publications include Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabackin Big Band’s Kogun (2024); A History of Popular Culture in Japan, From the Seventeenth Century to the Present (second edition, 2022); Primitive Selves: Koreana in the Japanese Colonial Gaze, 1910-1945 (2010); Jazz Planet (editor, 2003); and Blue Nippon: Authenticating Jazz in Japan (2001), winner of the Association for Asian Studies’ John Whitney Hall Prize. He also plays bass for the Jazz in Progress Big Band and the Wild Blue Ukulele Orchestra and produces and hosts House of Funk on Hot Rocks Radio.

A lively conversation capped off with a Pittsburgh‑style food fest!
Pittsburgh has long been a “melting pot” city. The people who
powered the steel mills also filled the city with music, food,
dance, and rich traditions.
Celebrate the city’s heritage – and keep those traditions alive!
• Catch the energy of Greek dance performers
• Watch ethnic craft traditions come to life
• Discover Pittsburgh’s legacy as a jazz capital
• Learn about, and snack on, iconic Pittsburgh foods

Registration is appreciated but not required: www.duq.edu/Labriola

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

Hosted by the French Club

Are you interested in participating in a WorldStrides study abroad program? Come by the Global Experiences Office on 2/25 between 10am - 3pm to meet with a representative from WorldStrides and ask your questions!

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

Hosted by the French Club

Join the Arabic Club in the Global Hub every other Wednesday during Spring semester, starting January 28, to practice Arabic language, structured by varying geographic dialects and level of speaker proficiency!

Hosted by the Arabic Club

Mangia con noi! Bring your lunch to the Global Hub every Thursday to chat with the Department of French and Italian and practice Italian!

Tavola Italiana will meet every Thursday during Spring semester, from January 15 to April 23, EXCEPT on January 29, February 5, February 12, and March 12.

Hosted by the Department of French and Italian

Join the Center for African Studies on Thursdays to practice conversational Swahili in a social environment.

Celebrate 100 years of the University of Pittsburgh’s Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Program (NRIEP) with the grand opening of two new exhibits at the University of Pittsburgh Library System’s Hillman Library!

Read the Room! Uncovering the Italian Room's Transnational Traces, curated by Dr. Lina Insana, Associate Professor in the Department of French and Italian, and students in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences.

The Women Behind the Walls, curated by Joanna Conings, PhD candidate in the Department of French and Italian.

This milestone event honors a century of global understanding and cultural exchange fostered by the NRIEP at the University of Pittsburgh. Hear remarks from key partners in NRIEP and the University Library System (ULS) and explore rare and unique materials in ULS’s University Archives that document the history of these iconic rooms.

Visit the exhibits in the Hyland Gallery from February 2026- September 2026. For more details about these displays, visit https://www.nationalityrooms.pitt.edu/events/history-program-archives-sp... and https://library.pitt.edu/asc-exhibits.

For more information about the Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs Centennial celebration and related events across the University, visit https://www.nationalityrooms.pitt.edu/100years.

Hosted by the University of Pittsburgh Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Program and University Library System.

Please let us know if you require an accommodation in order to participate in this event. Accommodations may include live captioning, ASL interpreters, and/or captioned media and accessible documents from recorded events. At least 5 days in advance is recommended.

Pitt students: Join Kya Baat Hai, a Hindi-Urdu conversational club that practices language and celebrates South Asian culture, for weekly conversation hours!

Are you planning to study abroad? Are you a first time traveler? Come by 810 William Pitt Union to hear from Pitt GEO Staff members about helpful tips when preparing for your program!

Celebrate Spring! Learn about the centuries-old tradition of Martisor and make your own! Martisor is an old Romanian tradition celebrated on March 1 by gifting a red and white string attached to a small trinket or flower. Presented by the Romanian Nationality Room in association with the University of Pittsburgh's Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs.

Join us on Sunday, March 1, 2026, from 1:00 - 4:00pm in the Croghan-Schenley Room and Romanian Nationality Room, Cathedral of Learning, First Floor. 

Join Hindi instructor Vibha Shetiya from the Less-Commonly-Taught-Languages Center to discuss Hindi language books.

Hosted by the Less-Commonly-Taught-Languages Center

Join Brazil Nuts in the Global Hub for weekly Bate-Papo Conversation Hours to meet other students and to practice Portuguese of all levels!

Bate-Papo Conversation Hours are every Monday during Spring semester, starting January 26 and ending April 20.

Hosted by Brazil Nuts

UPDATE: Bate-Papo's meeting on January 26 has been postponed due to weather.

Join the German Club for weekly meetings on Mondays in the Global Hub to practice German and share about German culture! 

Hosted by the German Club

Join us for our weekly Global Distinction Drop-In Hours on Tuesdays from 3-4 pm in the Global Hub! Come learn how to gain experience that will help prepare you for a globally-connected job market, get the Global Distinction added to your academic transcript, receive special recognition at graduation, and stand out to prospective employers.

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

Hosted by the French Club

How does art preserve memory, sustain cultural heritage, and shape national identity—especially during times of conflict?

This sixth and final webinar in The Arts of Eastern Europe and Eurasia: A Webinar Series for Educators explores how artistic expression functions as a living record of cultural memory. Through case studies from Russia, Ukraine, and the United States, we will examine how art and culture are mobilized as tools of influence, identity, and messaging, particularly in moments of war, political upheaval, and societal change.

Designed for K-14 educators, this session offers practical insights and classroom-ready materials that illuminate the power of memory, creativity, and cultural heritage in shaping both historical and contemporary narratives. Participants will also develop strategies to help students think critically, recognize disinformation, and better understand the intersections of art, identity, and politics.

Join students and their instructor Dr. Joyce Fetterman from the class PORT 1458 Cultures of the Portuguese-speaking World as the undergraduate students present posters about what they are learning in their class.

This event is in collaboration with the Global Hub, the Center for Latin American Studies, and the Department of Spanish and Portuguese.

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

Hosted by the French Club

Join the Arabic Club in the Global Hub every other Wednesday during Spring semester, starting January 28, to practice Arabic language, structured by varying geographic dialects and level of speaker proficiency!

Hosted by the Arabic Club

Mangia con noi! Bring your lunch to the Global Hub every Thursday to chat with the Department of French and Italian and practice Italian!

Tavola Italiana will meet every Thursday during Spring semester, from January 15 to April 23, EXCEPT on January 29, February 5, February 12, and March 12.

Hosted by the Department of French and Italian

Join the Center for African Studies on Thursdays to practice conversational Swahili in a social environment.

Pitt students: Join Kya Baat Hai, a Hindi-Urdu conversational club that practices language and celebrates South Asian culture, for weekly conversation hours!

This month, inspired by the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Refugee Convention, the series turns its attention to questions of migrant and refugee rights.

With more than 122 million people displaced worldwide in 2025, we face conditions we have not experienced since the end of World War II. Along with this record of people fleeing war and conflict, there are further millions who have set out to find a better life for themselves and their families.

Often classified as economic migrants, they are also subject to aggression in their new countries of residence: the ICE actions in the US represent currently the most visible backlash migrants confront worldwide.

Join in a discussion with experts in our community to consider where we are, who we are, and what we can do.

Moderator:
Randall Halle, Director of the European Studies Center

Panelists:
Anouar Rahmani, City of Asylum, is an Algerian novelist, journalist, and human rights defender whose literary work boldly challenges societal norms and advocates for freedom of expression, LGBTQ+ rights, and social justice.
Ankur Sakaria, Policy Manager, Mayor Corey O’Connor
Joseph Murphy, Esq., Allegheny Immigration Group
Rosamaria Criotello, Founder and Executive Director of the Latino Community Center

Euro Challenge is a competition about the currency and policies that shape the EU for 9th and 10th-grade students across the US. Student teams work on a presentation about the economics of the euro currency area and tackle a specific challenge faced by a member country. Students become policymakers, crafting solutions to a topical issue, and give a 15-minute presentation.

Join us for our weekly Global Distinction Drop-In Hours on Tuesdays from 3-4 pm in the Global Hub! Come learn how to gain experience that will help prepare you for a globally-connected job market, get the Global Distinction added to your academic transcript, receive special recognition at graduation, and stand out to prospective employers.

Are you curious about the real-world factors driving climate change and ready to explore how climate action policies influence energy prices, temperature, air quality, and sea level rise?

Join the Global Studies Center and the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation at the University of Pittsburgh for an interactive day of learning, debating, and negotiating at our EN-ROADS Climate Action Simulation!

Part of the Socialist Studies Seminar series 

The paper discusses the history of Iranian-Jewish activism in Iranian socialist and communist circles. Following the 1941 Anglo-Soviet occupation of Iran, the political sphere opened to all parties and tendencies. The Comunist Tudeh Party was formed adn became the only party in Iran that allowed non-Muslims to become members. Iranian Jews supported the party for many reasons, ranging from its positions against antisemitism and Nazism to its work for social justice and advancement. Jewish activism remained significant until the 1979 Revolution. This talk, focused on Iranian Jewish activism, will examine the intersection of Iranian nationalism, Communism, and Zionism.

The Socialist Studies Seminar is co-sponsored by the Carnegie Mellon University Department of History and the University of Pittsburgh Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies. For further information, contact Wendy Goldman (goldman@andrew.cmu.edu) or Alissa Klots (alissaklots@pitt.edu).

Join the Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs to commemorate the 1848 Hungarian Revolution.
Dr. Judit Trunkos, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Robert Morris University will talk about the importance of the 1848-1849 revolution in Hungary. A reading of the Nemzeti dal or "National Song", the patriotic poem written by Sándor Petőfi, will also be shared. A Hungarian Kokarda will be given to the first 10 guests.
A reception will be held following the program portion in the Frick Fine Arts Building Cloister.
The event is free and open to the public.

Join Brazil Nuts in the Global Hub for weekly Bate-Papo Conversation Hours to meet other students and to practice Portuguese of all levels!

Bate-Papo Conversation Hours are every Monday during Spring semester, starting January 26 and ending April 20.

Hosted by Brazil Nuts

UPDATE: Bate-Papo's meeting on January 26 has been postponed due to weather.

Join the German Club for weekly meetings on Mondays in the Global Hub to practice German and share about German culture! 

Hosted by the German Club

Join us for our weekly Global Distinction Drop-In Hours on Tuesdays from 3-4 pm in the Global Hub! Come learn how to gain experience that will help prepare you for a globally-connected job market, get the Global Distinction added to your academic transcript, receive special recognition at graduation, and stand out to prospective employers.

Taiwanese horror is a rising genre that has claimed an important space in Taiwanese popular culture, particularly in the video game industry since the debut of Detention in 2017. Video games associated with such aesthetics often incorporate elements of Taiwan's local religions, cultures, and mythologies. Furthermore, such horror is evoked not only by fear of the unknown, but also by the unsettling feeling of being forced to live under duress. Although mostly implicit, many Taiwanese horror games contain hints of historical references to the 228 Incident and the White Terror under Martial Law. Malevolent monsters and ghosts become physical incarnations of state-sanctioned violence perpetrated by perpetrators, dehumanized accomplices, and those who were arrested, executed, or silenced.

Chee-Hann Wu is an assistant professor faculty fellow in Theatre Studies at New York University. She received her Ph.D. in Drama and Theatre from the University of California, Irvine. Chee-Hann is drawn to the performance of, by, and with nonhumans, including but not limited to objects, puppets, ecology, and technology. Her current book project, provisionally titled The Unfinished Gesture: Puppetry, Memory, and the Becoming of Taiwan, considers puppetry a mediated means to narrate Taiwan’s cultural and sociopolitical development, colonial and postcolonial experiences, as well as Indigenous histories. Chee-Hann’s work has appeared in Puppetry International, Asian Theatre Journal, International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media, and other places. Her most recent research explores video games, VR, and artificial intelligence through the lens of theatre and performance. In addition to her scholarly work, Chee-Hann is the editor and a frequent contributor to Taiwan Insight, an online academic magazine of the University of Nottingham’s Taiwan Research Hub.

The Department of French and Italian are hosting a special Tavola Italiana event to advertise for Fall 2026 ITAL courses

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

Hosted by the French Club

Join lead curator Dr. Lina Insana, Associate Professor in the Department of French and Italian, for a gallery talk on the new exhibit, Read the Room! Uncovering the Italian Room's Transnational Traces.

This exhibit, co-curated by students in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences, showcases University Archives from the University of Pittsburgh Library System that document the transnational networks and economic class dynamics at play during the Room's development in the 1930s and 1940s. How did decisions made in Rome and Florence determine the Italian Room’s decorative style and use of materials? To what extent was the Italian immigrant and ethnic community in Pittsburgh involved in these decisions? And at what point did skilled manual labor intersect with philanthropic support and elite decision-makers to bring the Italian Room to completion? Attend this talk and visit the exhibit for answers to these questions and more.

Visit the Hyland Gallery to see this display between February 2026- September 2026. For more details, visit https://www.nationalityrooms.pitt.edu/events/history-program-archives-sp... and https://library.pitt.edu/asc-exhibits.

This exhibit and gallery talk are part of the Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs Centennial celebration. For more information about the Centennial and related events across the University, visit https://www.nationalityrooms.pitt.edu/100years.

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

Hosted by the French Club

Join the Arabic Club in the Global Hub every other Wednesday during Spring semester, starting January 28, to practice Arabic language, structured by varying geographic dialects and level of speaker proficiency!

Hosted by the Arabic Club

Join curator Joanna Conings, PhD candidate in the Department of French and Italian, for a gallery talk on the new exhibit, The Women Behind the Walls!

This exhibit is dedicated to uncovering the hidden labor and “affective diplomacies” through which women made the French Nationality Room at the University of Pittsburgh a reality, as evidenced in the University Archives at the University of Pittsburgh Library System. The Women Behind the Walls invites scholars and visitors alike to reconsider how personal agency and affective diplomacy shape, and are shaped by, our shared architectural legacies.

Visit the Hyland Gallery to see this display between February 2026 -September 2026. For more details, visit https://www.nationalityrooms.pitt.edu/events/history-program-archives-sp... and https://library.pitt.edu/asc-exhibits.

This exhibit and gallery talk are part of the Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs Centennial celebration. For more information about the Centennial and related events across the University, visit https://www.nationalityrooms.pitt.edu/100years.

Stop by the Global Hub to learn more about the Pitt Concern Connection (PCC), the University's 24/7 hotline for asking questions and raising concerns.

Mangia con noi! Bring your lunch to the Global Hub every Thursday to chat with the Department of French and Italian and practice Italian!

Tavola Italiana will meet every Thursday during Spring semester, from January 15 to April 23, EXCEPT on January 29, February 5, February 12, and March 12.

Hosted by the Department of French and Italian

Join the Center for African Studies on Thursdays to practice conversational Swahili in a social environment.

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 workshop for March 19, 2026 will focus on the book, "The Last Watchman of Old Cairo," by by Michael David Lukas.

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 .

Pitt students: Join Kya Baat Hai, a Hindi-Urdu conversational club that practices language and celebrates South Asian culture, for weekly conversation hours!

Documentary Premiere 100 Years of Sharing Stories of Regional Ethnic Communities Through Spaces that Inspire and Create Cultural Connections
A documentary film produced by Anthem Video which exemplifies the Nationality Room and Intercultural Exchange Program's mission of sharing stories of regional ethnic communities past and present through inspirational spaces and intercultural experiences. The documentary is to tell the story of the program through various thematic approaches, such as reflections on the Nationality and Heritage Rooms & Program history; images of the future; scholarships/academics; multigenerational learning; evolving communities in the Pittsburgh region as reflected through the Nationality and Heritage Room Committees; identity through creative expression – intercultural programming through the Nationality and Heritage Room Committees; and spaces as expressions of identity.

Free tickets can be obtained by registering at the EventBrite site.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nationality-rooms-and-intercultural-exchang...

The University of Pittsburgh's Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, the European Studies Center, and the Graduate Organization for the Study of Europe and Central Asia join Yale University's Macmillan Center to host the 2026 REEESNe Student Conference. This FREE student conference will bring together undergraduate and Master's-level students from the northeast and beyond. The event will feature panels of student research papers, roundtables for presenting student experiences (study abroad, internships, volunteering, etc.), and a professionalization panel with alumni, who apply REEES expertise in a diversity of careers.

Application Deadline: December 12, 2025

India has the world’s largest and most diverse population in terms of cultural traditions, languages, and religious affiliation. Since gaining independence from Britain in 1947, the country has been governed on the basis of democratic principles and the rule of law. A robust structure of political contestation at state and national levels has produced representative governance anchored in an independent electoral process that is highly regarded, the world over, as exemplary. To support India’s elected governments, the country has an extremely well-established educational infrastructure that produces state, national, and foreign service administrators.

Bringing together two highly regarded public intellectuals with deep experience in Indian politics and administration, this panel discussion focuses on democracy in India today and on the challenges and opportunities that will shape its future.

Mr. Amitabh Kant is a retired 1980 batch Indian Administrative Service Officer who has served as India’s G20 Sherpa from 2022 to 2026. He has also served as CEO of NITI Aayog, a public policy Government of India think tank.

Mr. Yogendra Yadav is political activist, psephologist, and a founder of the Swaraj India party. From 2004 to 2016 he was Senior Fellow at Center for the Study of Developing Societies in Delhi. He is a former member of the University Grants Commission of the Government of India.

Commentary by Mr. Kant and Mr. Yadav will be followed by questions from Professor Joseph S. Alter, Professor TK Vinod Kumar and Professor Michael Kenney as well as from members of the audience.

This program is organized by the Asian Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh with co-sponsorship and support from the Matthew B. Ridgway Center for International Security Studies the Center for Governance and Markets and ANKUR the Indian Graduate Student’s Association.

IT'S BACK. The Palaver is returning for its second edition!

Join African students and faculty for an epic round-table hangout on Friday, March 20, 4–6 PM at 4165 Posvar Hall.
Swap stories. Share laughs. Dive into real talk about academics, careers, and everything in between. Whether you're looking for mentorship, inspiration, or just a space to ask your burning questions; this is for YOU.

A graduate mentorship opportunity with a special focus on African and international students, but ALL are welcome!
Dinner will be served.

Register: https://forms.gle/VXWEcA6mmNAmokX96

In collaboration with the African Graduate Student Union (AGSU).

Celebrate Women's History Month by joining us for a conversation with inspiring women of the Balkan Community!

Featuring Dr. Deborah Studen-Pavlovich, DMD and Alema Galijatovic Idrizbegovic, PhD.

Sponsored by the Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs, Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies, and European Studies Center.

Yugoslav Room, CL 142

Celebrate Women's History Month by joining the Yugoslav Nationality Room for a conversation with inspiring women of the Balkan community!

Dr. Deborah Studen-Pavlovich, DMD, served as professor, chair, and residency program director of the Department of Pediatric Denistry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine. In this role, she oversaw all of the Department's curricula and activities, including the annual Give Kids A Smile Days. She graduated cum laude from Butler University in 1976 and received her DMD and certificate in pediatric denistry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine.

Dr. Alema Galijatovic Idrizbegovic, PhD, was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1991, she came to the United States as a high school exchange student in Gallatin, TN. After obtaining a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, she started her career at Merck & Co. in 2003, where she held several positions and reached her most recent post as the Vice President of the Nonclinical Drug Safety Department.

Research Presentations on the Nationality and Heritage Rooms
Saturday, March 21, 12 – 3 pm
Reception following in the Braun Room, 12th floor Cathedral of Learning

Affirmation & Erasure: Lessons from the Architecture of the Irish Room - 12:00 – 12:45 pm , Irish Room CL127
Presented by Lovemerry Illin, a December 2025 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies and a minor in Studio Arts. A recipient of the Mary Campbell Cross scholarship, Lovemerry conducted extensive archival research on the Irish Nationality Room, which funded a two-month unpaid internship at a preservation architecture firm in Dublin, Ireland. Her commitment to the field was recently recognized by the Young Preservationists Association (YPA) of Pittsburgh, where she was honored with the Dan Holland Promise Award for exemplary early-career work in Historic Preservation. Lovemerry currently interns with the YPA, managing finances and event programming, and plans to pursue a Master’s degree in Historic Preservation to continue her professional development in the stewardship of the built environment.

The Czechoslovak Nationality Room Collection: Archival Sorting, Digitization, and Hidden Gems - 1:00 - 1:45pm, Czechoslovak Room CL113
Presented by Liv Beckage, a graduate student of Library and Information Science at the University of Pittsburgh. Beckage hopes to combine her professional values of information access and archival stewardship alongside her passion for language learning and love of history in order to give back to the local community of Pittsburgh’s Czechs and Slovaks. Her presentation will center the recent work she did in sorting through the Czechoslovak Nationality Room Committee Collection for future digitization at Pitt’s Archives and Special Collections.

Women of the Italian Nationality Room - 2:00 – 2:45 pm, Italian Room CL116
Angel Cramer is currently a staff member at the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies at Pitt. She graduated in April 2025 with a History thesis entitled “Embracing an Italian (and) American Fascism: The Interwar Politics of Pittsburgh’s Italian American Prominenti, 1929–1941.” Motivated by her thesis work and prior research assistantship within the Italian Department, “Women of the Italian Nationality Room” is the fruit of further exploration of the Italian Nationality Room archives over this past summer.

Presented by Lovemerry Illin, a December 2025 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies and a minor in Studio Arts. A recipient of the Mary Campbell Cross scholarship, Lovemerry conducted extensive archival research on the Irish Nationality Room, which funded a two-month unpaid internship at a preservation architecture firm in Dublin, Ireland. Her commitment to the field was recently recognized by the Young Preservationists Association (YPA) of Pittsburgh, where she was honored with the Dan Holland Promise Award for exemplary early-career work in Historic Preservation. Lovemerry currently interns with the YPA, managing finances and event programming, and plans to pursue a Master’s degree in Historic Preservation to continue her professional development in the stewardship of the built environment.

Presented by Liv Beckage, a graduate student of Library and Information Science at the University of Pittsburgh. Beckage hopes to combine her professional values of information access and archival stewardship alongside her passion for language learning and love of history in order to give back to the local community of Pittsburgh’s Czechs and Slovaks. Her presentation will center the recent work she did in sorting through the Czechoslovak Nationality Room Committee Collection for future digitization at Pitt’s Archives and Special Collections.

Angel Cramer is currently a staff member at the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies at Pitt. She graduated in April 2025 with a History thesis entitled “Embracing an Italian (and) American Fascism: The Interwar Politics of Pittsburgh’s Italian American Prominenti, 1929–1941.” Motivated by her thesis work and prior research assistantship within the Italian Department, “Women of the Italian Nationality Room” is the fruit of further exploration of the Italian Nationality Room archives over this past summer.

Join Brazil Nuts in the Global Hub for weekly Bate-Papo Conversation Hours to meet other students and to practice Portuguese of all levels!

Bate-Papo Conversation Hours are every Monday during Spring semester, starting January 26 and ending April 20.

Hosted by Brazil Nuts

UPDATE: Bate-Papo's meeting on January 26 has been postponed due to weather.

Join the German Club for weekly meetings on Mondays in the Global Hub to practice German and share about German culture! 

Hosted by the German Club

Join us for our weekly Global Distinction Drop-In Hours on Tuesdays from 3-4 pm in the Global Hub! Come learn how to gain experience that will help prepare you for a globally-connected job market, get the Global Distinction added to your academic transcript, receive special recognition at graduation, and stand out to prospective employers.

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

Hosted by the French Club

REFLECTIONS ON THE DURA EUROPOS SYNAGOGUE PAINTINGS:

The Annual Israel Heritage Room Lecture
CO-SPONSORS- JEWISH STUDIES PROGRAM
ISRAEL HERITAGE ROOM Committee of the Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs
5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
In 244/45 CE, a small Jewish community in Dura Europos, located at the edges of the Roman and Sasanian empires, commissioned a stunning series of biblically-themed wall paintings to adorn the walls of their synagogue. Following the Sasanian sack of Dura, the synagogue was abandoned and forgotten, until its rediscovery by archaeologists in the 1930s and subsequent reinstallation in the National Museum in Damascus. Weaving in reflections from her recent trips to Syria, this talk will explore the incredible biblical subject matter in the Dura synagogue paintings and their
later reception in both Damascus and Pittsburgh. Jill Joshowitz is a scholar of Jewish visual culture in the late antique Eastern Mediterranean and the author of Visual Exemplars: The Art of Biblical Figures in Jewish Art and Literature in Late Antiquity (Brill, 2025). She has curated exhibitions for Jewish cultural institutions throughout the United States including the Maltz Museum, Museum of Jewish Heritage, and the Yeshiva University Museum.

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

Hosted by the French Club

What a night! Our Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant, Higgin Joseph @its.me.awuor, represented CAS and Africa at Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy's Multicultural Night on March 25.

The evening was a beautiful celebration of culture, community, and connection from countries around the world. We are so proud of Higgin for sharing the richness of African culture with the Pittsburgh community!

Join the Arabic Club in the Global Hub every other Wednesday during Spring semester, starting January 28, to practice Arabic language, structured by varying geographic dialects and level of speaker proficiency!

Hosted by the Arabic Club

Please join us for an end of Ramadan Celebration for Muslim students, faculty, and staff. Stop by for lunch and share your Eid traditions and Ramadan experience. All are welcome!

Hosted by Pitt's Muslim Faculty & Staff Affinity Group

Mangia con noi! Bring your lunch to the Global Hub every Thursday to chat with the Department of French and Italian and practice Italian!

Tavola Italiana will meet every Thursday during Spring semester, from January 15 to April 23, EXCEPT on January 29, February 5, February 12, and March 12.

Hosted by the Department of French and Italian

Join the Center for African Studies on Thursdays to practice conversational Swahili in a social environment.

Pitt students: Join Kya Baat Hai, a Hindi-Urdu conversational club that practices language and celebrates South Asian culture, for weekly conversation hours!

The Slavic Languages and Literatures Department wants to introduce students to the Slavic spring rituals though a media-focused lens.

What holds together conflicting lineages of law and medicine? Is it the history of their encounters? The everyday practices carried out in their name? This paper considers these questions by pursuing contrasting concepts of "dignity" in a West Bengal hospital's palliative care unit, during a fraught period - August 2024 - when doctors and nurses were pulled between protest and medical practice.

Dr. Sarah Pinto is Professor of Anthropology and Department Chair at Tufts University. Since receiving her PhD from Princton University in 2003 her research has considered childbirth, infant mortality, and birth-work in Uttar Pradesh, India, noting the way reproductive health interventions reiterate caste and the marginalization of Dalit women; women's movement through psychiatric care settings in urban north India and the intersections of kinship dissolutions with crisis and care; and histories of psychiatry and psychoanalysis in South Asia as they pertain to women's lives and gendered diagnoses, notably "hysteria" and its avatars.

The African Graduate Student Union presents Pan-Africa Gala: Ubuntu!

Feel the beat of Africa! The end-of-year celebration is almost here, and you should be there!

Friday, March 27, 2026 | 5:30 PM
Assembly Room, William Pitt Union

Get ready for an unforgettable evening of:
* African games & traditions
* Food tasting & dinner
* Dance & musical performances
* Best dressed competition
* And lots more!

We'll also be introducing our newly elected AGSU Executive Team. A milestone moment for our community!

Tickets are FREE, but seats are limited, so RSVP now! Scan the QR code on the flyer or click https://tinyurl.com/UbuntuAGSU

Dress code: African Cultural. Come dressed to impress!

Supported by Pitt Graduate & Professional Student Government

See you on the dance floor!

The Sakthi Folk Cultural Centre in Tamil Nadu, India, led by two progressive Tamil Catholic nuns, uses Tamil folk arts to build self-esteem and economic skills among young Dalit women (formerly known as outcastes or untouchables). Sakthi reclaims the degraded parai frame drum to re-humanize and empower the young women through the physical embodiment of confidence in performance and a regenerated cultural identity in a complex campaign against gender, class, and caste subjugation.

Join ASC for this joint event with local partners from Duquesne University, Carnegie Mellon University, the Fulbright Association, and Kelir Books. Sakthi Vibrations, an ethnomusicological documentary directed by Dr. Zoe Sherinian, seeks to reveal and analyze Sakthi's outstanding model for Dalit women's development, integrating folk arts performance with social analysis, microeconomic sustainability, self-esteem, and community development.

Dr. Sherinian is Professor of Ethnomusicology at the University of Oklahoma. She is an accomplished scholar in Tamil folk music, Dalit liberation theology, and intersections of gender and caste. Along with the featured documentary, she has also produced This is A Music: Reclaiming an Untouchable Drum (2011).

Supported by the Greek Nationality Room and Indian Nationality Room committees. March 27-29, 2026, 7pm

The ACTR (American Council of Teachers of Russian) of Western Pennsylvania Olympiada of Spoken Russian is an annual national competition provides US school and college students the opportunity to demonstrate their Russian language knowledge while meeting other students of Russian and conversing with native Russian speakers. Students will receive recognition for their demonstrated language proficiency, improve their chances of getting international and study abroad scholarships, and enhance their professional résumé.

Questions? Please contact Anna Karpusheva (ank490@pitt.edu)

Please register at the link here before February 27th, 2026.

Co-Sponsors:

University of Pittsburgh, Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies and Department of Slavic Languages & Literatures

Carnegie Mellon University, Department of Modern Languages

11:00 AM- Urban Farmers and Green Spaces: Berlin’s Lessons for Pittsburgh

Dr. Jesko Hirschfeld, Humboldt University of Berlin
Urban farming in Pittsburgh took off around 2005 but has roots reaching back to the community gardens established in the 1940s. Berlin, by contrast, has incorporated various forms of urban gardening into its cityscape for nearly 200 years.
What insights can Pittsburgh draw from Berlin’s long history of urban farming? And what perspectives might Pittsburgh’s more recent initiatives offer to urban growers in Berlin?
In this engaging talk, Dr. Jesko Hirschfeld highlights innovative gardening initiatives, from classic allotments to new community-driven models. Explore how urban green spaces strengthen neighborhoods, improve climate resilience, and expand access to fresh food—while also confronting challenges like gentrification and shrinking public funding.
Join us for a lively look at how urban farmers shape healthier, greener cities.

1:00 PM- Part I: Panel Discussion
Moderator: Randall Halle, European Studies Center
Panelists:
Dr. Patrick Shirey — University of Pittsburgh
Lisa Freeman — Freeman and Family Farm
State Representative Emily Kinkead, PA House District 20, Chair of the Legislative Hunger Caucus
Dr. Jesko Hirschfeld — Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

2:30 PM- Part II:  Discussion Groups:
Group A: Urban Farming Challenges & Opportunities
Group B: Climate resilience strategies in cities
Group C: Ensuring nutrition security for vulnerable populations

3:30 PM-Part III:  Call for Action with Closing Remarks

Join the Vietnamese Student Association for a Vietnamese Food Workshop to spread Vietnamese culture.

Location
The Frick Art Museum and the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning
Cost:
$35 Member
$45 Adult
$45 Senior (65+)
$20 Youth (3-17)
$20 College Student (w/ ID)

Members of The Frick Societies receive complimentary admission
Description:
Co-presented by The Frick Pittsburgh and the Nationality and Heritage Rooms at the University of Pittsburgh, this special program studies immigration, culture and labor in Pittsburgh through time. Beginning with a visit to the Nationality and Heritage Rooms, classrooms gifted from the ethnic communities who helped build Pittsburgh, and ending with a tour of the Lewis Hine Pictures America exhibition, this program will take attendees back in time to discuss the rich cultural fabric of Pittsburgh.

Advanced registration and pre-payment required. Program begins at University of Pittsburgh, Cathedral of Learning; participants are responsible for their own transportation. Click here to find additional information including directions and parking at the University of Pittsburgh.

This event is also being offered on April 10 and May 14.

https://www.thefrickpittsburgh.org/Event-Guided-Tours-of-the-Nationality...

A talk reflecting on the war on Iran and the Greater Middle East. The talk will be delivered by Sami Hermez, Professor of Anthropology at Northwestern University in Qatar.
Professor Hermez is the author of:
War Is Coming: Between Past and Future Violence in Lebanon (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2017), which examines the everyday life of political violence in Lebanon
My Brother, My Land: A Story from Palestine (Stanford University Press, 2024), an award‑winning book that tells the story of a Palestinian family resisting ongoing Israeli settler colonialism

Professor Hermez has also served as the UCIS Visiting Professor in Contemporary Global Issues.

The discussion will be joined by Michael Goodhart, Professor of Political Science, University of Pittsburgh.

Join Brazil Nuts in the Global Hub for weekly Bate-Papo Conversation Hours to meet other students and to practice Portuguese of all levels!

Bate-Papo Conversation Hours are every Monday during Spring semester, starting January 26 and ending April 20.

Hosted by Brazil Nuts

UPDATE: Bate-Papo's meeting on January 26 has been postponed due to weather.

Join the German Club for weekly meetings on Mondays in the Global Hub to practice German and share about German culture! 

Hosted by the German Club

Join us for our weekly Global Distinction Drop-In Hours on Tuesdays from 3-4 pm in the Global Hub! Come learn how to gain experience that will help prepare you for a globally-connected job market, get the Global Distinction added to your academic transcript, receive special recognition at graduation, and stand out to prospective employers.

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

Hosted by the French Club

The Global Appalachian Reading Group for Spring 2026 examines the complex intersections of regional identity, connectedness and disconnectedness to lived spaces, and environmental justice as they pertain to Appalachia and its connections to the wider world. Through thoughtful engagement with The Appalachian Trail by Philip D'Anieri, No Last Place to Rest by Dineo Skosana, and Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver, participants will explore the spaces that comprise and define Appalachia, reflect on the theme of dispossession within the context of Appalachia, and discuss global climate change through displaced species that find a home in Appalachia. This reading group invites participants to connect local narratives with global contexts, fostering deeper understanding and critical conversations about place, space, identity, sustainability, and the future of Appalachian communities.

The series theme is Spaces. Participation in all three events in the series is not required but encouraged. All events will take place from (please see dates below) 1:30-3:00pm (EST) in 4217 Posvar Hall. Copies of the books will be available in the Global Studies Center for local registrants to pick up. Please contact Veronica Dristas at dristas@pitt.edu with questions.

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

Hosted by the French Club

Mangia con noi! Bring your lunch to the Global Hub every Thursday to chat with the Department of French and Italian and practice Italian!

Tavola Italiana will meet every Thursday during Spring semester, from January 15 to April 23, EXCEPT on January 29, February 5, February 12, and March 12.

Hosted by the Department of French and Italian

Join the Center for African Studies on Thursdays to practice conversational Swahili in a social environment.

Pitt students: Join Kya Baat Hai, a Hindi-Urdu conversational club that practices language and celebrates South Asian culture, for weekly conversation hours!

Join Hindi instructor Vibha Shetiya from the Less-Commonly-Taught-Languages Center to discuss Hindi language books.

Hosted by the Less-Commonly-Taught-Languages Center

Join Brazil Nuts in the Global Hub for weekly Bate-Papo Conversation Hours to meet other students and to practice Portuguese of all levels!

Bate-Papo Conversation Hours are every Monday during Spring semester, starting January 26 and ending April 20.

Hosted by Brazil Nuts

UPDATE: Bate-Papo's meeting on January 26 has been postponed due to weather.

Join the German Club for weekly meetings on Mondays in the Global Hub to practice German and share about German culture! 

Hosted by the German Club

Join us for our weekly Global Distinction Drop-In Hours on Tuesdays from 3-4 pm in the Global Hub! Come learn how to gain experience that will help prepare you for a globally-connected job market, get the Global Distinction added to your academic transcript, receive special recognition at graduation, and stand out to prospective employers.

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

Hosted by the French Club

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

Hosted by the French Club

Join the Arabic Club in the Global Hub every other Wednesday during Spring semester, starting January 28, to practice Arabic language, structured by varying geographic dialects and level of speaker proficiency!

Hosted by the Arabic Club

Stop by the Global Hub to see Master's students in Professor Sera Linardi's PIA 2096 capstone course demo what they are learning this semester as they explore challenges and possibilities of waste management in our county.

Hosted by the School of Public and International Affairs

Mangia con noi! Bring your lunch to the Global Hub every Thursday to chat with the Department of French and Italian and practice Italian!

Tavola Italiana will meet every Thursday during Spring semester, from January 15 to April 23, EXCEPT on January 29, February 5, February 12, and March 12.

Hosted by the Department of French and Italian

Join the Center for African Studies on Thursdays to practice conversational Swahili in a social environment.

Pitt students: Join Kya Baat Hai, a Hindi-Urdu conversational club that practices language and celebrates South Asian culture, for weekly conversation hours!

The Model African Union (MAU) offers high school students an exceptional opportunity to develop critical 21st-century skills through experiential learning. In this interactive simulation, students represent African countries and engage with real issues facing the continent. Unlike traditional debate formats, MAU emphasizes diplomacy and consensus-building, preparing students for collaborative problem-solving in our interconnected world.

Want to get involved? Volunteer with us!

Event information
April 10, 2026
2:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Location
The Frick Art Museum and the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning
Cost:
$35 Member
$45 Adult
$45 Senior (65+)
$20 Youth (3-17)
$20 College Student (w/ ID)

Members of The Frick Societies receive complimentary admission
Description:
Co-presented by The Frick Pittsburgh and the Nationality and Heritage Rooms at the University of Pittsburgh, this special program studies immigration, culture and labor in Pittsburgh through time. Beginning with a visit to the Nationality and Heritage Rooms, classrooms gifted from the ethnic communities who helped build Pittsburgh, and ending with a tour of the Lewis Hine Pictures America exhibition, this program will take attendees back in time to discuss the rich cultural fabric of Pittsburgh.

Advanced registration and pre-payment required. Program begins at University of Pittsburgh, Cathedral of Learning; participants are responsible for their own transportation. Click here to find additional information including directions and parking at the University of Pittsburgh.

This event is also being offered on March 28 and May 14.

https://www.thefrickpittsburgh.org/Event-Guided-Tours-of-the-Nationality...

Join Brazil Nuts in the Global Hub for weekly Bate-Papo Conversation Hours to meet other students and to practice Portuguese of all levels!

Bate-Papo Conversation Hours are every Monday during Spring semester, starting January 26 and ending April 20.

Hosted by Brazil Nuts

UPDATE: Bate-Papo's meeting on January 26 has been postponed due to weather.

Join the German Club for weekly meetings on Mondays in the Global Hub to practice German and share about German culture! 

Hosted by the German Club

Join us for our weekly Global Distinction Drop-In Hours on Tuesdays from 3-4 pm in the Global Hub! Come learn how to gain experience that will help prepare you for a globally-connected job market, get the Global Distinction added to your academic transcript, receive special recognition at graduation, and stand out to prospective employers.

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

Hosted by the French Club

Theme: The Pulse of Hope: Power and Praxis · El Pulso de la Esperanza: Poder y Praxis · O Pulso da Esperança: Poder e Práxis

A celebration of how we thrive. How do we keep lifting each other higher? How do we honor our heritage while growing into the future? How do we show up for one another in ways that keep our communities vibrant, connected, and full of life? The answer is already unfolding all around us — in classrooms and cultural centers, in art studios and town halls, in the everyday acts of care, creativity, and connection woven into the fabric of our neighborhoods. LatinxConnect 2026 is where we come together to celebrate, amplify, and learn from all of it.

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

Hosted by the French Club

Mangia con noi! Bring your lunch to the Global Hub every Thursday to chat with the Department of French and Italian and practice Italian!

Tavola Italiana will meet every Thursday during Spring semester, from January 15 to April 23, EXCEPT on January 29, February 5, February 12, and March 12.

Hosted by the Department of French and Italian

Join the Center for African Studies on Thursdays to practice conversational Swahili in a social environment.

Join us for our next Critical Research on Africa talk:

"In Situ Marginalization: The Urban Wetland-Livelihood (Dis)assemblage in Coastal Ghana"
by Seth Asare Okyere, Urban Studies Teaching Assistant Professor

Thursday, April 16
1:00 to 2:30 PM
5603 Posvar Hall & Zoom

In this talk, Dr. Okyere examines how wetland management policy plays out in rapidly urbanizing Ghana, where land has become a fiercely contested resource. Drawing on rich fieldwork from the Sakumono wetland site, he explores how regulations are selectively enforced to protect the interests of powerful elites while quietly marginalizing local communities in place. Through the lens of assemblage thinking, the talk reframes urban wetlands as vital spaces of survival, knowledge, and ecological justice. We hope to see you there!

Register for Zoom link: https://pitt.zoom.us/meeting/register/2flyLVwASLGvZjWk33rCMw#/registration

Read more about our Critical Research on Africa talk: https://www.global.pitt.edu/cas/events/critical-research-africa-series

Supported by Pitt School of Education

Pitt students: Join Kya Baat Hai, a Hindi-Urdu conversational club that practices language and celebrates South Asian culture, for weekly conversation hours!

As part of the State of International Legal Order Roundtable Discussion:

An important conversation about the state of multilateralism in international affairs and conflict resolution.

Why does "Never Again" keep failing? On the 75th anniversary of the Genocide Convention and the 20th anniversary of the Responsibility to Protect, this roundtable asks why the world still struggles to stop mass atrocities. From Rwanda and Darfur to Ukraine, Sudan, and Gaza, we invite you to consider why global commitments have repeatedly failed—and what can be done about it.

When the World Must Act: Why Multilateralism Matters in Preventing Genocide is a public panel discussion exploring the evolution, challenges, and future of multilateral cooperation in international affairs and conflict prevention.

Speakers:
Mikhail Minakov, DAAD Guest Professor, European University Viadrina
Jonathan Hafetz, Seton Hall University
Ruth Mostern, University of Pittsburgh

Mikhail Minakov is a political philosopher whose research focuses on political systems, historical consciousness, and democratic transformation in post‑Soviet and global contexts. He is currently a DAAD Guest Professor at the European University Viadrina and Editor‑in‑Chief of Ideology and Politics. From 2017 to 2025, Minakovserved as Senior Advisor and Principal Investigator on Ukraine at the Kennan Institute. His scholarship and policy work examine how international norms, multilateral institutions, and political ideologies shape state behavior during crises. Minakov brings a comparative and philosophical perspective to questions of why global commitments to prevent mass atrocities repeatedly falter in practice.

This mini-course will explore the major forces shaping the global landscape over the next half-century including the role of a rising China, equipping participants with the tools to critically analyze and teach about transformative global trends. Through a multi-disciplinary lens, the weekend course examines how emerging technologies, demographic transitions, shifting economies, and global health and environmental challenges intersect to redefine power, security, and opportunity worldwide. This mini course will not attempt to predict how the future will unfold but will highlight some of the important issues of today that will transform the world on the global, regional, national, and local levels over the next fifty years.

In honor of Swiss Albert Gallatin and his important role in the founding generation of the USA, and the 100th anniversary of the NRIEP, the Swiss Nationality Room Committee and the NRIEP are pleased to present famed biographer Greg May, the leading biographer of Albert Gallatin, Saturday April 18, 2026 at 5pm in CL 332 at 5pm. Emigrating to the US at age 20, Albert Gallatin set up local western Pennsylvania roots near Uniontown, PA with his Friendship Hill estate and became a PA Congressman and Senator, was the first Ways and Means Committee Chairman, and served as Secretary of the Treasury under Jefferson that shepherded the Louisiana Purchase to completion. Gallatin funded the Lewis and Clark expedition and the National Road, serving under multiple presidents. He helped end the War of 1812 on the negotiation team and was ambassador to both France and England. Later in life, Gallatin founded the First National Bank of New York and NYU and became the leading ethnologist of the Native-American tribes.

With the topic of our growing national debt taking renewed interest in the current political climate, it is worthwhile to examine Gallatin's urgent message to run the new national government with frugality-not incurring huge debt, as his rival Alexander Hamilton wished. Greg May's talk will focus on this philosophical and financial debate of those times and will include many anecdotes of other aspects of this 'Swiss Founding Father's' life.

Greg May will be available to sell and sign his Gallatin book at the reception to follow in the Croghan-Schenley Room at 6pm. Gallatin re-enactor Ron Duquette will also be present in attendance at the event!

The Swiss Nationality Room Committee and the NRIEP feel this presentation will appeal greatly to: history profs and students, business and finance profs and students, French and German language majors, and all who have a sincere interest in the Founding Generation and unfolding of the American experiment between 1790 and 1840.

Speaker bio:
Gregory May is a historian who writes about the early American republic. He graduated from the College of William and Mary and the Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.

After serving as a law clerk for Justice Lewis Powell on the United States Supreme Court, he practiced law in Washington, DC, and New York for over thirty years.

He is the author of Jefferson’s Treasure: How Albert Gallatin Saved the New Nation from Debt and A Madman’s Will: John Randolph, Four Hundred Slaves, and the Mirage of Freedom. He is now completing a book about the legacy of slavery that George Washington left to his heirs.

The underwater world, the forest with the Tree of Violence growing in its centre, revived monuments, bouquets of generations—these and other symbols of the post-Soviet space appear in Victoria Lomasko’smonumental works. Lomasko became internationally recognised as a graphic journalist telling stories about socially vulnerable groups and protests. Gradually, images from reality began to transform into poetic symbols and to change scale: from sketchbook pages to multi-meter murals and panels.

The pandemic, participation in the Belarusian revolution, the war in Ukraine, and emigration made this transformation irreversible—Lomasko believes that in times of historical change, artists must speak not about particular issues, as journalists do, but about a global process, as a visionary. Studying reality with a pencil in hand, participating in historical events, and transforming the knowledge gathered into symbols of one's time—this is a process many 20th-century artists used. Through their works and her own, Lomasko will show the logic of the changing artist’s role.

Join Hindi instructor Vibha Shetiya from the Less-Commonly-Taught-Languages Center to discuss Hindi language books.

Hosted by the Less-Commonly-Taught-Languages Center

Join Brazil Nuts in the Global Hub for weekly Bate-Papo Conversation Hours to meet other students and to practice Portuguese of all levels!

Bate-Papo Conversation Hours are every Monday during Spring semester, starting January 26 and ending April 20.

Hosted by Brazil Nuts

UPDATE: Bate-Papo's meeting on January 26 has been postponed due to weather.

Join the German Club for weekly meetings on Mondays in the Global Hub to practice German and share about German culture! 

Hosted by the German Club

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

Hosted by the French Club

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6-7 pm during Spring semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

Hosted by the French Club

Join the Arabic Club in the Global Hub every other Wednesday during Spring semester, starting January 28, to practice Arabic language, structured by varying geographic dialects and level of speaker proficiency!

Hosted by the Arabic Club

Join the Arabic Club in the Global Hub every other Wednesday during Spring semester, starting January 28, to practice Arabic language, structured by varying geographic dialects and level of speaker proficiency!

Hosted by the Arabic Club

Mangia con noi! Bring your lunch to the Global Hub every Thursday to chat with the Department of French and Italian and practice Italian!

Tavola Italiana will meet every Thursday during Spring semester, from January 15 to April 23, EXCEPT on January 29, February 5, February 12, and March 12.

Hosted by the Department of French and Italian

Join the Center for African Studies on Thursdays to practice conversational Swahili in a social environment.

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 April 23, 2026 workshop will focus on the book, "Grenade," by Alan Gratz.

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 .

Pitt students: Join Kya Baat Hai, a Hindi-Urdu conversational club that practices language and celebrates South Asian culture, for weekly conversation hours!

Join the Center for African Studies on Thursdays to practice conversational Swahili in a social environment.

Celebrate the accomplishments of our graduating certificate students! All are welcome. Invite parents, professors, and friends. We'll have bagels and coffee to mark the occasion together. Undergraduate students will present their portfolios, while Graduate students will deliver PowerPoint presentations.
Deadlines: Undergrad Portfolios due April 15, Graduate PPT Presentations due April 24.
Can't make it on May 1? Please reach out as soon as possible to arrange an alternative presentation time. Questions? Contact Anna-Maria Karnes (AWK19@pitt.edu)
Supported by the Department of Africana Studies

The Global Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh, in partnership with the Cultural Communications Alliance (CCA), is excited to announce this year’s collaboration with Mars, Inc.'s STARBURST® Sour, with a focus on the country of Türkiye.

High school teams use an international case competition to develop and present a marketing strategy for a real-world product and international market. Students gain hands-on experience in global business, marketing strategy, world languages, and cross-cultural communication."

Join the Center for African Studies on Thursdays to practice conversational Swahili in a social environment.

University of Pittsburgh, May 8-10, 2026 | Format: Hybrid 

 The University of Pittsburgh’s University Center for International Studies (UCIS) invites you to join us for a conference exploring the Future(s) of International and Area Studies, May 8-10, 2026. We will be convening a series of timely conversations aimed at reimagining area and global studies for the next generations. Join us to think beyond enduring paradigms, inherited structures, and established practices as we create new horizons for interdisciplinary research & learning, engagement, coalition-building, and more. 

The conference organizers are pleased to announce that the registration portal is now live. Please follow this link (https://www.global.pitt.edu/future-international-area-studies-conference...) to register. The conference will be hybrid; individuals can register as a virtual participant or an in-person participant. 

Join the Center for African Studies on Thursdays to practice conversational Swahili in a social environment.

Event information
May 14, 2026
5:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Location
The Frick Art Museum and the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning
Cost:
$35 Member
$45 Adult
$45 Senior (65+)
$20 Youth (3-17)
$20 College Student (w/ ID)

Members of The Frick Societies receive complimentary admission
Description:
Co-presented by The Frick Pittsburgh and the Nationality and Heritage Rooms at the University of Pittsburgh, this special program studies immigration, culture and labor in Pittsburgh through time. Beginning with a visit to the Nationality and Heritage Rooms, classrooms gifted from the ethnic communities who helped build Pittsburgh, and ending with a tour of the Lewis Hine Pictures America exhibition, this program will take attendees back in time to discuss the rich cultural fabric of Pittsburgh.

Advanced registration and pre-payment required. Program begins at University of Pittsburgh, Cathedral of Learning; participants are responsible for their own transportation. Click here to find additional information including directions and parking at the University of Pittsburgh.

This event is also being offered on March 28 and April 10.

https://www.thefrickpittsburgh.org/Event-Guided-Tours-of-the-Nationality...

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 May 14, 2026 workshop will focus on the book, "Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings" by Margarita Engle.

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 .

Join the Center for African Studies on Thursdays to practice conversational Swahili in a social environment.

Join the Center for African Studies on Thursdays to practice conversational Swahili in a social environment.