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 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.

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 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.

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

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

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!

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

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...

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