Dr. Kseniia Minakova is an Associate Professor of Physics, Leader Researcher in Optics & Photonics Laboratory and Deputy Chair of the Admissions Committee at the National Technical University “Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute”. In 2023 she was named Optica Ambassador. Dr. Minakova received her Ph.D in Solid State Physics from the Institute of Electrophysics & Radiation Technologies National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, and the Master’s degree in Theoretical Physics from the V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. Now Kseniia's research is focused on theoretical calculations and modeling of thermal physical processes to find modern solutions and technical improvements to solar collectors for photovoltaic systems, taking into account the most important parameters of heat transfer processes, to optimize and increase the amount of heat removed from the surface of the solar collector. She also explored best practices in the effective recruitment, training, and development of women and other underrepresented groups in STEAM and learned how she can institutionalize opportunities for women in Ukraine using US experience. She has great experience in STEM that is being implemented in University-wide, as well as in all-Ukrainian and international STEM projects.

In this lecture she will discuss how the war in Ukraine has impacted researchers and rebuilding efforts.

EU FILM FESTIVAL

In preparation for the upcoming 2024 EU Film Festival (January 19-26, 2024), the ESC and the French and Italian Departments will host a teaser film screening.

PLUTO
Writer and Director: Renzo Carbonera (with Andrea Pennacchi)

A man wanders through the woods of the Alps. He lives in a former World War I fort and is haunted by nightmares and visions. He seems to have a mission to accomplish: he is the last agent of a secret society that over the years has prevented humanity from being destroyed by the mad atomic race. Or at least that’s what he believes. Franco Carling has served in military missions all over the world, has been injured in an accident and has lost his dearest affections because of the work that has taken him to numerous American bases in Italy and Europe, always in the company of the Bomb. Since the end of the Cold War, his points of reference have been missing, the enemy is no longer so easy to identify and the atomic risk has lost its strongest controller, the deterrence that was generated by the world divided into blocks. Now the Bomb has become his obsession, his torment and his only reason of life.

FREE ADMISSION

October is the month of Parliamentary Elections in Eastern Europe’s powerhouse, Poland. On 15 October, the electorate stands at a crossroads and our invited panelists will discuss the path the Polish voters will have chosen. In addition to the implications for Poland, our panelists will discuss what the election results mean for relations with Poland’s neighbors, Ukraine in particular. And given that Brussels has repeatedly drawn attention to Polish democratic backsliding under the current government, this CoE will ask what the election means for the EU?

Moderators are:
Randall Halle, University of Pittsburgh
Paweł Lewicki, University of Pittsburgh

Panelists are:
Jan Kubik, Rutgers University/University College of London
Michal Kotnarowski, Polish Academy of Sciences
Monika Nalepa, University of Chicago

Join the French Club for a conversation hour for French speaking individuals of varying levels to practice the French language.

Come practice your Hungarian and meet other people who are interested in speaking the language. All levels welcome!

Journalist Masha Karp speaks with REEESNe’s Tamizdat Student Working Group about her new book, George Orwell and Russia (Bloomsbury 2023). This webinar is co-sponsored by Tamizdat Project, a public scholarship initiative and a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization devoted to the study of banned books from the former Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc. It is convened by Yasha Klots, Assistant Professor of Russian at Hunter College, and is comprised of student volunteers from across the northeast and beyond.

“For those living in the Soviet Union, Orwell’s masterpieces, Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, were not dystopias, but accurate depictions of reality. Here, the Orwell scholar and expert on Russian politics, Masha Karp – Russian Features Editor at the BBC World Service for over a decade – explores how Orwell’s work was received in Russia, when it percolated into the country even under censorship […]. As Vladimir Putin’s actions continue to shock the West, it is clear we are witnessing the next transformation of totalitarianism, as predicted and described by Orwell.”

The purpose of the Student Club Coalition is to give clubs related to Latin America, the Caribbean, and the diasporas, an opportunity to be officially related to and involved with CLAS, providing mutual support for student engagement.

Join the French Club for a conversation hour for French speaking individuals of varying levels to practice the French language.

Multi-media artist and engineer Mikael Owunna, will present works from his artistic practice that transfigure Black bodies into vessels of eternal life. Owunna’s artistic practice explores the intersections of visual media with engineering, optics, Blackness, and African cosmologies. His work seeks to elucidate an emancipatory vision of possibility that pushes people beyond all boundaries, restrictions, and frontiers. Owunna's presentation will be followed by a Q&A.

Check out Mikael's website here: https://www.mikaelowunna.com/#4

Join the University Center for International Studies, the Office of PittServes, and the Office of Engagement and Community Affairs for a meet and greet in the Global Hub, on the 1st floor of Posvar Hall. During this informal gathering, we will have the chance to get to know each other and learn more about our work as we welcome opportunities to partner. In order to confirm light refreshments, please register here: https://caw.pitt.edu/wednesday

Juliana Pereira, (PUC-Rio), and Lissa Passos, (Universidade Federal Fluminense) present: Sobre gêneros, blackface e a produção de racismo no teatro de revista

CULTNA is an initiative that brings together the Laboratório de História Oral e Imagem (LABHOI), at Universidade Federal Fluminense and Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, and the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Pittsburgh. Once a month we discuss recent work with scholars and students interested in the topic. Discussions are held virtually in Portuguese.

Cultura Negra no Atlantico (CULTNA) é uma iniciativa que congrega o Laboratório de História Oral e Imagem (LABHOI) da Universidade Federal Fluminense e da Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, e o Center for Latin American Studies da University of Pittsburgh. Uma vez por mês, trabalhos recentes serão debatidos com especialistas e estudantes interessados no tema. As discussões serão realizadas em português.

Join the Persian Table to practice language, celebrate culture, and meet new people!

The Center for Governance and Markets will host the Annual Conference for CESS 2023, which will be held at the University of Pittsburgh from October 19-22, 2023. The CESS 2023 annual conference keynote speaker is Dr. Ayşe Zarakol, author of After Defeat: How the East Learned to Live with the West and Before the West: the Rise and Fall of Eastern World Orders.

Mangia con noi! Bring your lunch and chat with us! Pitt students only, all levels welcome!

Join Dr. Marcia Chuva (Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro), Dr. Leila Bianchi (UniRio), Dr. Aline Montenegro (Ipiranga Museum), and Dr. Vanicleia Ribeiro (UPenn) to discuss their research on slavery and memorialization in Brazil.

Zoom link here: https://pitt.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIrd-GsqT0tE9LWZVwZteRQQvCa5Z6azFjt

Come meet international students, make friends, practice conversational English, and have fun together, during these weekly discussion groups coordinated by the English Language Institute. Feel free to bring your lunch :)

In the first installment of the Global Issues Through Literature Series (GILS), educators will convene to discuss A Blue Moon in Poorwater by author Cathryn Hankla. The discussion will be facilitated by Dr. Nancy Caronia, a Teaching Associate Professor in Department of English and Cultural Studies at the University of West Virginia.

This year's theme is: Marginalized Voices in Global Context: Centering Overlooked Narratives in Literature

This reading group for K-16 educators explores literary texts from a global perspective. Content specialists present the work and its context, and participants brainstorm innovative pedagogical practices for incorporating the text and its themes into the curriculum. Sessions this year will take place in a hybrid format, with virtual and in-person discussions taking place on Thursday evenings from 5-8 PM (EST). A copy of the book and 3 Act 48 credit hours are provided for each session.

Join us for an engaging K-12 curriculum resource workshop in which we examine the island of Taiwan's rich and compelling historical narrative as well as the important role it plays in today's geopolitical and economic landscape. This workshop will also include strategies for incorporating the study of Taiwan into the K-12 classroom with the award-winning interactive curriculum resource website, Centering Taiwan in Global Asia. A PDF of online resources will also be provided to all participants.

To complement the free, online resources offered to all participants, the first 20 K-12 educators who register, attend, and fully participate in the workshop will also receive a complimentary copy of Why Taiwan Matters: Small Island, Global Powerhouse by Shelley Rigger.

Pennsylvania teachers who complete the workshop will receive Act 48 hours.

For teachers in other states, we can provide you with a Certificate of Completion.

Our Return to Italy is a short fictional film about an Italian-American patriarch who wants to uproot his multigenerational family winemaking business to Italy but hides the truth about his motives, directed by Emmy-nominated, award-winning, husband and wife filmmakers Marylou & Jerome Bongiorno.

Marylou and Jerome Bongiorno will be available for Q&A via zoom.

All films are sponsored by the History Center's Italian American program and the University of Pittsburgh's European Studies Center and the Italian Nationality Room (part of the Nationality Rooms & Intercultural Exchange Programs). Film screenings are free to the public and will take place in the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium on the University of Pittsburgh campus.

The Center for Governance and Markets will host the Annual Conference for CESS 2023, which will be held at the University of Pittsburgh from October 19-22, 2023. The CESS 2023 annual conference keynote speaker is Dr. Ayşe Zarakol, author of After Defeat: How the East Learned to Live with the West and Before the West: the Rise and Fall of Eastern World Orders.

Come practice your conversational Polish at these weekly meetings!

This year, 2023, represents the 101st anniversary of Emile Licent and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s discovery of a child’s fossilized incisor at Erdos, Inner Mongolia: The first human fossil from China. Since the turn of the 21st century, paleoanthropology in China has made tremendous advances, both in the discovery of new human fossils and in the use of sophisticated analytical tools in geological, paleontological, and systematic studies.

Join Kya Baat Hai weekly conversation hours for students to practice speaking in Hindi and Urdu and connect over shared cultural experiences!

Join Addverse Poesia, an international and multilingual poetry group that discusses, reads and translates poems in at least 4 languages, for their weekly meetings!

The Center for Governance and Markets will host the Annual Conference for CESS 2023, which will be held at the University of Pittsburgh from October 19-22, 2023. The CESS 2023 annual conference keynote speaker is Dr. Ayşe Zarakol, author of After Defeat: How the East Learned to Live with the West and Before the West: the Rise and Fall of Eastern World Orders.