Donald J. Raleigh is an Emeritus Distinguished Professor of History at UNC Chapel Hill. His research and teaching interests focus on twentieth-century Russian history. As a political and social historian, he has published extensively on the Russian Revolution, with a … Continued
Franek and Jozek Kalina, sons of a poor farmer, are brothers from a small village in central Poland. Franek immigrated to the United States in the 80’s, and cut all ties with his family. Only when Jozek’s wife arrives in … Continued
On 24 December 1979, Soviet armed forces entered Afghanistan, beginning an occupation that would last almost a decade and creating a political crisis that shook the world. To many observers, the Soviet invasion showed the lengths to which one of … Continued
After the Second World War, the Czechoslovak borderlands (known as the Sudetenland during the war) endured continued violence and ethnic cleansing, which also affected German-speaking Jews, many of whom had just returned from concentration or labor camps. In 1947, representatives … Continued
As the Cold War winds down, former concert cellist Louka (Zdenek Sverák) barely makes ends meet providing accompaniment at funerals after being blacklisted from his much cushier job with the Prague Philharmonic. For a fee, he marries a Russian woman … Continued
Eren Tasar is an associate professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is the author of Soviet and Muslim: The Institutionalization of Islam in Central Asia (OUP, 2017). The seminar series is co-sponsored by … Continued
What is ChatGPT? Where did it come from? What does it mean for science, scholarship, and public life? Join our interdisciplinary panel for a discussion of this new technology and its real and imagined impacts on the campus community. The … Continued
Uzbeks in independent Uzbekistan often say that the younger generation do not value learning or traditions but only making money. But those who do succeed in wealth find that there are heavy moral demands placed on them by the community. … Continued
The monument of Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko on the central square of Borodyanka town in Kyiv Oblast on April 5, 2022. Photo by Oleg Petrasiuk. Syllabus Design and Critical Pedagogies in the Classroom: How Do We Teach Differently? is the … Continued
Join us for a thought-provoking discussion on the complex history and geography of the country of Georgia as we explore the burdens and joys that have shaped its identity over the centuries. From its strategic location at the crossroads of … Continued
