Come join CEES and Fulbright Scholar Kseniia Borodin for a 50-minute introduction to the Ukrainian language! Background on the language to be followed by at least 30 minutes of conversation practice. 

Eric Freedman, Professor of Journalism - Michigan State University

Abstract

Freedom of religion is considered a fundamental human right, enshrined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the constitutions of post-Soviet Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. However, in the more than three decades since the USSR collapsed, these countries have failed to adopt any democratic governance and protection of human rights, including religious freedom and press freedom. That failure receives virtually no coverage in domestic media in the Caucasus, largely because of direct and quasi-official government control over media outlets or because of fear of government reprisals. Any coverage of religious repression in the region comes from international news agencies. This study examines how one specialized international news outlet, Forum 18, covers constraints on religious freedom and practice in the region. That lack of coverage also reflects broader barriers to reportage in the region and the inability of its new media to provide information, direct and indirect, about levels of religious repression.

Film version of Anton Chekhov's famous short story

Alena Gray Aniskiewicz, Assistant Professor, Center for Integrative Studies in the Arts & Humanities, explores how Polish rappers engage the texts and narratives of their nations past, remixing history to speak to the present. From the rapper Pejas reinterpretation of Mickiewiczs The Great Improvisation, through the many musical memorials to the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, to Dorota Maslowskas colorful critique of contemporary society, Polish hip-hop offers a valuable lens through which to approach (and teach) the complexities of Polish culture, one that encourages us to debate conceptions of Polishness and consider the writing (and rewriting) of national history and identity. In addition to introducing these hip-hop histories and offering a portrait of a nation constantly sampling its past, this talk will consider how these creative and evolving narratives might be engaged in teaching Polish culture to American students. NOTE: this system does not allow quotation marks or apostrophes or any special characters, please insert them where needed.

Cult film about friends driving a BMW and avoiding other criminals and the police. 

Lesser-known Stalin era film about love and the seashore

The first two episodes of the most popular Russian tv show of 2023 and 2024. Yes, I know Boy's is misspelled but this site does not allow apostrophes in the main header.  

Late Soviet classic film quoted by many even today.

David Lean's beloved version of Boris Pasternak's novel