Two images side-by-side: two people talking at last year's Summer Institute in Bulgaria under an umbrella, and an exterior photo of the Balkanski Academic Center at American University in Bulgaria

 

The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), in partnership with the Centre for Advanced Study Sofia (CAS), is pleased to name 15 participants for the 2024 Summer Institute for the Study of East Central and Southeastern Europe (SISECSE). ACLS will convene these leading scholars from Eastern Europe and North America for a two-week residency hosted by the American University in Bulgaria from June 13-29, 2024 in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.  
 
SISECSE will provide the scholars with dedicated time for their own research and writing in a collaborative and interdisciplinary setting. Additionally, participants will have the opportunity to participate in small group writing workshops and a series of discussions on the topic “Thinking Urgently: The Humanities and Interpretive Social Sciences in a Time of Emergency,” exploring how humanistic scholars and scholarship can foster resilience, empathy, and collective action.

The 2024 scholars represent a diverse range of institutions across Eastern Europe and the United States, including Central European University, H.S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University, Lone Star College, University of Michigan, and University of Prishtina. Their research topics include ecological relationships related to migration in the forest at the Polish, Belarusian, and Lithuanian border; transgender narratives and art in the early to post-Byzantine period; early 20th century juvenile justice in Ukraine; medieval music and imperial ideologies in Bulgaria; and the political discourse of “pocket assemblies” in post-Napoleonic Europe.

“ACLS is excited to continue our successful partnership with the Centre for Advanced Study Sofia and convene leading scholars of East Central and Southeastern Europe in Bulgaria,” said Deena Ragavan, ACLS Director of International Programs. “The Summer Institute provides a vital opportunity for scholars to advance their own projects, as well as benefit from the perspectives of their fellow participants representing a diversity of institutions, geographic areas, and fields of study in the humanities.”

Now in its second year, the Summer Institute for Study of East Central and Southeastern Europe is made possible by a generous donation from Carl and Betty Pforzheimer. The program builds on a long history of ACLS support for humanistic scholars and scholarship in Eastern Europe, including the ACLS Humanities Program in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine (1999-2010).

2024 Summer Institute for the Study of East Central and Southeastern Europe
Meet the Scholars