The University of Illinois is pleased to announce a call for applications to the Open Research Laboratory (ORL). An expansion of Illinois’ renowned Summer Research Laboratory, the ORL program is aimed at scholars who wish to visit Urbana-Champaign any time between January 22 and May 10, 2019, in order to work in our Library’s famous collections in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies. The ORL is open to researchers from all fields at all stages of their work, from initial conception to final revision. It is a great opportunity to prepare for summer research, follow-up on summer research, or fit in research during the spring semester.
The deadline for applications is December 10, 2018.
The ORL is supported by the U.S. State Department Title VIII Program for the Study of Eastern Europe and the Independent States of the Former Soviet Union, which exists to support policy-relevant research on the region.
For more information and to apply, please see https://reeec.illinois.edu/programming-and-events/open-research-laboratory/
Note: The courses listed on the website are not an exhaustive list of courses being offered on the REEE region. Please see course explorer for additional classes.
New for 2018! International Outreach Travel Assistance
We are happy to be able to offer two travel grants this year. The first is a domestic conference travel grant (up to $350). Please see the website for additional information and the application, which is due by the last day of the month prior to travel.
Also new this year, we will be offering international travel grants to support international outreach and institutional linkage-building initiatives by REEEC-affiliated faculty. Please see the website for additional information regarding international travel guidelines and the application. The international travel application deadline is January 15, 2019.
This joint master’s degree includes a program of language and area studies courses leading to an interdisciplinary Master of Arts degree in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, as well as a program of study leading to the Master of Science in Library and Information Science. The joint degree matches area expertise with professional education, and prepares students for professional careers in all types of information organizations, including libraries.
The joint degree requires 56 credit hours divided between REEES and iSchool courses. A minimum GPA of 3.25 must be maintained throughout in order to remain in good academic standing.
For more information, please visit the program’s page at catalog.illinois.edu.
REEES + Global Informatics Certificate
We are happy to announce the new Global Informatics Certificate Program at UIUC, in partnership with Illinois Informatics. This program allows undergraduate students to declare an Informatics minor in addition to a major in REEES, and, upon completion, awards a Global Informatics Certificate, preparing students to enter a world “in which information technologies are ubiquitous, evolving, and global in scope.” This program combines the international knowledge and engagement of a REEES major with the computational tools and technical problem-solving of an Informatics minor.
The only additional coursework required for the certificate is a capstone project course, which pulls together knowledge and interests from both the major and the minor fields.
Please see the flier below for more information, including approved majors and degree requirements.
If you are interested, feel free to contact Maureen Marshall memarsh@illinois.edu (REEES) or Karin Readel kereadel@illinois.edu (Informatics).
Turkish Conversation Turkish Conversation Table (November 15th, 2018)
Interested in Turkish culture and language? Come to the Turkish Table! All levels are welcome!
Please follow University of Illinois Turkish Circle on Facebook
Turkish Conversation Table (November 29th, 2018)
Interested in Turkish culture and language? Come to the Turkish Table! All levels are welcome!
Please follow University of Illinois Turkish Circle on Facebook
REEEC Noontime Scholars Lecture: Marek Sroka, “Gifts from Abroad: American Library Association and the Post-World War II Reconstruction of Library Collections in Poland and Germany” (December 4th, 2018)
The topic of the devastation of libraries during World War II has been well publicized. However, the American Library Association (ALA)’s assistance with postwar cultural rehabilitation of European and Asian libraries remains relatively unknown. The ALA’s “Aid to Libraries in War Areas” program, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, included former Axis powers such as Germany and Japan as well as the emerging Soviet bloc countries such as Poland and Czechoslovakia. The program dealt with both books and periodicals and its goal was to replenish, though on a limited scale, devastated collections with American publications unavailable to European and Asian libraries during wartime years.
This Noontime Scholars Lecture focuses on the program’s implementation and its implications for American cultural policy in Europe. Particular attention is given to individual requests for books and periodicals as they offer a firsthand account of the war devastation and an insight into various needs of Polish and German libraries. The lecture argues that, despite their different historical experiences, both Poland and Germany benefited from the ALA’s cultural engagement with Central and Eastern Europe helping their cultural and educational institutions to recover, if only symbolically, from dark years of wartime intellectual isolation.
Marek Sroka is Professor and Literature and Languages and Central European Studies Librarian at the University of Illinois Library at Urbana-Champaign. He holds an M.A. (English literature) from Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland, and an M.L.S. (library and information science) from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research interests include the reconstruction of European libraries, war losses, and the repatriation of cultural objects in the aftermath of World War II. His articles appeared in The Polish Review, Library and Information History, Slavic and East European Information Resources, and Biuletyn Biblioteki Jagiellońskiej.
REEEC Winter Reception (December 11th, 2018)
Please join us for the REEEC Winter Reception on Dec. 11th, 4:30 PM, at 300 Levis Faculty Center. Refreshments will be served. All are welcome!
New Curriculum and Resources
For K-16 Educators, check out our online materials – we are constantly adding new resources!
RECENT REEEC EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES
