Gießener Zentrum Östliches Europa (GiZo) - Master Interdisciplinary Studies on Eastern Europe (English Option)

The seminar aims to provide an overview of the development of nationalism theory and to deepen this perspective using the example of Central and Eastern Europe in a historical context. It is an interdisciplinary seminar, taking into account not only history but also linguistics, literary and cultural studies, and sociology. The first few sessions will introduce students to the conceptual history of nationalism theory through classic works on the theoretical debate about the nation (such as Miroslav Hroch, Benedict Anderson, and Ernest Gellner). This knowledge will then be deepened on the basis of concrete examples from Eastern Europe since the 16th century. Particular emphasis will be placed on interdisciplinary and trans-epochal perspectives. The regional focus will be on Poland, Lithuania, the Bohemian lands, historical Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, and Ukraine. The seminar will be held in English. Students will work on a topic independently and can choose between an empirical or a theoretical contribution.

Introductory literature:
Anderson, Benedict: Imagined Communities. Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, London 1983.
Brubaker, Rogers: Nationalism Reframed. Nationhood and the National Question in the New Europe, Cambridge 1996
Hroch, Miroslav: Social preconditions of national revival in Europe, A Comparative Anaysis of the Social Composition of Patriotic Groups among the Smaller European Nations, Cambridge 1985.

V tomto kurzu pracujeme s učebnicí "Czech it up!", úroveň B2. která je přístupná v univerzitní knihovně.

Ziele der Veranstaltung: Vertiefung der bereits erworbenen grammatischen Kenntnisse, Aneignung
von Wissen zu diversen Themen des aktuellen Lebens in der Ukraine sowie Kenntnis von literarischen Schlüsseltexten aus dem 20. und 21. Jahrhundert.

Ziel der Veranstaltung ist die Fähigkeit, den Inhalt von ukrainischen literarischen Texten wiederzugeben, deren Themen zu diskutieren, historisch einzuordnen und den eigenen Standpunkt dazu zu erläutern. Bei der Auswahl Texte handelt es sich um Schlüsselwerke aus dem 20. und 21. Jahrhundert.

V tomto kurzu pracujeme s učebnicí "Czech it up!", úroveň B2. která je přístupná v univerzitní knihovně.

Ziele der Veranstaltung: Vertiefung der bereits erworbenen grammatischen Kenntnisse, Aneignung
von Wissen zu diversen Themen des aktuellen Lebens in der Ukraine sowie Kenntnis von literarischen Schlüsseltexten aus dem 20. und 21. Jahrhundert.

Ziel der Veranstaltung ist die Fähigkeit, den Inhalt von ukrainischen literarischen Texten wiederzugeben, deren Themen zu diskutieren, historisch einzuordnen und den eigenen Standpunkt dazu zu erläutern. Bei der Auswahl Texte handelt es sich um Schlüsselwerke aus dem 20. und 21. Jahrhundert.

What does the situation of women reveal about the development of a society? This interdisciplinary course explores this question through the lens of Southeastern Europe in the 20th century. Building on existing narratives of “backwardness” and development initiatives in the region, we focus specifically on the perspectives of women—voices that have often been omitted from historical accounts.
Using a variety of sources such as oral history interviews, autobiographies, letters, poetry, and photographs—some of them in the original languages—we examine the ambivalent lived experiences of women in different social contexts. In doing so, we critically engage with the complex concept of “development”—one of the most frequently used terms in politics and society—by highlighting gender as a largely overlooked dimension.
Digital and AI-based tools (Transkribus, DeepL, ChatGPT) will also be employed, allowing us to critically reflect on their potentials and limitations in historical research.
The course introduces students to working with non-traditional sources, raises awareness of gender-related questions in development debates, and offers an engaging entry point into the history of Southeast Europe. It is designed for anyone interested in critical historiography, interdisciplinary research, and digital methods.

Was sagt die Situation von Frauen über die Entwicklung einer Gesellschaft aus? In diesem interdisziplinären Kurs gehen wir dieser Frage am Beispiel Südosteuropas im 20. Jahrhundert nach. Ausgehend von bestehenden Narrativen über „Rückständigkeit“ und Entwicklungsinitiativen in der Region gehen wir gezielt auf die Perspektive von Frauen ein, deren Stimmen in historischen Darstellungen oft ausgelassen wurden.
Anhand unterschiedlicher Quellen wie oral history-Interviews, Autobiografien, Briefen, Gedichten oder Fotografien – teilweise in Originalsprachen – beleuchten wir ambivalente Lebensrealitäten von Frauen in verschiedenen sozialen Kontexten. Dabei hinterfragen wir den vielschichtigen Begriff von „Entwicklung“ – einen der meistverwendeten Begriffe in Politik und Gesellschaft – mit einem Fokus auf Geschlecht als bislang wenig beachteter Dimension. Zum Einsatz kommen auch digitale und KI-gestützte Werkzeuge (Transkribus, DeepL, ChatGPT), deren Potenziale und Grenzen wir im historischen Arbeiten kritisch reflektieren.
Der Kurs vermittelt Grundlagen im Umgang mit nicht-traditionellen Quellen, sensibilisiert für Geschlechterfragen in Entwicklungsdebatten und bietet einen spannenden Einstieg in die Geschichte Südosteuropas. Er richtet sich an alle, die an kritischer Geschichtsschreibung, interdisziplinärer Forschung und digitalen Methoden interessiert sind.

In this seminar we will aim to reconsider the history and conceptual framework for the study of Soviet dissent, focusing on the lesser-known resistance movements in Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, and other national republics. While the Soviet history of dissent has traditionally been framed through the experiences of Russian intellectuals, in this course we will work with the sources and samizdat texts from the so-called Soviet peripheries. By this, we will attempt to question the dominant narratives and will further explore the diverse peripheral forms of cultural resistance under late Socialism that were often overlooked. By focusing on the transnational dimensions of dissent, we will delve into the interconnectedness of resistance practices across national boundaries, challenging the conventional understanding of "center-periphery" relations. This course will also ask about the persistence of these practices beyond the Cold War era and will address their continued relevance for modern-day resistance movements in Eastern Europe and beyond

ZOOM LINK for the seminar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89687652258

This course examines the profound transformations brought about by the spread of gunpowder weapons in the early modern world between roughly 1300 and 1700. Sometimes described as a “military revolution,” these changes reshaped not only the ways wars were fought but also the structures of states, economies, and societies. We will investigate the introduction and diffusion of firearms and artillery, the development of new fortifications, and the rise of disciplined standing armies. Particular attention will be given to the ways in which gunpowder warfare influenced state-building and the fiscal demands of war in Europe, including Eastern Europe and Russia.
The course also adopts a global perspective, exploring how gunpowder transformed warfare in the Ottoman Empire, Safavid Persia, Mughal India, Ming and Qing China, Korea, and Japan. Students will consider the extent to which European developments were unique or part of broader global patterns of military innovation. Through close engagement with historiographical debates, they will assess competing interpretations of the “military revolution” thesis, from Michael Roberts to more recent global approaches.
By the end of the course, students will be equipped to critically analyze how technological and organizational change in warfare influenced the emergence of early modern states and empires worldwide.

VERMERK: Diese Übung ist bilingual, Teilnahme an Diskussionen und Gruppenaufgaben auf Deutsch ist möglich. Sehr gute Englischkenntnisse werden jedoch für die Teilnahme am Kurs vorausgesetzt, da überwiegend die englischsprachige Forschungsliteratur zur Diskussion und Analyse angeboten wird.

What does the situation of women reveal about the development of a society? This interdisciplinary course explores this question through the lens of Southeastern Europe in the 20th century. Building on existing narratives of “backwardness” and development initiatives in the region, we focus specifically on the perspectives of women—voices that have often been omitted from historical accounts.
Using a variety of sources such as oral history interviews, autobiographies, letters, poetry, and photographs—some of them in the original languages—we examine the ambivalent lived experiences of women in different social contexts. In doing so, we critically engage with the complex concept of “development”—one of the most frequently used terms in politics and society—by highlighting gender as a largely overlooked dimension.
Digital and AI-based tools (Transkribus, DeepL, ChatGPT) will also be employed, allowing us to critically reflect on their potentials and limitations in historical research.
The course introduces students to working with non-traditional sources, raises awareness of gender-related questions in development debates, and offers an engaging entry point into the history of Southeast Europe. It is designed for anyone interested in critical historiography, interdisciplinary research, and digital methods.

Was sagt die Situation von Frauen über die Entwicklung einer Gesellschaft aus? In diesem interdisziplinären Kurs gehen wir dieser Frage am Beispiel Südosteuropas im 20. Jahrhundert nach. Ausgehend von bestehenden Narrativen über „Rückständigkeit“ und Entwicklungsinitiativen in der Region gehen wir gezielt auf die Perspektive von Frauen ein, deren Stimmen in historischen Darstellungen oft ausgelassen wurden.
Anhand unterschiedlicher Quellen wie oral history-Interviews, Autobiografien, Briefen, Gedichten oder Fotografien – teilweise in Originalsprachen – beleuchten wir ambivalente Lebensrealitäten von Frauen in verschiedenen sozialen Kontexten. Dabei hinterfragen wir den vielschichtigen Begriff von „Entwicklung“ – einen der meistverwendeten Begriffe in Politik und Gesellschaft – mit einem Fokus auf Geschlecht als bislang wenig beachteter Dimension. Zum Einsatz kommen auch digitale und KI-gestützte Werkzeuge (Transkribus, DeepL, ChatGPT), deren Potenziale und Grenzen wir im historischen Arbeiten kritisch reflektieren.
Der Kurs vermittelt Grundlagen im Umgang mit nicht-traditionellen Quellen, sensibilisiert für Geschlechterfragen in Entwicklungsdebatten und bietet einen spannenden Einstieg in die Geschichte Südosteuropas. Er richtet sich an alle, die an kritischer Geschichtsschreibung, interdisziplinärer Forschung und digitalen Methoden interessiert sind.

In this seminar we will aim to reconsider the history and conceptual framework for the study of Soviet dissent, focusing on the lesser-known resistance movements in Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, and other national republics. While the Soviet history of dissent has traditionally been framed through the experiences of Russian intellectuals, in this course we will work with the sources and samizdat texts from the so-called Soviet peripheries. By this, we will attempt to question the dominant narratives and will further explore the diverse peripheral forms of cultural resistance under late Socialism that were often overlooked. By focusing on the transnational dimensions of dissent, we will delve into the interconnectedness of resistance practices across national boundaries, challenging the conventional understanding of "center-periphery" relations. This course will also ask about the persistence of these practices beyond the Cold War era and will address their continued relevance for modern-day resistance movements in Eastern Europe and beyond

ZOOM LINK for the seminar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89687652258

The seminar aims to provide an overview of the development of nationalism theory and to deepen this perspective using the example of Central and Eastern Europe in a historical context. It is an interdisciplinary seminar, taking into account not only history but also linguistics, literary and cultural studies, and sociology. The first few sessions will introduce students to the conceptual history of nationalism theory through classic works on the theoretical debate about the nation (such as Miroslav Hroch, Benedict Anderson, and Ernest Gellner). This knowledge will then be deepened on the basis of concrete examples from Eastern Europe since the 16th century. Particular emphasis will be placed on interdisciplinary and trans-epochal perspectives. The regional focus will be on Poland, Lithuania, the Bohemian lands, historical Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, and Ukraine. The seminar will be held in English. Students will work on a topic independently and can choose between an empirical or a theoretical contribution.

Introductory literature:
Anderson, Benedict: Imagined Communities. Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, London 1983.
Brubaker, Rogers: Nationalism Reframed. Nationhood and the National Question in the New Europe, Cambridge 1996
Hroch, Miroslav: Social preconditions of national revival in Europe, A Comparative Anaysis of the Social Composition of Patriotic Groups among the Smaller European Nations, Cambridge 1985.

The seminar aims to provide an overview of the development of nationalism theory and to deepen this perspective using the example of Central and Eastern Europe in a historical context. It is an interdisciplinary seminar, taking into account not only history but also linguistics, literary and cultural studies, and sociology. The first few sessions will introduce students to the conceptual history of nationalism theory through classic works on the theoretical debate about the nation (such as Miroslav Hroch, Benedict Anderson, and Ernest Gellner). This knowledge will then be deepened on the basis of concrete examples from Eastern Europe since the 16th century. Particular emphasis will be placed on interdisciplinary and trans-epochal perspectives. The regional focus will be on Poland, Lithuania, the Bohemian lands, historical Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, and Ukraine. The seminar will be held in English. Students will work on a topic independently and can choose between an empirical or a theoretical contribution.

Introductory literature:
Anderson, Benedict: Imagined Communities. Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, London 1983.
Brubaker, Rogers: Nationalism Reframed. Nationhood and the National Question in the New Europe, Cambridge 1996
Hroch, Miroslav: Social preconditions of national revival in Europe, A Comparative Anaysis of the Social Composition of Patriotic Groups among the Smaller European Nations, Cambridge 1985.

Ziele der Veranstaltung: Vertiefung der bereits erworbenen grammatischen Kenntnisse, Aneignung
von Wissen zu diversen Themen des aktuellen Lebens in der Ukraine sowie Kenntnis von literarischen Schlüsseltexten aus dem 20. und 21. Jahrhundert.

Ziel der Veranstaltung ist die Fähigkeit, den Inhalt von ukrainischen literarischen Texten wiederzugeben, deren Themen zu diskutieren, historisch einzuordnen und den eigenen Standpunkt dazu zu erläutern. Bei der Auswahl Texte handelt es sich um Schlüsselwerke aus dem 20. und 21. Jahrhundert.

This course introduces master students to the literary and cultural theory of poststructuralism, which is seminal for contemporary Slavic Studies. Poststructuralism started with Foucault’s discourse analysis and Derrida’s deconstruction and has found fields of application in Gender Studies and Postcolonial Theory. The focus of the course is on reading and understanding just a few, but in no way easy texts. After individual preparatory reading, these texts are jointly discussed and inter-preted during the course sessions. At the end of each thematic block—poststructuralism, postfemi-nism, and postcolonialism—the participants will become familiar with continuations of French and Anglo-American theoretical inspirations in Slavic Studies.

More participants are welcome; for registration please send an email to dirk.uffelmann@slavistik.uni-giessen.de

The class is open to any student of JLU but since it is part of the English track of JLU’s MA program Interdisciplinary studies on Eastern Europe it will be held in English.
In the class we will be watching and discussing the movies of Czechoamerican film director Miloš Forman.
We will also read up on the analysis of movies and apply that new knowledge to our discussions of the films. The text book used for the introduction to film analysis will be Film Art. An Introduction (10th edition) by David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson. The university library has several copies available (https://hds.hebis.de/ubgi/Record/HEB335088945).
Here a list of some of the movies that we will be analyzing. The final choice of the movies will depend on the specific country interest of the participants:

In the first session I would like to discuss how films as an art form differ from other art forms as literature and theatre. What is the specific difference between thise art forms.
In the first session we will also discuss if we are going to watch the movies together or individually at home. The amount of awarded credits points allows us to watch and discuss about 8 or 9 movies. For each movie a list of questions should be prepared for the class. The questions function as a starting point for our discussions.

The class is open to any student of JLU but since it is part of the English track of JLU’s MA program Interdisciplinary studies on Eastern Europe it will be held in English.
In the class we will be watching and discussing the movies of Czechoamerican film director Miloš Forman.
We will also read up on the analysis of movies and apply that new knowledge to our discussions of the films. The text book used for the introduction to film analysis will be Film Art. An Introduction (10th edition) by David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson. The university library has several copies available (https://hds.hebis.de/ubgi/Record/HEB335088945).
Here a list of some of the movies that we will be analyzing. The final choice of the movies will depend on the specific country interest of the participants:

In the first session I would like to discuss how films as an art form differ from other art forms as literature and theatre. What is the specific difference between thise art forms.
In the first session we will also discuss if we are going to watch the movies together or individually at home. The amount of awarded credits points allows us to watch and discuss about 8 or 9 movies. For each movie a list of questions should be prepared for the class. The questions function as a starting point for our discussions.

This course introduces master students to the literary and cultural theory of poststructuralism, which is seminal for contemporary Slavic Studies. Poststructuralism started with Foucault’s discourse analysis and Derrida’s deconstruction and has found fields of application in Gender Studies and Postcolonial Theory. The focus of the course is on reading and understanding just a few, but in no way easy texts. After individual preparatory reading, these texts are jointly discussed and inter-preted during the course sessions. At the end of each thematic block—poststructuralism, postfemi-nism, and postcolonialism—the participants will become familiar with continuations of French and Anglo-American theoretical inspirations in Slavic Studies.

More participants are welcome; for registration please send an email to dirk.uffelmann@slavistik.uni-giessen.de

Speaker use verbal tense to put historical events in a temporal order and to position themselves in relation to the time of the events. Besides of lexical means like temporal adverbs, the Slavic languages make use of grammatical temporal markers, of verbal aspect and of syntactic constructions. Besides the typical use ("начинали строить крепость") we discuss more uncommon expressions ("крепость начата строением"), also in West ("Miałem podlane całe mnóstwo grządek...") and South ("… kada ti budeš došla") Slavic languages.

This advanced research seminar introduces graduate students to the theory of Autocratic International Institutionalisation (AII), a framework developed to understand the strategic, patterned, and regime-specific engagement of autocratic regimes with intergovernmental organisations (IGOs). Students will engage with the theory, develop and pitch empirical research questions, and collaborate in small groups to execute research projects. Outstanding papers may be selected for publication via JLU-PUB in a digital collection curated by the instructor.

Artificial intelligence, especially large language models, which can be found in many digital applications, including social media apps, is omnipresent – and usually without us realizing it. Discussions in the political public sphere are now clearly influenced by them, with the visualization of certain political content, but also doxxing, swarming and other forms of discrimination and agitation playing an increasing role. The seminar aims to explore the question of what is meant by a functioning democratic public space, how AI programs can be understood and how technical tendencies influence democratic processes.

This advanced research seminar introduces graduate students to the theory of Autocratic International Institutionalisation (AII), a framework developed to understand the strategic, patterned, and regime-specific engagement of autocratic regimes with intergovernmental organisations (IGOs). Students will engage with the theory, develop and pitch empirical research questions, and collaborate in small groups to execute research projects. Outstanding papers may be selected for publication via JLU-PUB in a digital collection curated by the instructor.

The unequal distribution of environmental benefits and harms produced by modern capitalist production remains one of the most pressing societal challenges of our time, giving rise to “environmental justice” as a topic of socio-political mobilization and a theoretical concept in social science for analyzing (re-)distribution, mobilization, representation, and political participation. Environmental justice focuses on the nexus between social discrimination and environmental burdens affecting groups such as poor communities, racial minorities, children, and indigenous peoples, and highlights demands for equal environmental protection.

Today, environmental justice is central to challenges in areas such as food, agriculture, climate change, water, and land use. It is actively adopted by social movements addressing disproportionate environmental harms, mobilizing against threats like polluted environments, and advocating for fair access to environmental goods. Simultaneously, environmental justice has been integrated into governance arrangements at multiple levels. As a theoretical perspective, environmental justice enables reflection on local mobilizations and global connections while contextualizing key questions through frameworks like post-colonial theory, social movement theory, and environmental governance studies.

In the course, following an introduction to the foundations, history, and definitions of environmental justice, several key questions are assessed: How are environmental benefits and harms distributed, and what dependencies, inequalities, and conflicts result? How do environmental conflicts and struggles over resources manifest? What justice claims are mobilized, and how are they expressed? What power dynamics and social structures perpetuate environmental inequality? What mechanisms address or resolve conflicts related to environmental justice?

Students will analyze case studies demonstrating environmental inequalities across various issues, regions, and communities. The results of the group work will be presented, discussed, and commented on during two mandatory block seminar sessions on January 31, 2026 and February 7, 2026.

The unequal distribution of environmental benefits and harms produced by modern capitalist production remains one of the most pressing societal challenges of our time, giving rise to “environmental justice” as a topic of socio-political mobilization and a theoretical concept in social science for analyzing (re-)distribution, mobilization, representation, and political participation. Environmental justice focuses on the nexus between social discrimination and environmental burdens affecting groups such as poor communities, racial minorities, children, and indigenous peoples, and highlights demands for equal environmental protection.

Today, environmental justice is central to challenges in areas such as food, agriculture, climate change, water, and land use. It is actively adopted by social movements addressing disproportionate environmental harms, mobilizing against threats like polluted environments, and advocating for fair access to environmental goods. Simultaneously, environmental justice has been integrated into governance arrangements at multiple levels. As a theoretical perspective, environmental justice enables reflection on local mobilizations and global connections while contextualizing key questions through frameworks like post-colonial theory, social movement theory, and environmental governance studies.

In the course, following an introduction to the foundations, history, and definitions of environmental justice, several key questions are assessed: How are environmental benefits and harms distributed, and what dependencies, inequalities, and conflicts result? How do environmental conflicts and struggles over resources manifest? What justice claims are mobilized, and how are they expressed? What power dynamics and social structures perpetuate environmental inequality? What mechanisms address or resolve conflicts related to environmental justice?

Students will analyze case studies demonstrating environmental inequalities across various issues, regions, and communities. The results of the group work will be presented, discussed, and commented on during two mandatory block seminar sessions on January 31, 2026 and February 7, 2026.