East European Studies in America: An NEH Bridging Cultures Project
FAIN: ME-50053-14
University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA 15260-6133)
Robert M. Hayden (Project Director: August 2013 to July 2014)
Andrew Konitzer (Project Director: July 2014 to July 2016)
Dawn Seckler (Project Director: July 2016 to June 2017)
A partnership between the Community College of Beaver County and the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Russian and East European Studies to conduct a multi-year Bridging Cultures faculty and curriculum development project on change and adaptation in East European culture and its impact on western Pennsylvania history.
The University of Pittsburgh's Center for Russian and East European Studies (REES) works with up to twenty regular and adjunct faculty members of the Community College of Beaver County (CCBC) on a project to incorporate East European history and literature into the community college curriculum. Two REES-affiliated scholars organize all aspects of the program: Joel Brady (history and religious studies), whose expertise is in the northern tier of countries including Poland, Slovakia, and Ukraine; and Ljiljana Duraskovic (Slavic languages and literatures), an expert on the Balkans region, including Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, and Herzegovina. These two scholars also team-teach with two CCBC faculty members a new Eastern Europe-focused section of CCBC's existing world literature survey course in Fall 2015, to be taught solely by CCBC instructors the following year. Eight workshops meet January through April in 2015 to explore texts in three areas: 1) general readings such as Tony Judt's The Past Is Another Country: Myth and Memory in Postwar Europe; 2) works that narrate histories of East European immigrant communities in the United States and especially in western Pennsylvania; and 3) country- or region-specific readings (list to be finalized). The latter could include Death in Danzig, a Polish novel by Stefan Chwin about forced population movements at the end of World War II); Burden of Dreams: History and Identity in Post-Soviet Ukraine (Catherine Wanner); and The Krajina Chronicle: A History of Serbs in Croatia, Slavonia, and Dalmatia (Srdja Trifkovic). From September 2015 to April 2016, the project cohort would attend monthly Saturday morning events involving presentations by Pittsburgh-area scholars and discussions with leaders of East European ethnic communities in the region. Saturday programs would be supported by the videoconferencing of U.S. State Department-sponsored "American Corners" events from East European nations. The products of two years of activities-the new literature course and the participants' course modules-would be presented by participating faculty at the annual professional development summit of the Western Pennsylvania Community College Resource Consortium in October 2016.
Media Coverage
Pitt REES Awarded NEH Community College Partnership Grant on East European Cultures (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Gina Peirce
Publication: ASEEES Blog
Date: 9/11/2014
Abstract: Blog posting that reports on the awarding of an NEH "Bridging Cultures at Community Colleges" grant to the University of Pittsburgh and Community College of Beaver Country for a joint project focusing on East European studies.
URL: http://www.aseees.org/news-events/aseees-blog-feed/pitt-rees-awarded-neh-community-college-partnership-grant-east-european
CCBC Partners with University of Pittsburgh to Internationalize Campus (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Uncredited
Publication: Community College of Beaver County website
Date: 3/12/2015
Abstract: Article on the progress of the NEH "Bridging Cultures at Community Colleges" project conducted by the Community College of Beaver County and the University of Pittsburgh, including coverage of the Spring 2015 faculty workshop series held at CCBC on East European history, cultures and literature. A related article was simultaneously published on the TimesOnline website for Beaver County, PA.
URL: http://www.ccbc.edu/News/NEHgrant
Bridging Cultures, Building Capacity (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Wendy O'Donnell
Publication: University Center for International Studies Annual Report 2014
Date: 1/5/2015
Abstract: Brief report on the NEH "Bridging Cultures at Community Colleges" project of the University of Pittsburgh and the Community College of Beaver County in the 2014 annual report of Pitt's University Center for International Studies (UCIS). See page 19 of the PDF file.
URL: http://www.ucis.pitt.edu/main/sites/default/files/downloadable/annual_reports/UCIS_Annual_Report_2014.pdf
Associated Products
Open Educational Resource for "Bridging Cultures" at CCBC (Web Resource)Title: Open Educational Resource for "Bridging Cultures" at CCBC
Author: Julie Durbin
Author: Joel Brady
Author: Ljiljana Duraskovic
Abstract: This website was created to disseminate information on the NEH-sponsored "Bridging Cultures" partnership project of the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Russian and East European Studies (REES) and the Community College of Beaver County (CCBC). The site includes freely downloadable course modules that were developed by CCBC faculty participants to incorporate content on East European cultures into classes across multiple disciplines, along with reflections written by these faculty members about the impact of their participation in the project. In addition, the site provides videos of several faculty development discussions held at CCBC in 2015-16 through the "Bridging Cultures" project, including videoconferences with REES's East European partner institutions and guest lecturers. These resources are intended to assist faculty from other community colleges who seek to internationalize their curricula.
Year: 2016
Primary URL:
http://tinyurl.com/BridgingCulturesCCBCPrimary URL Description: A public Blackboard site for sharing educational content developed through the NEH-funded Pitt-CCBC "Bridging Cultures" partnership project with broader audiences.
Pitt-CCBC "Bridging Cultures" Course Modules (Course or Curricular Material)Title: Pitt-CCBC "Bridging Cultures" Course Modules
Author: Community College of Beaver County (CCBC) Faculty Members
Abstract: Each course module was developed by a faculty member from the Community College of Beaver County, with guidance from University of Pittsburgh faculty, through the NEH-sponsored "Bridging Cultures" partnership project between CCBC and Pitt. The modules were designed in response to a series of faculty development sessions led by Pitt's Center for Russian and East European Studies. In developing the modules, CCBC faculty made connections between East European history, culture, and contemporary life and the important questions of their respective disciplines.
These modules are freely available for faculty from other institutions to view, download, and use as models for internationalizing their own courses or as a way of discovering material that may benefit their students. Some of the modules are accompanied by a personal reflection written by the module designer.
Year: 2016
Primary URL:
http://tinyurl.com/BridgingCulturesCCBCPrimary URL Description: This is the website of the NEH-funded "Bridging Cultures" partnership project between Pitt and CCBC. From the homepage, click the Modules tab to access the course modules.
Audience: Undergraduate
East European Library Exhibit at Community College of Beaver County (Exhibition)Title: East European Library Exhibit at Community College of Beaver County
Curator: Terri Gallagher
Abstract: A portion of funds from the NEH-sponsored "Bridging Cultures with Community Colleges" partnership grant to the University of Pittsburgh and the Community College of Beaver County was used to purchase materials on Eastern Europe for the CCBC library. The library staff created an East European exhibit utilizing these materials, including nonfiction and fiction books for various age groups with East European themes; audio and visual materials; artifacts such as matryoshka dolls from Russia and Ukraine and a Croatian stringed instrument; and information on local East European music and dance troupes to showcase Western Pennsylvania's rich immigration heritage.
Year: 2016