If you have not yet finalized your summer plans, you may wish to consider applying to the Russian in Central Asia Summer Program. As in previous years, we are extending the application deadline to April 1 to allow additional time for students to complete their applications.
The program is hosted by Bard’s partner institution, the American University of Central Asia (AUCA) in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and offers an excellent opportunity for students to study Russian while engaging with the diverse cultural and linguistic environment of Central Asia.
We are also continuing to accept applications for the Fall 2026 Study Abroad semester program in Bishkek, with the same April 1 deadline.
Program descriptions are included below. I would be very grateful if you could share this information with interested students.
CREES Announcements
Monday, March 23, 2026
CfP: Studying Fascism, Communism, and Totalitarianism in the 2020s
Call for Papers:
Embracing the New, Preserving the Old: Studying Fascism, Communism, and Totalitarianism in the 2020s
The 2026 Pilecki Institute Congress, October 14-15, Warsaw, Poland
We invite historians, political scientists, sociologists, scholars of culture and media, and others interested to reflect on methods, cases, and knowledge production related to the study of fascism, communism, and totalitarianism in the 2020s. We seek to foster an interdisciplinary conversation on how the pasts and presents of fascism, communism, and totalitarianism continue to shape scholarly, political, and cultural activity across Central and Eastern Europe and beyond.
More than thirty years after the end of the Cold War, the categories through which the twentieth century was once understood are being reactivated, revised, and (re)contested. In an era marked by misinformation, digital transformation, geopolitical tumult, and neo-imperialism, the legacies of fascism and communism once again occupy a central place in public and academic debate both within and beyond Central & Eastern Europe. The conference asks how these frameworks—and the scholarship around them—are being reimagined, reappropriated, or resisted today.
Participants are encouraged to engage with the multiple forces—intellectual, technological, sociocultural, and methodological—that are reshaping historical research and interpretation within this context. Among these are the expanding digitization of archives, the growing influence of artificial intelligence in historical analysis, and the emergence of postcolonial and other critical approaches. These developments nonetheless intersect with the longer traditions of inquiry into fascism, communism, and totalitarianism. Thus the Congress invites participants to consider what older forms of scholarship—archival work, philology, close reading, critical theory, or intellectual history—continue to provide indispensable insights in 2026, and how they might coexist or productively interact with new methodologies. While our focus is the twentieth century, we especially welcome work that links historical inquiry to contemporary challenges.
We invite contributions that revisit totalitarianism, fascism and communism as intellectual, cultural, political, and methodological concepts and phenomena. Topics may include but are not limited to:
- Case studies of specific events, phenomena, and processes related to totalitarianism, past and present
- Histories of knowledge, expertise, and scholarly exchange in twentieth-century Central and Eastern Europe
- New approaches to totalitarianism, fascism, and communism
- Digital archives, datafication, and the transformation of historical practice
- AI, automation, and the epistemology of digital history
- The continuing relevance of traditional scholarly methods today
- Propaganda, mis/disinformation, and censorship
- Reflections on neo-imperialism and (post)colonialism, conflict, and geopolitics
We welcome both individual papers and panel or roundtable submissions. See below for more details.
Timeline for submissions
March 16, 2026 - Paper submission opens
May 15 - Call for papers closes
June 5 - Confirmation of participation
October 14-15 - Conference to be held at the Pilecki Institute, Sienna 82, Warsaw, Poland
Important information
The language of the conference is English.
This is an in-person conference. However, opportunities for online participation will be available for participants unable to travel due to military hostilities and other extenuating circumstances.
Guidelines for submission
Sessions will be 90 minutes long, with 3 papers of 20 minutes each or 4 papers of 15 minutes. We welcome panel and roundtable submissions or individual paper submissions. Each panel/roundtable should have a moderator/chair. If you are submitting a proposal for a full panel or a roundtable, please include a moderator in your submission. If you are unable to find a moderator, we will assist.
The conference organizers will arrange sessions with moderators for single papers accepted for the conference. All participants in such a session will be put in touch with each other and with their moderator well in advance of the conference.
Participants may only present one paper; however they may serve as a moderator in one other panel session as well if they wish.
We are also planning to publish a post-conference publication with the consent of participating authors. More information will be made available closer to the date of the congress.
To submit, email proposals to conference2026@
- Individual paper proposals should contain a title, an abstract of approximately 250 words and a biographical note about the speaker of maximum 100 words.
- Panel proposals should contain a title and brief description and 3-4 abstracts (250 words each) along with biographical notes (100 words) in a single document. Indicate a proposed moderator on the first page.
- Roundtable proposals should contain a title, brief description and an overall abstract of 250 words along with biographical notes for 3-4 speakers in a single document. Indicate a proposed moderator on the first page.
Fulbright Fellowship for U.S. Scholars, Professionals, Artists: Ukraine Beyond Borders
Fulbright Fellowship for U.S. Scholars, Professionals, Artists:
Ukraine Beyond Borders (All Disciplines)
3 - 6 months, August 2027 - May 2028
Host Countries: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey (Türkiye), Ukraine, United Kingdom
Application Deadline: September 15, 2026
Applicants may apply to conduct a project, independent research, teaching or teaching/research with an emphasis on Ukraine and/or Ukrainian studies. Projects are sought in all disciplines. Projects should emphasize Ukraine but are not limited to Ukrainian studies. Projects should engage colleagues in Ukraine remotely or directly engage citizens of Ukraine displaced beyond Ukraine due to war. Grant activities can only take place in one European country and applications should clearly outline the reason to be in the proposed country and the connection to Ukraine. The award cannot take place within Ukraine and visits to Ukraine will not be permissible.
Candidates are welcome to submit applications affiliated with any appropriate institution, including European higher education institutions, governments, non-profit organizations and think tanks as appropriate for the proposed host country.
Applications must demonstrate that they have identified and secured an affiliation in their proposed host country.
U.S. citizens on the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program are not permitted to travel to Ukraine while on their Fulbright grant. https://travel.state.
Award Length and Period
The grant length may range from a total of three to six months, with six months being the maximum grant length. Grant dates may start in August 2027 and start no later than May 2028. Specific grant dates and periods may vary dependent on the host country.
Areas of Interest
Projects are sought in all disciplines. Projects should emphasize Ukraine but are not limited to Ukrainian studies. Projects should engage colleagues in Ukraine remotely or directly engage citizens of Ukraine displaced beyond Ukraine due to war.
Contact Information
Aferdita Krasniqi
Contact Email
Call for submissions: Teaching Russian and Ukrainian History in the Shadow of War
The impact of Russia’s war on Ukraine on the Slavic and East European Studies subject area has received much attention over the past four years. Most such discussions, however, have focused on the changing research environment, from declining archival access to debates over ‘decolonisation’. By contrast, the war’s impact on our teaching practice has received comparatively little attention. This lack of attention is problematic, since what students are taught about Russian and Ukrainian history has a major influence on how the war is understood and contextualised in wider society.
To redress this balance, Revolutionary Russia intends to publish a symposium directly addressing the pedagogical problems posed by the war for those who teach Russian, Soviet and Ukrainian history (especially that of the revolutionary period) in schools, colleges and universities. In particular, we are interested in exploring how these pedagogical challenges intersect with wider structural and systemic problems in the education sector (currently acutely felt within, but certainly not limited to, universities). Contributions should be short, in the region of 3-4,000 words, and would be especially welcome from those who teach in secondary and further education as well as in universities.
A non-exhaustive list of possible topics might include:
- ‘Decolonising Russian studies’ in the history classroom
- Russia, Ukraine and the history textbook market
- Declining archival access and the research-to-teaching pipeline
- The impact of academic precarity on teaching practice in universities
For more information, or to propose a submission, please contact Ben Phillips (b.g.phillips@exeter.ac.uk) and Rob Dale (robert.dale@newcastle.ac.uk). Proposals for submissions should be received by 27 April 2026.
Position announcement: Lecturer in Polish and Ukrainian Language and Culture
The Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign invites applications for an Instructor/Lecturer position with a target start date of August 16, 2026. This is a 9-month, full-time, non-tenure track position, with an initial one-year appointment. Renewal may be possible based on continued funding, enrollments, and strong performance reviews. The successful applicant will teach introductory and intermediate Polish and Ukrainian language courses and an introductory culture course in Polish or Ukrainian culture, according to departmental needs. Teaching assignment: 3/3 course load.
Required Qualifications:
- Candidates with a PhD in hand in Slavic, Linguistics, Second Language Acquisition, or a related field will be considered as a Lecturer. Candidates who are ABD or hold a Master’s degree in Slavic, Linguistics, Second Language Acquisition, or a related field will be considered as an Instructor.
- Superior proficiency in either Polish or Ukrainian with at least advanced proficiency in the other
- Experience with instructional technology in language teaching
- Evidence of language teaching effectiveness
- Training in language pedagogy and familiarity with proficiency standards and testing
Preferred Qualifications:
- Demonstrated commitment to a proficiency-based communicative curriculum
- Experience teaching in North American higher education
- Preference will be given to candidates with PhD or who are ABD
Application Procedures & Deadline Information
Please create your candidate profile at https://jobs.illinois.edu. Applications must be received by 6:00pm (CST) on April 1, 2026.
To view the full position announcement and application details, please visit: https://illinois.csod.com/ux/
Lecturer position in Hungarian language at University of California, Berkeley
Lecturer in Hungarian Language at UC Berkeley (https://aprecruit.berkeley.
First review date: Friday, Mar 27, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
The UC Berkeley Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures seeks to appoint a Lecturer in Hungarian language for the 2026-27 academic year, with the possibility of renewal and of subsequent continuing status. This is a part-time position with an anticipated start date of July 1, 2026.
Applicants should have experience teaching Hungarian, preferably at the college level and in a synchronous, online format, and a near-native proficiency in Hungarian and English. The minimum qualification for the position is a Master’s degree (or equivalent international degree) by the time of application, preferably in Hungarian language or other relevant field. A legal permit to work in the United States is required by the appointment start date. A successful applicant will be expected to be able to teach Hungarian at the introductory, intermediate, and advanced levels. Synchronous language instruction will likely be done online, although a hybrid format is also a possibility if physical proximity permits. While physical presence in Berkeley is not necessary, teaching from outside of the U.S. is not permitted by UC Berkeley policy.
Please see further details and submit your application materials at our general lecturer pool (https://aprecruit.berkeley.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status.
Workshop in London on Russian Philosophy
Cosmos and Soul: Intersections between German Idealism and Russian Philosophy
A reading workshop at Royal Holloway central London campus (Bedford Square)
14th/15th April 2026
Organised by Isabel Jacobs (Czech Academy of Sciences), Anna Vinkelman (Radboud University, Nijmegen) and Daniel Whistler (Royal Holloway, University of London)
Call for Participation
This workshop is devoted to reading together and discussing extracts from texts at the intersection between German Idealism and Russian philosophies from the nineteenth century to the present, including Soviet and post-Soviet thinkers. In particular, we will be focusing on themes of community, cosmos, evil, love, naming, resurrection, soul and utopia as they cross Germano-Russian intellectual borders. Alongside German philosophers like Kant, Schelling and Hegel, we will read and discuss Russian philosophers such as:
- Alexander Bogdanov
- Sergei Bulgakov
- Alexander Chizhevsky
- Iakov Druskin
- Nikolai Fedorov
- Pavel Florensky
- Tatiana Goricheva
- Evald Ilyenkov
- Aleksei Losev
- Nikolai Lossky
- Vladimir Solov’ev,
- Oxana Timofeeva
There will be six thematic discussion sessions of 1h45 spread over the two days, each with an assigned introducer and a pack of short extracts from Russian and German philosophers to discuss (distributed in advance).
The workshop is free and open to all to participate. It will be taking place in-person only, with coffee refreshments provided. Registration is necessary, since space is limited. Please register by emailing daniel.whistler@rhul.
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