Dear colleagues, welcome to a new academic year!

Spring and summer 2026 saw six CSEEES M.A. graduations, each of which featured a thesis. This is a rather impressive result.

The MA thesis is one of the most difficult genres. Not an article, course paper, or dissertation, the MA thesis requires students to decide relatively quickly in the course of a 2-year master’s program what they want to research and how to plan their project. In our interdisciplinary area studies program, this requires original research in the foreign language students prioritize. The process also involves broad and deep reading in several academic disciplines, intense work with at least one faculty mentor who supervises the secondary reading and advises on methodologies for the original research, and navigating new experiences like an oral defense with the faculty committee, graduate school formatting requirements, and revisions, revisions, and more revisions. In the end the graduate feels gratified and professional and has a “publication” deposited electronically at the Ohio State library.

This past year we had three theses defended in spring and three in summer on a wide range of topics:

• The role of the Holodomor in Ukrainian national identity
• The depiction of peasants in 19^th and early 20^th century Polish literature
• Bulgarian language textbooks for foreign language learners
• Memory politics in the USSR and Russia around the topic of World War II
• The creation of post-war Kaliningrad
• Geopolitical power and the role of immigration in Greece

With that in mind, with our new and returning students this year learning eight different languages (and focused in different disciplines), we are proud of our diversity and excited to see what CSEEES students will do—on campus and beyond, during their time with us and after graduation.

In our fundraising efforts this past year we have highlighted these students as well as our Graduate Interdisciplinary Specialization (GIS) students—those who in addition to their other graduate degrees in places like history, anthropology, education, even astronomy realize that Eastern Europe and Eurasia is a region worth learning about in depth. Our supporters and alumni have delivered, with successful Romanian and CSEEES Excellence fund drives bringing in almost $15,000. Federal funding is uncertain and campus funding somewhat endangered by the vicissitudes of the university budget, which gives us the chance to run these fund drives (expect one for the Polish Studies Initiative in November!). 

These campaigns help us to stay in touch with our supporters and alumni, and I anticipate that we will create more lasting relationships and perhaps even regional networks among alumni as a result. We remain immensely proud of our alumni and were gratified by the results of our Alumni Survey about the value of the CSEEES MA and FLAS educational experiences, in which one graduate wrote: “My education at Ohio State, including my FLAS fellowship, prepared me for the career I have today” and another alum explained: “[My studies] showed me the world outside of the United States and gave me skills that I apply regularly: critical thinking, teamwork, and intellectual curiosity.” 83% of respondents report that they have used their language and area studies skills professionally since completing their degrees, while 44% say they use their knowledge on a daily basis in their current position. Now that’s impressive.

This spring many of our faculty and campus affiliates were honored for their teaching, research, mentoring and wellness advocacy. We hosted our latest Polish Scholar, Dr. Alexandra Urzędowska, who taught a course on genres of digital media, as well as a Belarusian playwright, Andrei Kureichik, whose workshops with theater students were enthusiastically attended. A return visit from University of Warsaw professors Anna and Marcin Solarz brought new insights about the Solidarity movement. In March our student Devon Rancourt and community affiliate Leslie Scott shared traditions of Bulgarian dance, and the Midwest Slavic Conference was again highly successful (see here for more details). For April’s East European Month in Ohio, we launched new passports for schools and libraries to help learn about the region and a group of staff and alumni attended the East European Heritage dinner at the Slovenian Home in Cleveland. In brief—lots of engaging events and opportunities for all our various cohorts.

Day to day at the Office of International Affairs we engage in advising, outreach, and lots of events, and we also work with undergraduate interns, facilitate international visitors, and apply for grants. Lots of grants. Watch our website for news—our interns do research projects and write them up for the website, and any announcements of events, opportunities, and faculty and student achievements will also show up there.

In August teachers were treated to a CSEEES K-14 Teacher Training entitled Baltic Voices of Freedom: Teaching the Singing Revolution Through Music, Memory, and Civic Action, and during the academic year teachers from across the region and the world will benefit from the 10^th annual Global Fellowship Program, which has the theme Global Classrooms: How Students Learn Around the World. This autumn we are also excited to bring to campus visiting Romanian scholar Dr. Caterina Preda, whose expertise straddles political science and art and aesthetics. In October she will visit with students and faculty with interests in Romanian language, memory studies, and diplomacy. Continuing engagement with the community should bring another dance workshop (stay tuned!) and several film screenings.

This fall we welcome new CSEEES M.A. students Luke Guzy (who will study Polish) and Luca Ragnelli (who will continue with Russian). I will be away on a sabbatical, but Emma Pratt, Alicia Baca, and Maryann Walther-Keisel remain at their posts. Please stay in touch with us this academic year and contact us with any questions or requests.

With all best wishes,

Angela Brintlinger