The Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures and the Center for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies are excited to welcome Professor Marko Babić who is our 2025 Slavic Fulbright Scholar from Poland to Ohio State! In the cross-listed course Polish/International Studies 5196, Prof. Babić and students will explore "Poland, Central Europe, and the Balkans: Identity, Nationalism, and Geopolitics." The course is interdisciplinary in approach, focusing on contemporary political, geopolitical, and cultural issues in Poland, its neighboring Central European countries, and the Balkans.

Prof. Babić comes to Ohio State to teach in an American institution for the first time—but he brings experience as a foreign exchange student. First in the U.S. as a high school senior in a school just outside Chicago, Marko Babić hails from the former Yugoslavia but has been in Poland for many years, where he is Head of Eurasian Studies at the University of Warsaw Faculty of Political Science and International Studies. Previously, he has been a visiting professor at several other European universities, including Portugal, France, Serbia, Hungary, North Macedonia and Russia.

Polish/IntStu 5196 starts with an introduction to the political, social, historical, and cultural context of the region. Students will then delve into problems of nationalism, identity and identity politics in the region. Later the course will focus on various problems of transition and integration processes in the region, ending with important issues such as geopolitics. 

Prof. Babić loves to teach using the Socratic method, and since the course is designed to welcome students regardless of their background, he will incorporate elements of lecture, but he hopes to find a common language with students to discuss the material, including assigned readings, in depth. Upon completion of the course, students will know and understand the principal problems of regional politics and geopolitics, and how those problems influence contemporary social and political life as well as European integration. Students will also be able to identify and discuss political and axiological issues.

Since the beginning of his academic career, Prof. Babić’s research has focused on Poland, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), and the Balkans in terms of their geopolitical location, state-building processes, ethnic conflicts, and identity, including determinants such as history and religion. He has always been fascinated by these phenomena because they have a fundamental impact on political processes and politics. In a broader context, his research also focuses on political philosophy, cultural anthropology and sociology in their theoretical and normative dimensions. 

Consider joining Prof. Babić to learn more about these relevant contemporary and historical processes in Polish 5196 / International Studies 5196 Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:10-12:30 in Hagerty Hall 186!