Balkan Talks is an interdisciplinary web journal focusing on humanities and social sciences, established and managed by participants of the CEU course Western Balkans: Imperial Legacies, Nation-Building, State Disintegration. Our objective is to amplify diverse voices from West Balkan, introduce new interdisciplinary subjects, and foster intellectual exchanges to make this part of Balkan visible in local, regional, and global discussions.
We started as a group of enthusiastic students of the Western Balkans course at the Invisible University for Ukraine. We created this network to create space for promoting peace and reconciliation in the Western Balkans. Here, you can read articles from various humanistic disciplines and the subjective side of the story about all of us from the Western Balkans.
Meet our staff
Jana Krstic
Jana Krstić is a PhD student of Philosophy at the University of Zagreb, Croatia. She holds a Masters degree in Philosophy from the University of Niš in Serbia, where she lives. Her academic focus spans the philosophy of education, gender studies, identity, and cultural theory, with a particular interest in the context of the Western Balkans. A committed activist, Jana advocates for gender equality, reconciliation, and transitional justice throughout the region.
Tao Romevo
Tao is a French student and proofreader and works in a university library of languages and civilizations. During his BA in Nordic Studies and a year of Libraries Studies, he self-learned Bulgarian and BCS. He now studies a MA in Bulgarian and History and Social Sciences focusing on Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. His research topics explore questions of memory, transmission and social influences in Post-Communist Bulgaria.
Bojana Vuletić
Bojana Boba Vuletić is a political scientist specialized in international relations. She completed her studies at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, where she continues to live and work. She is an activist for women's and minority rights, with a special focus on the LGBTQ+ struggle for equality. She is the Director of the Critical Education Center, educator and a publicist.
Irene Tsordia
Eirini Tsordia studied law before transitioning into the fields of human rights and democratization. With a keen interest in tackling complex global issues, she has contributed to projects on women's rights, the intersection of law and technology, and, most recently, Balkan Talks. Fluent in Greek, English, Italian, French, and German, Eirini is always seeking new ways to bridge cultures and ideas.
Invisible University for Ukraine
The Invisible University for Ukraine (IUFU) is a distinguished certificate program, offering ECTS credits, tailored for undergraduate (BA), graduate (MA) and postgraduate (PhD) students from Ukraine and abroad. The initiative is spearheaded by Central European University in collaboration with Imre Kertész Kolleg at the University of Jena, alongside other Ukrainian institutions such as Ivan Franko National University of Lviv and Ukrainian Catholic University, as well as global university partners. Additionally, courses on Western Balkans are supported by a number of partner institutions from Southeast Europe. IUFU receives support from the Open Society University Network, with co-funding from the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
The educational program comprises three essential components: thematic lecture courses online, mentoring (conducted in English and Ukrainian), and skill-building sessions focusing on academic English, academic writing, and career support for future education. Distinguished scholars from Central European University, other partner institutions, and globally renowned specialists contribute to the program’s teachings, with mentoring provided by advanced doctoral candidates from these institutions.
Course Offering in Spring 2024
i. Intellectual Debates in Modern Ukrainian History and Contemporary Public Sphere (Ostap Sereda and Balázs Trencsényi)
ii. Rethinking Nationalism: Conceptual Frameworks and Political Challenges (Valeria Korablyova and Vladimir Petrović)
iii. Sustaining Rule of Law and Democracy in Ukraine amidst War and Post-War Reconstruction (Olena Boryslavs’ka and Nazarii Stetsyk)
iv. Cultural Diplomacy during the War: Practices and Institutional Strategies (Yana Barinova)
v. European Union Enlargement and Reform: A Common Path for Ukraine’s European Future (Veronica Anghel and Inna Melnykovska)
vi. Beyond War and Peace: Rethinking the Balkans for Ukraine (Aleksandar Pavlović, Marija Mandić and Olesia Marković)
For more information on this semester’s courses, consult CEU webpage!
Main Organizers of IUFU
Ostap Sereda
Program director, Associate Professor in History at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv and recurrent guest professor at CEU.
László Kontler
CEU Professor, History, Acting Rector of Közép-európai Egyetem → More info
Vladimir Petrovic
Research Professor, Institute of Contemporary History, Belgrade, and CEU Democracy Institute → More Info
Joachim von Puttkamer
Professor in History at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena and Director of the Imre Kertész Kolleg
Nazar Stetsyk
Associate Professor, Department of Theory and Philosophy of Law, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv.
Balazs Trencsényi
CEU, Professor, History Department, lead researcher of History WG, CEU Democracy Institute
Renáta Uitz
CEU Professor, Legal Studies, Co-Director of CEU Democracy Institute
