This course examines successive generations of Russian and Russian Jewish writers and artists who brought the Soviet and post-Soviet experience to North America, with a focus on diaspora, memory, and nostalgia.

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Free

Event

Anarchist Thought, Art and Action

Fri, 28 Aug

The course examines anarchist ideas about freedom, authority, democracy, solidarity, and human nature through political essays, art, literature, and autobiographical writing. There are no prerequisites, and all readings are available in English.

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Free

Event

Cold War Reason: Cybernetics and the Systems Sciences

Fri, 28 Aug

This course traces the development and lasting influence of cybernetics, including concepts of information, systems, and feedback, from the aftermath of World War II to the rise of Silicon Valley.

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Free

Event

Russian Formalism

Fri, 28 Aug

The course recontextualizes Russian Formalism in the cultural and political milieu of revolutionary and Civil War era Russia, connecting theories of form with their aesthetic, linguistic, cultural, and sociopolitical contexts.

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Free

Event

Experimental Cultures

Fri, 28 Aug

A seminar surveying experimental cultures of East Central Europe, including avant-garde movements, experimental modernisms and postmodernisms, alternative film and visual culture, inventive responses to historical circumstances, and avant-garde classical music. Taught in English.

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Free

Event

The Black Sea in History

Fri, 28 Aug

This course examines the histories and interactions of civilizations, empires, linguistic communities, and cultures around the Black Sea, including Greek colonization, Byzantine-Slav relations, Ottoman dominance, Russian-Turkish rivalry, decolonization, and modern wars. Add to waitlist for instructor approval to join roster.

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Free

Event

Culture in Polish Lands

Fri, 28 Aug

This seminar investigates changing meanings of cultural difference and sameness in Polish lands from 1918 to the present, using visual arts, everyday objects, scholarly discourses, and urban and rural landscapes. Add to waitlist for instructor approval to join roster.

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Free

Event

Forced Labor in Modern Europe

Fri, 28 Aug

The course explores the history of forced labor in Europe over roughly the last 200 years, including its racial and class dimensions, its relationship to nationalism and economic development, and its continuing presence after World War II.

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Free

Event

Stalinism

Fri, 28 Aug

This tutorial examines the Stalin era and the historiographical debates surrounding Soviet modernization, totalitarianism, policy outcomes, and resistance. Add to waitlist for instructor approval to join roster.

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Free

Event

Modern Ukraine: An Eastern European History of a Borderland

Fri, 28 Aug

This course surveys Ukrainian history from the nineteenth century to the present, covering imperial rule, the 1917 to 1921 revolution, Soviet policies and the Holodomor, World War II, independence, the Orange Revolution, Euromaidan, and the ongoing Russo-Ukraine War. No prior knowledge of Eastern European history is required.

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Free

Event

Cold War Globalization: China and Eastern Europe

Fri, 28 Aug

This course examines interactions between China and Eastern Europe during the Cold War, including intellectual exchanges, economic aid, geopolitical competition, global socialism, economic reform, and diverging developmental pathways.

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About

Hours and details

Harriman Institute is a Columbia University center dedicated to advanced study of Russia, Eurasia, and Eastern Europe. It supports interdisciplinary research and education through regional courses, language instruction, graduate certificates, and area-focused academic programs.

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