Welcome back to campus!

The big news at the University of Washington’s Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies is that, as of Fall Quarter 2024, two Centers have come together under a single Director as the Center for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (CEREAS). The Center for European Studies (CES) and the Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies (REECAS) each maintain a unique profile under this shared administrative infrastructure. This fall our faculty will dive into discussions of the new Center’s shared opportunities and challenges.

Programs in CES and REECAS will continue as usual while also jointly hosting events that interest scholars across both centers. Coming up next on November 15 at 2:30 pm, for example, is a lecture by Minna Ålander, Research Fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, who will speak about “Hybrid War in Europe: A Northern Dimension.”  Please be on the lookout for announcements about other public lectures as they are scheduled, most notably the annual Ellison Lecture that will take place in spring 2024.  Planning is underway for the 2025 EU Center Symposium on cyber security in Europe in May and the 31st Annual REECAS-Northwest Conference on April 10-12, 2025.

Please join me in welcoming four Visiting Scholars to the UW campus and follow CEREAS events announcements for news about opportunities to meet them and learn about their research projects: Masaaki Higashijima (University of Tokyo) is exploring reasons behind the high popularity of Kyrgyzstan’s populist President Sadyr Japarov and designing a survey to illuminate the roles of clientelism and social media. Saša Jenko (Head of Health Sector at the European Commission) is studying applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in American healthcare and preparing proposed guidelines for the implementation of AI-related technologies in European Union health systems in an ethical, transparent and trustworthy manner from an organizational, economic, legal and regulatory perspective. This fall, CEREAS is joining a new program led by Indiana University and the Big Ten Academic Alliance to host two nonresident scholars in Ukraine: Oksana Pochapska (Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv) is investigating how historical events are weaponized as tools of propaganda and disinformation in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War; and Andrii Kozytskyi (Ivan Franko National University of Lviv) will study how the Soviet government tried to conceal its guilt in Ukraine’s Holodomor genocide of 1932–1933.

CEREAS also hosts events that are closed to the general public but are essential to our educational mission. We are welcoming five incoming graduate students in the REECAS MA program, and we continue to advise numerous undergraduates as they pursue the BA in European Studies. In spring, we will host top students from colleges and universities across the region at the “West Coast Model European Union,” offering hands-on learning about European politics today. And of course, we aim to support the entire UW community in research, learning and teaching about people in our area of specialization.

Language learning is essential to the study of our region. In Fall 2024, I am participating in a Working Group at the UW Language Learning Center which is administering surveys to assess why students choose to not enroll or enroll in language classes. Over the coming year, LLC will report on the current state of language education at the UW, benchmarking with developments at peer universities and proposing recommendations for administrative and instructional changes. Among CEREAS’s longer-term goals is exploring the possibility of applying for a Title VI National Resource Center grant in the 2026-2030 funding cycle. In the past, Title VI has supported language-learning fellowships for many UW students. We hope to renew this source of funding for the next generation of young UW scholars specializing in our region.

We look forward to meeting you this year at in-person and virtual events!

Sincerely,

Guntis Šmidchens, Director

Center for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies

UW Jackson School of International Studies