Summer Albanian Institute at Ohio State University

[Daniel Collins]

THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY SUMMER ALBANIAN INSTITUTE

Where:  The Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio) and Prishtina,  
Republic of Kosovo

When:  July 20 - August 7, 2009 (Columbus), with optional 2-week  
extension from August 16 - 30 (Prishtina)

What:  Two 3-credit classes at OSU — East European Languages &  
Literatures 671.30 (Introduction to Albanian Linguistics) and East  
European Languages & Literatures 671.40 (Conversational Albanian) —  
followed (optionally) by attendance at the Summer Seminar in Albanian  
Language, History, and Culture, run by the University of Prishtina in  
Prishtina, Kosovo.  Academic credit for the Prishtina Seminar, if  
desired, can be arranged through The Ohio State University.

Who (Faculty):  E Eur LL 671.40 will be taught by Matthew Curtis, MA/ 
ABD in Balkan Linguistics at The Ohio State University; E Eur LL  
671.30 will be taught by Professor Brian D. Joseph, a specialist in  
Balkan and Albanian historical linguistics.  The Prishtina Seminar  
will be taught by faculty in the Albanian Department of the  
University of Prishtina.

Who (Participants):  The Summer Albanian Institute is open to all  
interested parties, including both current OSU students  
(undergraduate or graduate) and anyone outside of OSU (whether  
students, faculty, or nonacademics) — regular OSU tuition charges  
(resident or nonresident, as the case may be) apply for the  
671.30/671.40 courses. Note that OSU students with a fee waiver can  
apply it towards these courses, and students from CIC institutions  
should be eligible for CIC visiting student status and are urged to  
explore this possibility with their local campus CIC office;  
nonstudents or non-CIC students can take the class for undergraduate  
credit by enrolling through OSU’s Continuing Education program, which  
involves completing a simple application form (the “Superform”) on- 
line (www.continuinged.ohio-state.edu/who.html) and paying a $40  
application fee (by check or money order only); outsiders wishing to  
take the class for graduate credit should consult http:// 
gradadmissions.osu.edu/nondegree.html.

There is NO tuition for the Prishtina Seminar and the University of  
Prishtina will provide (free of charge) room and board for all  
participants (by arrangement, all participants in the OSU Institute  
will be automatically admitted to the Prishtina Seminar).   
Participants in the Prishtina portion will thus be responsible only  
for their own travel costs to and from Kosovo and any incidental  
expenses while there.  It is hoped that some grants-in-aid will be  
available towards either OSU tuition or Kosovo travel costs.

Students must contact Laurie Ogburn (ogburn.4 at osu.edu) concerning  
mandatory supplemental health insurance coverage for the overseas  
portion of the program.

Note that if you are a US citizen and do not already have a passport,  
you must apply for one immediately (OSU students can do so at the  
Campus Post Office on W. 18th St.); see also http://travel.state.gov/ 
passport/passport_1738.html). An existing passport will need to be  
valid through March 1, 2010 to be usable for the Kosovo program.

Why:  Albanian is a fascinating language, spoken largely in six  
countries in the eastern Mediterranean region (Albania, Greece,  
Italy, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Montenegro) and connected to a heritage  
and culture that is rich, even if relatively unknown in the West.   
Students taking part in the OSU portion will have three weeks of an  
intensive introduction to conversational Albanian coupled with an  
appreciation for the structure, history, and dialectology of the  
language through the Albanian linguistics class, and all of this will  
be reinforced during the on-site Summer Seminar in Prishtina.  The  
overall goal is to offer participants a solid foundation in Albanian  
that they can build on afterwards for research in a variety of fields  
(Indo-European linguistics, Balkan linguistics, political science,  
history, etc.) and for service opportunities in the region.

What to do:  If you are interested in participating, please contact  
Brian Joseph as soon as possible, and indicate also if you are  
interested in the Kosovo portion of the program.  All applications  
will need to be finalized by MAY 1 for preferred consideration (it  
may be harder to accommodate applicants after that date).  Those from  
within OSU involve simply an expression of interest (why you want to  
take the classes and a paragraph on your background) sent to joseph. 
1 at osu.edu, along with registration for the course(s) in the usual way  
through the Office of the Registrar. Applicants from outside of OSU  
who want to take the class(es) for undergraduate credit must adhere  
to the policies and procedures of the Office of Continuing Education  
(see above, and consult www.continuinged.ohio-state.edu/who.html),  
while those wanting to take the class(es) for graduate credit must  
adhere to the policies and procedures of the Graduate School (see  
above, and consult http://gradadmissions.osu.edu/nondegree.html).

Questions?  Please contact Brian Joseph with any questions or for  
more information (joseph.1 at osu.edu).


Daniel Collins, Associate Professor
Slavic and East European Languages and Literatures
The Ohio State University
400 Hagerty Hall
1775 College Road
Columbus, OH 43210-1340


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