Summer School of Belarusian Studies

[Curt Woolhiser]

3rd INTERNATIONAL SUMMER SCHOOL OF BELARUSIAN STUDIES

Hajnówka, Poland

July 7-August 4, 2013

Dr. Maria Paula Survilla, Executive Director of the Center for
Belarusian Studies at Southwestern College (Winfield, KS) invites
undergraduate and graduate students to participate in the Center’s 3rd
International Summer School of Belarusian Studies from July 7 to
August  4, 2013. The program, co-sponsored by the Belarusian
Historical Society (Białystok, Poland), will be held at the Belarusian
Cultural Center and Belarusian Lyceum in the town of Hajnówka, located
in the Podlasie region of northeastern Poland, an area of great
natural beauty and home to Poland’s sizable ethnic Belarusian
population—an ideal setting for the study of Belarusian language,
history, society, and culture, as well as for the  study of a broad
range of issues relating to cultural diversity and minorities policies
in the EU. Ambassador (retired) David H. Swartz will serve as the
Summer School’s Program Director. Amb. Swartz was the first U.S.
ambassador to Belarus. His career also included service as Dean of the
School of Language Studies at the U. S. Department of State.

PROGRAM

Coursework will include intensive Belarusian language instruction
(beginning and intermediate levels and individual advanced-level
tutorials) and lectures in English and Belarusian on Belarusian
history, literature, contemporary politics and society. The program
will also include a regional studies component, with lectures and
events focusing on the history, culture and current status of the
Belarusian minority in Poland, as well as of the Podlasie region’s
other ethnic groups, including Poles, Jews, Tatars, Lithuanians, and
Russian Old Believers.

FACULTY

The Summer School faculty will include instructors from Białystok
University and the Belarusian Lyceum in Hajnówka, as well as visiting
instructors from a number of Belarusian universities. Additional guest
lectures on Belarusian history, politics, society and culture will be
given by leading researchers in the field of Belarusian studies from
Europe and North America.

ACCOMMODATIONS

Participants will have a choice of hotel accommodations at the
Belarusian Cultural Center or homestays with Belarusian-speaking
families in Hajnówka.

CULTURAL PROGRAM

Coursework will be supplemented by a rich and diverse cultural
program, including visits to local Belarusian cultural organizations
and media outlets, meetings with Belarusian writers and artists,
films, concerts, and excursions to important sites related to
Belarusian culture and the other cultures of the Podlasie region: the
city of Białystok, the recently restored Orthodox monastery and Museum
of Icons in Supraśl, the Białowieża (Biełavieža) National Park (the
largest and ecologically most diverse remnant of the primeval forests
of the Northern European plain), the historic town of Bielsk Podlaski,
the Holy Mountain of Grabarka (the most important Eastern Orthodox
pilgrimage site in Poland), the 17th-century Great Synagogue in
Tykocin, the Tatar mosque in Kruszyniany, and the Borderland Center in
Sejny, a unique institution dedicated to preserving the rich
multicultural heritage of the borderland region and promoting dialogue
and mutual understanding between its many ethnic groups and cultures.
In mid-July students will also have the opportunity to attend
Basovišča, the annual festival of Belarusian rock music organized by
the Belarusian Students’ Association in the town of Gródek (Haradok)
east of Białystok.

OPTIONAL TOUR OF BELARUS AND LITHUANIA

At the end of the program, from August 5-19, students will have the
option of traveling to Belarus on a guided tour including Hrodna,
Słonim, Navahrudak, Mir, Niaśviž, Minsk, Połack, Viciebsk, Mahiloŭ,
Pinsk and Brest. The trip will end with a visit to the Lithuanian
capital Vilnius, including important sites related to the history of
the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the modern Belarusian national
movement.

PROGRAM FEES

The program cost is $4200. This covers:

· 4 hours of graduate credit in Belarusian language/area studies;
· Room and board at the Hajnówka site (homestay or hotel
  accommodations);
· On-site expenses for program-related excursions.

Travel expenses from/to the U.S. to Hajnówka are additional. The cost
of the optional tour of Belarus and eastern Lithuania at the end of
the program will be announced as details become available. Limited
financial assistance may be available based on demonstrated need.

CONTACTS

For further information and application materials, please visit the
CBS website (http://belarusiancenter.org/ ) or contact the Program
Director, Amb. David Swartz (david.swartz at sckans.edu) and/or Associate
Program Director, Dr. Curt Woolhiser (Brandeis University):
cwoolhis at brandeis.edu. Please note that the deadline for all
applications is May 1, 2013.

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