About us
The Centre for Eastern European Studies at the University of Innsbruck sees itself as a university-wide platform for researchers, lecturers and students who are interested in Eastern Europe. We understand Eastern Europe as a collective term for the region of Eastern, Central Eastern and South-Eastern Europe and thus a geographical area that can present itself very differently depending on the temporal focus. For example, Byzantium or the post-Soviet space including Central Asia and the Caucasus can also be the subject of debate.
Managed as Russian Center and partially financed by the "Russkiy mir" Foundation until March 2022 (see History), we have understood the centre from the very beginning as a place for dialogue and networking across disciplinary and national borders. Based on the Slavonic research and teaching of language, literature, and culture, interdisciplinarity and cooperation with researchers and teachers from various disciplines at the university is therefore our declared goal.
As part of the Centres for Area Studies at the University of Innsbruck, we pursue a critical and differentiated discourse on social, cultural and political issues affecting the region of Eastern Europe. We see ourselves as an interface between university research and a broader, interested public. This includes in particular the cooperation with Tyrolean schools where Russian is taught, which has been established over many years. Thus, the centre's library, with its collection of language textbooks and Russian-language fiction, is also aimed in particular at teachers and learners of Russian as well as Russian speakers in general.
Our main tasks are
- the transfer of knowledge between university and public as well as university and school
- the organisation of transfer-oriented events on cultural, social, and political topics related to Eastern Europe, such as readings, film screenings, discussion events, exhibitions
- the promotion of exchange and cooperation with academics from Eastern Europe as well as with creative artists and representatives of the civil society
- the organisation and co-organisation of academic lectures, seminars, workshops, and conferences
- highlighting the expertise on Eastern Europe at the University of Innsbruck