Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia, Summer 2010
Understanding the Balkans
(Program dates: June 21, 2010 - August 20, 2010 -- 12 Credits
Sponsored by The Comparative History of Ideas ,
Status: Applications will be accepted until February 12, 2010
Program Description | Curriculum | Cost | Eligibility | Financial Aid | Application | Refund Info | Questions?
Student’s Story
The coursework has guided my understanding and interpretation of life in the Balkans, but it is truly the physicality of being in the region, talking to locals in a social non-academic setting, and exploring with friend that has made this trip worthwhile – academically and personally. I feel like I’ve grown a lot in the past nine weeks, certainly personally but also in the ways which I process academia. There was no removal from our studies this quarter, no zoning out or blowing off homework to be with friends as an escape mechanism – because even when those things happened, we were still totally immersed in this unique cultural environment that we couldn’t help but study.”
Program Description
Outsiders have viewed the Balkans as a zone where religious and cultural differences breed sectarian violence and where competition between empires East and West compounds instability and conflict.
Five previous programs in the Balkans and recent scholarship on the region, offer an alternative account, of religious and cultural coexistence as the norm through much of the region during the early modern period and in the former Yugoslavia after World War II. If peace has sometimes broken down along religious and ethnic lines, the peace has often held across them in spite of great power competition and interventions.
Through close study of the Yugoslav conflict and of the post war peace in Bosnia-Herzegovina (BH), and Serbia, we will ask ourselves how best to understand Balkan myths and realities and where they shed light on why at times the peace has held and at others has broken.

Sites:

Belgrade, Sarajevo, Zagreb/Plitvice
This program is open to students from all backgrounds. All students are encouraged to apply.
Curriculum
Contemporary Balkans (5 credits, CHID 471 A)
Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian Literature (5 credits, ENGLISH 490)
Cultural Communication in the Former Yugoslavia (2 credits, CHID 471 B)
Participants should check with their academic advisors prior to enrolling to determine how these credits may apply to major requirements.

Faculty:

Norman Wacker, UW English
Zorica Wacker, UW, CHID
Cost
he program fee is still being finalized, and is not expected to exceed $4,200 The program fee will cover instruction costs, housing, and transportation for required field trips. A $350 deposit, included in the program fee, will be assessed to the student’s tuition account just after the student signs the payment contract. In addition, students must pay the IPE fee of $200 to the Office of International Programs and Exchanges at the same time.
The program fee does not cover: IPE fee, airfare, meals, insurance or personal travel and expenses.
The CHID Program reserves the right to change the program fee based upon dollar devaluation or unforeseen economic conditions.  If such a change occurs, students will be notified of the increase and an adjustment will be made to the final program payment.
All fees are charged to students’ accounts, and paid the same way as tuition.
Refund: The $350 deposit is non-refundable. Students who have signed the payment contract are subject to the withdrawal policy outlined in the contract. Any student withdrawing from the program will be liable for a portion of the program fee, according to the schedule listed on the contract.
Participants who wish to withdraw must 1) submit notice of this decision in writing to the program director and 2) must turn in the formal withdrawal request form to the International Programs and Exchanges (IPE) Office.

Payment Schedule

$350 Deposit Due March 19, 2010
$250 IPE fee Due March 19, 2010
$500 Due April 16, 2010
remainder Due July 9, 2010
Total Cost
TBD
Financial Aid
Most forms of financial aid can be used during participation in this program. Participants who are on financial aid should contact the Financial Aid office to verify that their awards will apply. Students interested in applying for increased financial aid during their study abroad should obtain a revision request from the Financial Aid office, and a budget of student expenses from the IPE office, and submit both to the Financial Aid office in Schmitz Hall.
Eligibility
Students from all areas of study are encouraged to apply. After applying, students will be contacted for an interview.
NOTE: In order to receive credit for this program, participants must submit a Concurrent Enrollment (CE) form to the IPE office.
There is a $25 late fee for forms that are turned in after the deadline.
Departure Quarter Concurrent Enrollment Deadline
Autumn September 1
Winter December 1
Spring March 1
Summer May 1
Exploration Seminar July 1
Questions?
For more information, contact:
 
Theron Stevenson
Comparative History of Ideas (CHID)
Box 354300
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195
(206) 543-7333.
 
-OR-  
 
Norman Wacker nwacker@uw.edu