Studio Central and Eastern Europe

This podcast features a lecture by Piotr Florczyk, poet, essayist, translator, and professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, on the poetry of witness. This form of poetic expression testifies to extreme historical and social events—war, political persecution, exile, and even the horrors of torture and censorship. In his talk, delivered last week in Antwerp, Florczyk explored the unique...

In this episode, Lien Verpoest, professor of Eastern European and diplomatic history at KU Leuven, examines why heritage has become a central issue in Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine. This topic recently took center stage at an international conference in Leuven, where representatives from 15 universities worldwide gathered to discuss EU heritage diplomacy in the war-torn region. In conversation w...

In this episode, Kris Van Heuckelom, Professor at KU Leuven, interviews Mirja Lecke, Chair of Slavic Literatures and Cultures at the University of Regensburg in Germany. They discuss Russian imperial literature’s portrayal of colonized territories like Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine—called "Western territories" to obscure their non-Russian identities. Lecke speaks of the historical evolut...

Stefan Auer, Professor of European Studies at the University of Hong Kong, and Martin Kohlrausch, Professor of European Political History at KU Leuven, discuss the systemic obstacles that prevent the European Union from responding effectively to the war in Ukraine. In this intriguing, if not entirely optimistic conversation, the two academics examine why the EU's technocratic approach falls short...

Art historian and curator Małgorzata Jędrzejczyk delves into the lesser-known history of the Polish avant-garde in a conversation with Martin Kohlrausch, professor of Modern European Political History at KU Leuven. Together, they explore how Poland's intellectual and artistic elite perceived their place on the European map during the 20th century. Their discussion touches on the vibrant exchange o...

In this podcast Przemysław Czapliński, a distinguished Professor of Polish Literature and author of numerous award-winning works, explores in a highly engaging way how the economic, political, and cultural crises of the 1970s shaped Polish prose. He focuses on writers Jerzy Andrzejewski, Tadeusz Konwicki, Marek Nowakowski and Kazimierz Brandys, examining their depictions of a society grappling wit...

In this podcast, Olivera Simic interviews Heleen Touquet, one of the few researchers studying sexual violence against men in armed conflicts. Touquet, an associate professor at the University of Antwerp and an affiliated researcher at KU Leuven, has focused her work on the Western Balkans. In the interview, she discusses the taboo surrounding sexual violence against men and why it is often more di...

In this episode of Studio FCEE, Paul Kolb of the Alamire Music Research Foundation interviews two of KU Leuven's top musicologists. David Burn, head of the Early Music Research Group at KU Leuven, and Assistant Professor Antonio Chemotti discuss their passion for medieval music in Central Europe. They share their excitement about studying music books, prints, and manuscripts that have long been co...

In this podcast, Peter Vermeersch of KU Leuven talks with architect and scholar Sabina Tanović and awarded activist and storyteller Ilir Gashi how the painful memories of the 1990s Yugoslav wars are used in contemporary commemorations, what are their meanings and uses in today's Balkan societies. Dr. Sabina Tanović is an architect and researcher specializing in memorial projects that address traum...

In this interview, KU Leuven history professor Martin Kohlrausch speaks with independent curator Anna Karpenko about the avant-garde movement between the East and the West. They discuss how avant-garde artists and architects endeavored to transcend borders and how their legacy is now subject to appropriation attempts, particularly in the post-Soviet context of the former USSR. Anna Karpenko (b. 19...

Olivera Simic, an associate professor at Griffith University in Australia, discusses war criminals in the Balkans who escape justice and live undisturbed lives in neighboring countries. She also delves into her decision to write an entire book about Biljana Plavšić, the former President of Republika Srpska, who was later convicted of crimes against humanity. The interview is hosted by Heleen Toque...

Can the experience of genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina help prevent radicalization of schoolchildren as far as the United States? According to Amra Sabić-El-Rayess, a writer and associated professor at the Columbia university, it can. For it shows that the very origin of hatred and radicalization is not some inherent badness in people, but their perceived invisibility, sense of not belonging.  T...

In this episode of Studio FCEE, Polish political scientist Jan Grzymski offers an insightful analysis of Poland's post-election landscape. Following the defeat of the United Right alliance, a coalition of three parties, led by Donald Tusk, assumed power. Grzymski suggests that the previous government's conservative reforms polarized the electorate, turning the elections into a battleground of iden...

Anthropologist Anna Matyska, a KU Leuven researcher who recently joined the team at Warsaw University, delves into her research on Ukrainian migrants in Poland. Her focus lies in understanding how war has reshaped the emotional and daily lives of long-term Ukrainian migrants in Poland and their ties to their homeland. Her work examines the emotional dimensions of their experiences, and in this int...

Sociologist Tamara Martsenyuk speaks of how the war in Ukraine reshaped the gender roles of men. She dwells on the new forms of alternative masculinity, observed in the country. This study is featured in a chapter within the recently published edited volume "Feminist Perspectives on Russia's War in Ukraine: Hear Our Voices" (Lexington Books, 2024). Her presentation was recorded during the book's u...

Katsiaryna Lozka, a PhD candidate in Political Science at Ghent University, presents her research on pro-Ukrainian female activism in Belarus. This study is featured in a chapter within the recently published edited volume "Feminist Perspectives on Russia's War in Ukraine: Hear Our Voices" (Lexington Books, 2024). Her presentation was recorded during the book's unveiling at the Forum on Central an...

Sociologist Olena Strelnyk shares insights from her research on the influence of the Ukrainian conflict on the societal construct of femininity. This study is featured in a chapter within the recently published edited volume "Feminist Perspectives on Russia's War in Ukraine: Hear Our Voices" (Lexington Books, 2024). Her presentation was recorded during the book's presentation at the Forum on Centr...

Maryna Shevtsova, senior FWO researcher at KU Leuven, introduces the edited volume Feminist Perspective on Russia's War in Ukraine: Hear Our Voices, which was published in February 2024, and three of the authors. The recording was made during the 26 March event at KU Leuven.

In this podcast, Chiara Bonfiglioli, associate professor in contemporary history at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, speaks of the women's movement in non-aligned countries during the Cold War. Interviewed by Ana Devic, a Marie Curie fellow at KU Leuven, Bonfiglioli shares narratives of cross-border friendship and vibrant energy, of resilience and camaraderie, which she found in the archives and...

Alexander Maxwell, professor at the University of Wellington, discusses his research on 'mustache patriotism' and nationalism in daily life, Pan-Slavism, and linguistic ideologies in 19th-century Central Europe during an interview hosted by Kris Van Heuckelom.

In this podcast, Peter Vermeersch from KU Leuven engages in a discussion with Bjorn Geldhof, the artistic director of the PinchukArtCentre in Kiev, and Kateryna Botanova, a prominent Ukrainian art critic. They explore how war both halted artistic expression and sparked a newfound drive to create art. The speakers pointed out that in Ukraine, culture has become intricately linked to the survival of...

In this concise podcast, Ukrainian artist Alevtina Kakhidze shares her thoughts on her journey of creating and safeguarding art amidst the adversity of war.