Written by Bonnie Meibers, CAS communications intern

Miami University's Department of Global and Intercultural Studies invites students, faculty, and community members to a May 4 research symposium co-sponsored by Miami University and the University of Cincinnati.

The symposium will feature lectures by local and East European scholars, as well as conversations with film directors and producers from the region, a round-table discussion on East European directors in Hollywood during the Cold War, and two public film screenings.

Schedule

Morning

10:00 am

Opening Remarks by Timothy Melley and Adrian Parr

10:15 am

Introduction of Tatjana Jukic, UC-International Visiting Scholar by Jana Braziel

10:20 am

Keynote Lecture by Tatjana Jukic, UC-International Visiting Scholar

11:30 am

Film Screening and Discussion of Chuck Norris vs. Communism, with director Ilinca Calugareanu and producer Mara Adina

Afternoon

1:15 pm

Lunch

2:00 pm

Round-Table Discussion with Stanley Corkin, UC; Todd Herzog, UC; and Tatjana Jukic, UC-International Scholar

3:30 pm

Coffee break

3:45 pm

Panel of Lectures on Post-Cold War Eastern European Film

• "Refighting the Past": Recent Historical Films in the Baltics and Poland by Steve Norris, Miami University
• Cinema on/of the Margins? European Union Film Funding and Transnational Networking of Balkan Filmmakers by Mariana Ivanova, Miami University
• In Transit(ion)?: Mobility and Immobility in "New Czech Cinema" since 2010 by Michael Gott, University of Cincinnati
• Ostalgia in Chuck Norris vs. Communism by Oana Godeanu-Kenworthy, Miami University

Evening

6:00 pm

Film Screening and Discussion of Spomenik Majklu Dzeksonu (Monument to Michael Jackson) by the director, Darko Lungulov

7:35 pm

Closing Remarks

Despite the geographical proximity of Miami University and the University of Cincinnati, there have been few collaborations between the two universities, according to event coordinator Jana Braziel.

"The University of Cincinnati has a new UC Center for Film Studies and Digital Media Collaborative, and with Miami's new co-major in Film Studies, this moment is a great one to bring together students and scholars from both institutions to collaborate on film and media," Braziel said. "Miami's Havighurst Center for Russian and Post-Soviet Studies and related departments, joined with UC's faculty similarly interested in European and Eastern Europe studies, will enrich this experience for both schools."

Braziel added that she hopes this is just the beginning of future collaborations between the two universities and that they continue to share resources.

"Both Miami University's Humanities Center and UC's Taft Research Center, as well as the Colleges of Arts and Science at both schools, have been extremely supportive of this joint venture," she said. "It is an exciting time for regional institutions to share resources and exchange ideas, particularly in the humanities."

This symposium is sponsored by Miami University's College of Arts and Science, Humanities Center, Department of Global and Intercultural Studies, Department of Journalism, Media and Film, Department of German Russian, and Asian Languages, and the Havighurst Center for Russian and Post-Soviet Studies. It is also sponsored by the University of Cincinnati's Charles Phelps Taft Research Center, UC-International, and Center for Film Studies.